Sometimes there is a band that you think everyone knows about because they are so popular where you are from, but despite world-wide connectivity, they seem to be a well kept secret. The Tragically Hip may or may not be one of them. I don’t know how far their music has travelled, but they are true Canadiana at their core.
Formed in a mid-size city in Ontario Canada in the mid-80s, they became a staple of college radio stations. Not to dismiss the talent of any one band member, the band was fronted by the talented and theatrical, Gord Downey, whose lyrics were regional, topical, and always powerful no matter what the topic.
One of the longest active bands in Canada, they produced albums and toured until 2016. Tragically (pun intended), Downey died of brain cancer a year later. Knowing that the end was near, they put on their last concert, in their hometown, which was broadcast live, nationwide.
Now, if that is not proof of their influence, I don’t know what is. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order) and there are way too many to choose from. I missed a lot of good ones.
The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, were a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker, bassist Gord Sinclair, and drummer Johnny Fay.
-Leon
Leon Stevens is a multi-genre author, composer, guitarist, songwriter, and an artist, with a Bachelor of Music and Education. He published his first book of poetry, Lines by Leon: Poems, Prose, and Pictures in January 2020, followed by a book of original classical guitar compositions, Journeys, and a short story collection of science fiction/post-apocalyptic tales called The Knot at the End of the Rope and Other Short Stories. His newest publications are the novella trilogy, The View from Here, which is a continuation of one of his short stories, and a new collection of poetry titled, A Wonder of Words.
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Lines by Leon 
Not a band I know much about, as they have no profile over here and have never had a chart single or album. They sound ok though.
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Hi Leon, I don’t know this band but I immediately stopped at your post because I’m a big Elvis Costello fan and I believe the phrase comes from his song “Town Cryer.” I’m going to check them out!
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