Tragically Hip to become latest members of Canadian Music Hall of Fame
WINNIPEG (CP) – Tragically Hip guitarist Robby Baker was suitably honoured and humbled by Tuesday’s announcement that the renowned rockers will be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
But he was also a little nervous about what the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences might be trying to tell the group of Kingston, Ont., natives after more than 20 years in the business.
“Do we get a watch or something?” Baker asked at a news conference in Winnipeg to name the latest inductees.
“If you’re putting us out to pasture, it’s not going to work. Our best work is right now and what’s lying ahead of us, so we’re not retiring.
“But thank you, it’s a real honour.”
The Hip will be inducted into the hall of fame at a gala Juno Awards dinner April 2 and during the televised awards broadcast April 3 in Winnipeg.
Academy president Melanie Berry said the band is being recognized for redefining music in Canada.
“They have created a genre that stands alone and transcends musical stereotypes,” said Berry.
Baker, frontman Gordon Downie, drummer Johnny Fay, guitarist Paul Langlois and bassist Gord Sinclair have earned widespread critical acclaim throughout their career.
Their lyrics are known for their patriotic roots, from their hit song named after the small Ontario village of Bobcaygeon to hockey references peppered throughout their 10 albums.
They also lent their support to the Canadian Football League’s championship Grey Cup game Sunday with an energetic half-time performance outdoors in Ottawa.
They have sold over six million albums in Canada and are currently touring the country to promote their latest release, In Between Evolution. Tuesday’s announcement corresponded with a tour stop in Winnipeg.
When Langlois learned the band was being inducted into the hall of fame, his first reaction was surprise, followed by modest hope they were not leapfrogging ahead of other worthy musicians.
“We don’t necessarily feel old enough to receive this kind of award,” said Langlois.
He credited the band’s highly regarded live performances as the key to its longevity, noting the group has also successfully developed its own sound that is ever-evolving.
“We’ve just done our own thing and let people decide and let them figure out how to describe us.”
The Hip has largely steered clear of “industry functions” such as the Junos in the past.
But Langlois said the band is pleased with the academy’s transformation in recent years that has seen the awards show travel the country, focus on live performances and become more accessible to fans.
He shares Baker’s insistence that the group is not looking at their hall of fame induction as a winding down of their career.
“We do feel at the top of our game,” said Langlois. “The main thing on our minds right now is presenting this new record on tour, but then the next thing after that is the (next) new record and writing new songs.”
The Hip will join more than 30 other hall of famers, a group that includes Glenn Gould, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray, the Guess Who, Oscar Peterson, Rush and Neil Young and the Band.
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