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Blue Rodeo

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Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo in concert, February 28, 2010 in Whistler, British Columbia
Blue Rodeo in concert, February 28, 2010 in Whistler, British Columbia
Background information
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
GenresCountry rock
Years active1984 (1984)–present
LabelsWEA, Warner Music Group, Rounder
MembersJim Cuddy
Bazil Donovan
Greg Keelor
Glenn Milchem
Mike Boguski
Colin Cripps
Past membersCleave Anderson
Bob Wiseman
Mark French
Kim Deschamps
James Gray
Bob Packwood
Bob Egan
Websitebluerodeo.com

Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album, Outskirts, in March 1987. Including Outskirts, they have 15 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and collaborations.[1]

History

Band

The band consists of original members Jim Cuddy (guitar/vocals), Greg Keelor (guitar/vocals), and Bazil Donovan (bass), plus newer additions of Glenn Milchem (drums), keyboardist Michael Boguski, and guitarist Colin Cripps. Drummers Cleave Anderson and Mark French, keyboardists Bob Wiseman, James Gray and Bob Packwood, and multi-instrumentalists Kim Deschamps and Bob Egan are former band members.[citation needed]

Cuddy and Keelor met in high school and became great friends. After university, when all their other friends were starting to get jobs, they decided to form a band and started to play music more often. They put together a few different bands without much luck. They released a single as Hi-Fi's in 1980. Cuddy and Keelor moved to New York City for some adventure and to help their music careers. There they met Bob Wiseman. When they came back to Toronto in the summer of 1984, they thought about putting another band together. They had already thought of the name for the band before they met Cleave and asked him to join the band. Cleave brought along his friend Bazil Donovan, and with this the band Blue Rodeo was born.[2] In 1985 Blue Rodeo played their first show together at The Rivoli in Toronto;[3] one week later, they performed at Handsome Ned's "Honky Tonk Heart".[4]

Blue Rodeo is one of the most successful and well-known contemporary Canadian bands, having sold over three million copies of their studio albums. Cuddy, Keelor, Donovan and Cripps have all released solo albums, and Glenn Milchem performs his own solo music under the pseudonym "the swallows". Keelor has also gone on to produce for other artists, notably alt-country group Cuff the Duke, who have also toured as support for Blue Rodeo.[5]

Blue Rodeo members have collaborated extensively with other notable Canadian artists, including Sarah McLachlan, The Tragically Hip, Burton Cummings, Great Big Sea, Jann Arden, The Sadies, Skydiggers, Cuff the Duke, Crash Vegas, Cowboy Junkies, Sarah Harmer, Jill Barber, and Kathleen Edwards.[citation needed] They have won many Canadian music awards, including seven Juno Awards and seven SOCAN awards.[citation needed]

On June 16, 2009, it was announced that the band would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame in Toronto. The induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2009. They are the fifth band to receive the honour.[6]

Blue Rodeo was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 41st Juno Awards on April 1, 2012,[7] joining other Canadian music icons including Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Oscar Peterson, Bruce Cockburn, Daniel Lanois, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray and Tom Cochrane.

According to CARAS, on selecting Blue Rodeo as the 2012 inductees, “Spanning nearly three decades, Blue Rodeo has sold in excess of four million records and won an unprecedented 11 JUNO Awards, establishing themselves as one of the premier groups in Canadian music history.”[8]

In May 2014, the band received a Governor General's Performing Arts Award (GGPAA) for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts.[9] At the Gala honouring GGPAA recipients on May 10, the band delivered the evening's surprise finale.

On August 5, 2013, former keyboard player James Gray died as the result of a heart attack. He was 52 years old.[10]

Canadian guitarist Colin Cripps joined Blue Rodeo as a full member in 2013, due to Greg Keelor's inability to play electric guitar live anymore, caused by hearing issues.[11]

In September 2015, Blue Rodeo released the protest song and video "Stealin All My Dreams" which "chronicle the failings of the current government", referring to the government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.[12]

Band members

Television and film

  • Blue Rodeo's song "Flying" appears on the soundtrack to the television show Due South as track 10, album released in 1996.
  • The song "Hasn't Hit Me Yet" is played in the 2015 British documentary The Fear of 13 about exonerated death row inmate Nick Yarris.
  • The songs "Try" and "Heart Like Mine" are played in the episode "Cupid's Quiver" of the TV show Friday the 13th The Series.
  • The song "Bad Timing" is played towards the end of the season 4 finale of the hit Canadian show Corner Gas.
  • Blue Rodeo is the band appearing at the end of the 1990 film Postcards from the Edge.[13]
  • The song "Try" is played in the background of the bar in the film Navy SEALs.
  • Greg Keelor, one of the band's founding members, composed the soundtrack for the 2010 film Gunless. The soundtrack for the Canadian Western comedy also featured an original ballad by Blue Rodeo titled "Don't Let the Darkness in Your Head".[14]

Notable performances

As part of their 20th Anniversary celebrations in 2004, the "original five" line up of Jim Cuddy, Greg Keelor, Bazil Donovan, Bob Wiseman and Cleave Anderson reunited for a live performance of five songs: Heart Like Mine, Try, Diamond Mine, Love and Understanding, and Til I Am Myself Again. The set is included on the DVD In Stereovision: Blue Rodeo.

On Canada Day 2008, Blue Rodeo played on Parliament Hill. The band closed the show before the commencement of the fireworks and was joined on stage by several other artists to perform "Lost Together". On November 28, 2009 the band performed at half-time of the 97th Grey Cup. The band also performed live concerts for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Cuddy and Keelor performed at the annual Folk on the Rocks music festival in Yellowknife, NT from July 16 to July 18, 2010.[15]

On October 19, 2010, Blue Rodeo played the music viral show BalconyTV[16] for a rare acoustic performance on a small Balcony overlooking Dame Street, Dublin.

On July 1, 2011, Blue Rodeo performed at Trafalgar Square as part of the Canada Day in London celebrations.

Blue Rodeo performed at their induction to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the Juno Awards of 2012 at Scotiabank Place in the community of Kanata in Ottawa, Ontario on Sunday April 1, 2012. They took the stage with long-time friend and collaborator Sarah McLachlan and performed their 1992 hit single, "Lost Together". As the performance ended, the audience rose for a spirited standing ovation recognizing Blue Rodeo as "one of Canada's true musical treasures".[17]

Discography

Main article: Blue Rodeo discography
Studio Albums
Live Albums
Compilation Albums
Box sets

Videography

  • Postcards from the Edge (1990)
  • Blue Movies (1991)
  • In Stereovision (2004) - Certified 3× Platinum by the CRIA.
  • Watch This! (2004) - Features the video of Blue Rodeo's hit single, "Bulletproof."
  • Toronto Rocks (SARSfest) (2004) - Canadian edition featuring Blue Rodeo.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Discography". Official Community of Blue Rodeo. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  2. ^ "Jim Cuddy Biography". Official Community of Blue Rodeo. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  3. ^ Schneider, Jason Timeline: Blue Rodeo: Better Off as We Are at Exclaim! December 2009.
  4. ^ "The birth of Blue Rodeo". The Globe and Mail, November 16, 2004.
  5. ^ "Blue Rodeo Timeline". Exclaim Magazine. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  6. ^ "The Stars Align at the 12th Annual Canada's Walk of Fame". Canada's Walk of Fame. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2009-06-16.
  7. ^ "Blue Rodeo taking a well-deserved place Canada’s cultural history". Ottawa Citizen, March 28, 2012.
  8. ^ "Canadian Hall of Fame Inductees: Blue Rodeo 2012", Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  9. ^ "Blue Rodeo". Governor General's Performing Arts Awards. Governor General's Performing Arts Awards Foundation. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
  10. ^ Schneider, Jason (1960-12-08). "Former Blue Rodeo Keyboardist James Gray Dies at 52 • News •". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  11. ^ ", Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  12. ^ ", Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  13. ^ "Full Cast and Crew for Postcards from the Edge (1990)". IMDb. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
  14. ^ "Gunless (The Official Motion Picture Soundtrack". Official Community of Blue Rodeo. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  15. ^ [1] Archived May 7, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ [2] Archived November 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ Stanisci, Grace (2012-04-02). "Juno Awards 2012: Notable performances from Dallas Green, Blue Rodeo | Up Beat - Yahoo! Music". Ca.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
Preceded by Grey Cup Halftime Show
2009 		Succeeded by
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