Gord Downie, the co-founder, lead singer and co-songwriter for the immensely popular Canadian rock band, The Tragically Hip, passed away following his battle with cancer. He was 53. Downie was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable form of brain cancer, after having a seizure in 2015. Born and raised in Ontario, Canada, Downie met his future band mates while still in high school. The Tragically Hip formed in 1983 as a cover band, and when the president of MCA Records saw them play at a Toronto bar, he offered them a record deal. While their debut album, 1989’s Up To Here, peaked at #9 on the Canadian album charts, their next six albums, and three later studio albums, all hit #1. The band also enjoyed moderate success in the US where Modern Rock radio helped build them a cult following. Downie released six studio albums as well, including Introduce Yourself, which me out 10 days after he passed away. It also reached #1 in Canada.
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Tom Petty, the iconic American singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer passed away peacefully following a massive heart attack he had suffered earlier in the day. He was 66. Born in Gainesville, Florida, Petty, like many kids his age, had his first rock and roll moment after witnessing Elvis Presley. But unlike other future rock stars, it wasn’t The King’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show that changed his life forever – it was a more personal encounter. Turns out Petty’s uncle was working on the Presley film, Follow That Dream that was filming nearby, and he invited the 10-year-old down to the shoot. Petty was able to watch Presley up close and in person doing what he did best, albeit in an entirely different arena. He soon traded his slingshot to a buddy for some Elvis 45s, and he was on his way. Petty’s first band of note – that would reform for kicks in 2007 – was Mudcrutch, which he put together in 1970. Six years later, they morphed into Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. During the next several years, they released a series of hit singles and albums that appealed equally to the fans of the current “heartland rock” movement led by Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen, and the punk and new wave movements which were grabbing hold on the east and west coasts, as well as in the UK. Over the next four decades, Petty, both with the Heartbreakers and solo, sold upwards of 80 million albums, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time. Throughout his career, Petty collaborated with many of the biggest names in music, perhaps most famously, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and George Harrison as the Traveling Wilburys. This “supergroup” recorded two well-received albums together, 1988’s Vol. 1 and 1990’s Vol. 3. Others of note with whom Petty had memorable collaborations with were Stevie Nicks, Johnny Cash, Dwight Twilley, and Del Shannon, whose career he revived in 1982 with the album, Drop Down and Get Me. In 2002, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while November, 2015 saw the much-lauded release of the best-seller, Petty: The Biography, by Warren Zanes. Around that time he partnered with SiriusXM on Tom Petty Radio, a channel devoted entirely to his music and the music he loved. By all accounts, he was very hands-on with it, making sure the content would be loved by his fans. On Monday, September 25th, 2017, the band played their last of three spirited shows at the Hollywood Bowl in their adopted hometown of Los Angeles, to cap off the hugely successful 40th Anniversary Tour – their longest in 15 years. One week later, Top Petty was gone.
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Mark Otis Selby, who made a big mark on music with a string of hits he co-wrote with Kenny Wayne Shepherd and with his own wife, Tia Sillers, passed away at home on Monday, September 18, 2017 from cancer. The Nashville-based recording artist, songwriter, session guitar player and producer released albums on Vanguard Records and his songs have been recorded by a wide array of artists. With Shepherd, his co-writes include “Deja Voodoo,” “Slow Ride,” “Last Goodbye,” and “Blue on Black,” which was #1 for 17 weeks and Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Song of the Year. He also wrote the Dixie Chicks’ first Number One single “There’s Your Trouble” and had his songs recorded by many other artists including Wynonna, Little Big Town, Trisha Yearwood, Johnny Reid, Jo Dee Messina, Lee Roy Parnell andKeb’ Mo’. A highly-regarded session player, Selby played on recordings by the likes of Kenny RogersandWynonna Judd. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Selby spent his youth harvesting wheat and playing in bands throughout the Midwest before moving to Hays, Kansas to attend Fort Hays University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in music. Selby was inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame in 2016.
A memorial service will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to MusicCares in memory of Mark. grammy.com/musicares/donations
Harry Dean Stanton July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017
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Harry Dean Stanton, the beloved character actor and singer/musician passed away from natural causes at the age of 91. To many, he was that down-on-his-luck bad guy whose face they’d seen in many of his 250+ films but whose name they could never remember. Stanton was also a singer who haunted LA clubs for decades, playing in front of adoring fans of both his music and his films. Born in Irvine, Kentucky, Stanton served in the US Navy during WWII. Upon his return to the states, he eventually settled in Los Angeles where he took up acting. Throughout his career, he earned critical praise for his work in art house and mainstream movies alike. His long resume includes, Paris, Texas, Two-Lane Blacktop, Repo Man, Christine, and The Green Mile. His TV credits are equally impressive, having appeared on Gunsmoke, Two And A Half Men, Big Love and more. As for his career/hobby as a musician, Stanton sang and played the guitar and harmonica in his own band, the Harry Dean Stanton Band (or as it had previously been called, Harry Dean Stanton Stanton & the Repo Men), mostly playing covers LA’s seedier clubs throughout the ’80s and ’90s. But, he could also be found on stage alongside the likes of Bob Dylan, Chaka Khan, Bing Crosby, and Bono. In 2014 Omnivore Records released his debut album – at the age of 88 – Partly Fiction. A soundtrack to the documentary, Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction, it collected his intimate and sometimes heart-breaking covers of American folk classics.
Grant Hart, drummer and co-songwriter for the influential alternative rock band, Husker Du lost his battle with liver cancer. He was 56. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Hart was just 10 years old when his older brother was killed by a drunk driver. Hart took over his brother’s record collection and drum set, and within a few years, he was playing in small local bands. In 1979, while working at legendary St. Paul record store, Cheapo Records, Hart met customer, Bob Mould. They, along with drummer, Greg Norton, formed Husker Du shortly thereafter. The band started out as hardcore punk but eventually crossed over to a a bit more mainstream sound with Hart being credited by some as bringing melody to punk rock. It was a time when the music scene in the Twin Cities was thriving with the likes of Prince, the Replacements, and Soul Asylum, to name a few. In all, Husker Du released six studio albums, two live albums, and a couple of EPs before calling it quits in 1987. Hart went on to release a handful of solo albums and EPs before forming Nova Mob in 1989. After Nova Mob’s run, he returned to making solo records.
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