2018 Juno Awards: 5 songs we want to hear at the Gord Downie tribute

One of the special tributes at the 2018 Juno Awards will be when artists Dallas Green and Sarah Harmer join forces to honour the late lead singer of The Tragically Hip, Gord Downie.

The vocalist and songwriter died on October 17, 2017 and his sixth and final solo album Introduce Yourself was released posthumously on October 27. Critics waxed rhapsodically about the album, noting that its 23 tracks represented some of the most stripped-down and direct writing of Downie’s career. The album is nominated in the Adult Alternative Album of the Year category for the 2018 Junos. 

Chances are, it wins.

Both Green and Harmer knew Downie, and should be able to give his legacy a nice spin in a Juno tribute moment. As these are often presented as medleys, we gave some thought to what five songs would have to be included from the ‘Hip’s 32-year career and Downie’s solo albums. Of course, the real question is: Will Michael Bublé try to add in a Downie-style rant inside a song or not?

Here is the list:

1 — Bobcaygeon (Phantom Power, 1998): For many fans, this lyrical ballad is considered one of the best Downie ever penned. Yeah, it could have been the wine.

2 — New Orleans Is Sinking (Up to Here, 1989): One of the very best rockers ever ground out by the ‘Hip. It turned out to be pretty prophetic after Hurricane Katrina.

3 — 50 Mission Cap (Fully Completely, 1992): Dude, it’s a hockey song about a Toronto Maple Leaf (Bill Barilko) scoring the Stanley Cup-winning goal in 1951 and then dying in a bush plane crash. Barilko’s body went undiscovered for 11 years. Just as long as it took for the Leafs to win the cup again. Talk about a Canadian tune.

4 — My Music At Work (Music @ Work, 2000): The title of the tune pretty well says all you need to know about the tune. A workaday ode to a working person’s band that seems full of both joy and the somewhat constantly looming melancholy that was always a feature of Downie’s writing and delivery

5 — The Stranger (Secret Path, 2016): Downie’s concept solo album featuring a set of songs set around a graphic novel telling the tragic tale of Chanie Wenjack, a young Indigenous boy who died running away from a residential school in 1966, was hugely influential in focusing attention on the tragic consequences of governmental cultural assimilation policies. It also lead to the formation of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund to spur action in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, and support reconciliation. 

While it would be fitting, even proper for the Juno broadcast to include something from the album, they could always opt for another fan favourite such as Ahead by a Century (Trouble At the Henhouse, 1996) or, or, or …

sderdeyn@postmedia.com

twitter.com/stuartderdeyn