In celebration of what would have been Gord Downie’s 56th birthday, here are some of his finest moments.


1984: The Tragically Hip form in their hometown, Kingston, Ontario.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B_G7y1sias


1987: The band releases their self-titled debut EP.


July 7, 1989: The Tragically Hip play to a small audience in Madison, Wis. The opening act that night, a band from Seattle, Washington named “Nirvana.” Yes, THAT Nirvana!


September 5, 1989: The Hip release their first full-length album, Up to Here. The album sells 100,000 copies in its first year earning the group a Juno for most promising artist. Up To Here would go on to earn certified Diamond status.


February 19, 1991: The band releases their second full-length studio album. Road Apples reaches Platinum status in just 10 days, earning them “entertainer of the year” at the ’91 Juno Awards.


March 25, 1995: The Tragically Hip appear on Saturday Night Live, thanks in large part to fellow Canadian and Kingston-area resident, Dan Aykroyd. The performance marks one of the bands highest profile media appearances in the United States.


February 22, 1999: The Hip are selected to open Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, becoming the first band to perform at the new arena. The band would play there again on December 31, 1999 and January 1, 2000 to ring in the millennium.


July 24, 1999: The group plays an early morning set at Woodstock ’99 for a charged up group of flag-waving Canadians.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcK1P491lmk&feature=emb_title


2002: The Tragically Hip earn a spot on Canada’s Walk of Fame.

WALKOFFAME_03-May 28, 2002-Gord Downie of the band the Tragically Hip picks what he says was bellybutton lint out of the bands star on the Walk of Fame infront of the Princess of Wales theatre may 28, 2002. (TANNIS TOOHEY/TORONTO STAR) (Photo by Tannis Toohey/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

 

2003: The band perform “It’s a Good Life If You Don’t Weaken” and “Poets” for Queen Elizabeth II.


April 3, 2005: The Tragically Hip are inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards in Winnipeg.


May 24, 2016: The group announce that Gord Downie will courageously lead The Hip on one final tour after Downie is diagnosed with an incurable form of brain cancer.

August 20, 2016: The Tragically Hip returns home to Kingston’s K-Rock Centre for the final date on the Man Machine Poem tour. A concert viewed by 11.7 million nationwide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0vsFDS4KiY


October 18, 2016: Juno Award winning album, graphic novel, and animated film, The Secret Path written by Downie and illustrated by Jeff Lemire is released.


December 6, 2016: Downie is honoured at First Nations special assembly in Gatineau, Que for his push for reconciliation, forcing Canadians to confront the legacy of residential schools.


July 17, 2017: Gord Downie is appointed to the Order Of Canada.

OTTAWA, ON – JUNE 19: Canadian singer Gord Downie is invested as a Member of the Order of Canada by Governor General of Canada David Johnston at Rideau Hall on June 19, 2017 in Ottawa, Canada. (Photo by Mark Horton/WireImage)

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GORD!

Filed under: Gord Downie, Tragically Hip