Stompin' Tom Connors - dead at 77

[Sheriff Roland]

This isn't even on Google Canada's news yet - posted on CTV news less than half an hour ago.

Stompin' Tom Connors dies at 77

http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/stompin-tom-connors-dies-at-77-1.1185264

PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Canadian country-folk legend Stompin' Tom Connors, whose toe-tapping musical spirit and fierce patriotism established him as one of Canada's strongest cultural icons, has died. He was 77.

Connors passed away Wednesday from what a spokesman described as "natural causes."

Brian Edwards said the musician, rarely seen without his signature black cowboy hat and stomping cowboy boots, knew his health was declining and had penned a message for his fans a few days before his death.

In the message posted on his website, Connors says Canada kept him "inspired with it's beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world."

Connors is survived by his wife Lena, two sons, two daughters and several grandchildren.

Dubbed Stompin' Tom for his propensity to pound the floor with his left foot during performances, Connors garnered a devoted following through straight-ahead country-folk tunes that drew inspiration from his extensive travels and focused on the everyman.

[Sheriff Roland]

The Hockey Song

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmimLBSTEUw[/youtube]

[Sheriff Roland]

Sudbury Saturday Night

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw7rzpvDvS0[/youtube]

[Sheriff Roland]

Bud the Spud

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtySGSuKZe8[/youtube]

(I just checked again - it's now #2 on the top stories section. I knew it would be big news up here.)

[oilgun]

R.I.P. Stompin' Tom.  My favourite is On a Sudbury Saturday Night

[Sheriff Roland]

His passing was top of the news in all local and national broadcasting reports last night. And it's on top of Google news as well now.

from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stompin'_Tom_Connors

At his last stop in Timmins, Ontario, which may also have been his big "break", he found himself a nickel short of a beer at the city's Maple Leaf Hotel. The bartender, Gaet Lepine, agreed to give Tom a beer if he would play a few songs. These few songs turned into a 13-month contract to play at the hotel, a weekly spot on the CKGB radio station in Timmins, eight 45-RPM recordings, and the end of the beginning for Tom Connors.

And then there's this ...

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcXupKCzrGw[/youtube]

He was always singing about the ordinary Canadian experience.

[Sheriff Roland]

Wow - YOUtube had this GEM! (Lady k. d. + C-a-n-a-d-a)

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5ExF4nQ7T4[/youtube]

[Sheriff Roland]

Tonight, the New York Times acknowleged Stompin' Tom's passing with an obit in it's ART section. As with just about everything the 'Times' prints, it's spot on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/08/arts/stompin-tom-connors-canadian-singer-dies-at-77.html?_r=0

Oh and by the way, this apparently unusual appreciation for the man and his lifework (which very few of you have ever heard about) isn't just a post mortum love affair. In 2004, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) ran a series that allowed it's listeners to vote for their choice for the Greatest Canadian. Stompin' Tom Connors came in 13th place, ahead of all other entertainers of Canadian origin.

http://www.filibustercartoons.com/greatest%20Canadians.htm

[bentgyro]

R.I.P. Stompin' Tom.......A true Canadian.
Just a few notes into his songs and all us Canucks could sing along.