The best game you can name

March 6, 2013 5:59 PM

Canada's legendary Stompin' Tom Connors died today at 77.
posted by mightygodking (119 comments total)

What noooo
posted by Sternmeyer at 6:00 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

The first album I ever bought with my own money was one of his.

:(
posted by mazola at 6:02 PM on March 6

Such a huge loss.
posted by chococat at 6:02 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Who can forget this song?
posted by KokuRyu at 6:05 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

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posted by hydrobatidae at 6:05 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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damn
posted by isopraxis at 6:06 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

It's a chit chat party in heaven.

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posted by parki at 6:08 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Nooooo
posted by destro at 6:10 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

His family released a message that he asked to be sent out after his death:

"Hello friends, I want all my fans, past, present, or future, to know that without you, there would have not been any Stompin' Tom."

"It was a long hard bumpy road, but this great country kept me inspired with it's beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world."

"I must now pass the torch, to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, and be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future."

"I humbly thank you all, one last time, for allowing me in your homes, I hope I continue to bring a little bit of cheer into your lives from the work I have done."

Sincerely,

Your Friend always,

Stompin' Tom Connors

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posted by dry white toast at 6:11 PM on March 6 [33 favorites]

When I'm done my show, you can do yours eh?
posted by sarastro at 6:12 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

I was listening to the CBC just now, happily belting out "The Good Old Hockey Game," when the song ended and the afternoon show host announced Stompin' Tom had died. I actually said Sternmeyer's exact words as soon as it sank in.

And yeah KokuRyu! That's my second favourite of his after TGOHG. "The girls are out to bingo and the boys are gettin' stinko..." Awesome.

I love Stompin' Tom. It's a sad day for Canadian music. Shit, I think I'm going to cry now.

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posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 6:12 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

Another letter from another time...

Gentlemen:

I am returning herewith the six Juno awards that I once felt honoured to have received and which, I am no longer proud to have in my possession. As far as I am concerned you can give them to the border jumpers who didn't receive an award this year and maybe you can have them presented by Charley Pride. I feel that the Junos should be for people who are living in Canada, whose main base of business operations is in Canada, who are working toward the recognition of Canadian talent in this country and who are trying to further the export of such talent from this country to the world with a view to proudly showing off what this country can contribute to the world market. Until the academy appears to comply more closely with aspirations of this kind, I will no longer stand for any nominations, nor will I accept any award given.

Yours very truly, Stompin' Tom Connors

That was somethin'.
posted by mazola at 6:13 PM on March 6 [7 favorites]

Across This Land The Horseshoe Tavern, Queen Street, Toronto City, in Canada.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:13 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

He's goin' back to the bright red mud. But his back won't ache any more when he hears that word.
posted by Brodiggitty at 6:16 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]

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posted by Gary at 6:16 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

One of the many nicknames I somehow acquired over the years was 'Stomper,' after Stompin' Tom.

A true Canadian patriot from the old school who celebrated the things about Canada that others dismissed. Rest well, Tom.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 6:17 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

I just heard this on the radio and had my own "Noooo!" moment. He had a long run, but couldn't he have had another healthy decade or two?

I first knew him from The Consumer, aka the Marketplace theme. Here's a fragment of the old credits with a handsome young Stompin' and a recent tribute scored to the same song, which was probably the last decent thing played on the show for many years. (The last link is on the CBC site, so I'm not sure if it will play everywhere.)
posted by maudlin at 6:19 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

Damn. Here's to you then, Tom.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 6:20 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

My very first concert was with Stompin' Tom.

I picked up a t-shirt. I'd wanted the one from the previous tour, which read "I STOMPED ALONG WITH STOMPIN' TOM", but now it was "MORE OF THE STOMPIN' TOM PHENOMENON". I stood in line, and the great man himself signed it, telling me "Of all the people I've met, you're certainly one of them."

I'd dragged my girlfriend to the show, and she acted like she hated it, but she secretly loved it. She later tried to steal my signed Stompin' Tom shirt from me. She didn't succeed. In fact, every girlfriend I've ever had since then has tried to steal my signed Stompin' Tom shirt from me, but they've all failed. That will never happen.

What I'm trying to say is, in my own clumsy way, is thank you, Stompin' Tom, and of all the people I've met, you're certainly one of them.

Godspeed.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:20 PM on March 6 [15 favorites]

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posted by obscure simpsons reference at 6:21 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

(If I may add a plug for the great man's work, aside from all of his classics, his Christmas album is a sheer joy. If you don't have it, get it.)
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:22 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

From a 1988 profile in the Globe and Mail:

He ran away at age 13, took a job on the docks in Saint John and later worked on coal boats. He bought his first guitar for $19 while thumbing from town to town. He sometimes spent a night in jail as a vagrant; other times he would work in construction, pick tobacco or dig graves.

When he found himself a nickel short of the price of a glass of beer at the Maple Leaf Hotel in Timmins, Ont., Mr. Connors took to the stage to make up the price.

...

He soon learned that he could pack any hall if he sang about the town in which he was performing. Thus was born Sudbury Saturday Night, about a night's carousing, and Tillsonburg, about the misery of migrant workers in the tobacco fields.

A troubador in the truest sense of the word...
posted by dry white toast at 6:22 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]

I knew a guy in university who went home for the weekend and left his stereo on in his room. He had it set to play The Good Old Hockey Game on repeat. I still can't believe there wasn't some kind of electrical failure, but play all weekend it did.

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posted by Go Banana at 6:24 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

His voice has the same twang as a dear friend of mine, who I rarely have a chance to speak with, who also hails from Miramichi.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:26 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

He soon learned that he could pack any hall if he sang about the town in which he was performing. Thus was born Sudbury Saturday Night, about a night's carousing, and Tillsonburg, about the misery of migrant workers in the tobacco fields.

I was born in Tillsonburg because there wasn't a hospital in the town my parents lived in. Never been back, but I do have relatives who are tobacco farmers and Tom always reminds me of that.
posted by juiceCake at 6:27 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

I'm afraid I never had any appreciation of Stompin' Tom Connors myself, though a number of members of my family love him, but I do have a pretty good story about him.

Stompin' Tom wrote a song about a distant cousin of mine, Joe. I think the exact relationship is that Joe is my paternal grandmother's cousin. Joe is what you might call a colourful character, what my father calls the black sheep of his branch of the family, and what my mother calls a "dirty old man", partly because he once made the mistake of commenting she had the best pair of legs he'd ever seen on a woman. He lives outside Ottawa on a horse farm that makes so little money some Revenue Canada employees paid him a visit to ask him how he could possibly be living on the income he had claimed on his tax returns. Joe went over to the window, carrying the tin can he spits tobacco in with him, and after a particularly fruitful spit pointed out the window and said, "See that horse out there? I figure her meat will last me all winter." I seem to recall he's also known for having had some sort of drunken blackout (one of many) that ended when he woke up in the Yukon with no idea of how he'd gotten there.

On an excursion into Ottawa Joe met up with Stompin' Tom, they bonded, and they went bar hopping together. Stompin' Tom wrote a song about the experience but I don't know which one it is. I think he referred to Joe as "Whiskey Joe" in it. If anyone can identify it let me know.
posted by orange swan at 6:28 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]

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posted by sloe at 6:28 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

A true Canadian patriot from the old school who celebrated the things about Canada that others dismissed.

I can't imagine it said better than this.

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posted by ~ at 6:34 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

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posted by Flashman at 6:35 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

♪
posted by nickyskye at 6:36 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

Stompin' Tom's autobiography is a thing of wonder, one of the best books I've read in years.

A friend of mine used to supply him with beer. He was a prodigious drinker, but not a bad drunk.

although many people regard him as a joke, he was INCREDIBLY SERIOUS about the music. His songs are impossible to cover. That's a compliment.

It's hard to imagine anyone more Canadian.
posted by unSane at 6:38 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

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posted by spinifex23 at 6:40 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

I'm trying to find a unicode maple leaf but can't figure it out.

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posted by waitingtoderail at 6:42 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Note to Canadian breweries - a special Stompin' Tom memorial ale (in a stubby, of course) might hit the spot.

RIP
posted by davebush at 6:47 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]

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And let's have a tip of the hat to kd lang, who brought him out of retirement, and for whom he wrote a great song.
posted by jokeefe at 6:49 PM on March 6 [9 favorites]

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'The Good Old Hockey Game' is to hockey what "Take me out to the ballgame" is to baseball.
posted by Adam_S at 6:49 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]

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posted by Kevin Street at 6:54 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Here's Tom hoisting the Cup.


And now I'm getting stinko.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 6:54 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]

My heart still aches when I heard the word.
posted by anothermug at 6:56 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Another classic from deep in the CBC archives, Stompin' Tom Connors in 1970 on how he got his start as a performer with thirty-five cents to his name, riding the rails, why radio stations in Idaho wouldn't play "Bud the Spud", and getting jumped in Kapuskasing.


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posted by mannequito at 6:57 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

Damn.

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posted by figurant at 7:02 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

One of the greatest songwriters in the country tradition, of any nationality. High on the ceiling of the Pembroke Club, there's twenty-nine boot marks, and they're signed "With love."
posted by texorama at 7:18 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

orange swan: Stompin' Tom wrote a song about a distant cousin of mine, Joe. [...] Stompin' Tom wrote a song about the experience but I don't know which one it is.

Maybe Big Joe Mufferaw ("the best man in Ottawa")? Here are the lyrics.
posted by mhum at 7:20 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

At a not so great moment in his career Stompin' Tom played the rink in my tiny northern Saskatchewan town, an eight year old me was lucky enough to be there and a love was formed, what a great, great man.

Tears now, not sure who has got the cargo.
posted by Cosine at 7:24 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

Godspeed Stompin' Tom. I'll never turn the maple leaf upside down.

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posted by Grumpy old geek at 7:30 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

I can't legitimately claim to have been a fan of Stompin' Tom -- I don't own an album, I haven't seen one of his shows (I've seen him play live, but it was just part of a bigger show) -- but I have the same awareness and appreciation that any Canadian has, and damn, this bums me out. The man was a genuine talent and a force of good and he might have loved our country more than anyone else in it. His songs might have been humourous, but they were not jokes --his deep respect and sincerity were always obvious.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:32 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

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posted by Mitheral at 7:35 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

*sends wife out to bingo*
*gets stinko*
posted by jonmc at 7:36 PM on March 6 [9 favorites]

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posted by The Card Cheat at 7:40 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Just saw this news on my facebook feed and had the same 'What? Nooooo' moment as everyone else. I'm really sad about this.

Thanks for everything Tom.

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posted by aclevername at 7:42 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by peppermind at 7:44 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by Sys Rq at 7:46 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Nickname

Connors' habit of stomping the heel of his left boot to keep rhythm earned him the nickname "that stompin' guy", or "Stomper". It wasn't until Canada's 100th birthday, July 1, 1967, that the name Stompin' Tom Connors was first used, when Boyd MacDonald, a waiter at the King George Tavern in Peterborough, Ontario introduced Tom on stage.[3] Based on an enthused audience reaction to it, Tom had it officially registered in Ontario as Stompin' Tom Ltd. the following week. Various stories have circulated about the origin of the foot stomping, but it's generally accepted that he did this to keep a strong tempo for his guitar playing — especially in the noisy bars and beer joints where he frequently performed. After numerous complaints about damaged stage floors, Tom began to carry a piece of plywood that he stomped even more vigorously than before. The "stompin' " board has since become one of his trademarks. After stomping a hole in the wood, he would pick it up and show it to the audience (accompanied by a joke about the quality of the local lumber) before calling for a new one. It was reported that when asked about his "stompin' board", Tom replied, "it's just a stage I'm going through".

Heh.
posted by mazola at 7:46 PM on March 6 [15 favorites]

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posted by fimbulvetr at 7:46 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by bumpkin at 7:50 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by LN at 8:16 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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Norm Macdonald paid tribute to him wonderfully on twitter.
posted by Dismantled King at 8:22 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

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Man when I was kid in Bramalea one day we played nicky nicky nine doors on Stompin Tom's Townhouse... Ok it was my brothers but I ran away with them it was so exciting!

A huge Icon...
posted by mrgroweler at 8:23 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

I've Been Everywhere
posted by KokuRyu at 8:24 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

🍁.

oh damn ... I've work to do, but at least one glass of whisky is gonna be drunk in Tom's name at my house tonight. Ok, maybe two.

I remember there being an awesome section in Dave Bidini's book "On a Cold Road" that described Bidini and friends as young musicians in the late 80s tracking down Connors ten years after he'd returned his Junos and quit public life. All I recall is reading that passage made me really /get/ Stompin' Tom rather than see him as just a hokey old country singer with some goofy songs about hockey, potatoes and Sudbury. Wish i could find the damn book now .... especially now that i've moved on to whisky number three.
posted by khregs at 8:29 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]

Ah fek it, I'm favoriting everyone in this thread because if you're here reading this, you must be good people.
posted by mazola at 8:35 PM on March 6 [10 favorites]

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posted by Sing Fool Sing at 8:41 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Fellow Canuck Kate Beaton's (Hark! A Vagrant) strip on Ol' Tom: http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=60
posted by reiichiroh at 8:49 PM on March 6 [7 favorites]

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posted by thirtyeightdown at 9:01 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

The Stompin' Tom Connors Hour from CBC's Inside the Music.
posted by khregs at 9:02 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:05 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Off topic (sorry), but I just browsed Norm Macdonald's tweets and I'm stunned (and delighted) to learn he's a big golf fan. I had no idea.
posted by davebush at 9:06 PM on March 6

Aw shit.

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posted by benzenedream at 9:10 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Here's a bit of a summary of what I wrote about above ... Bidini, a couple years back in the Nat. Post
posted by khregs at 9:23 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

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I remember our neighbours inviting us over in the mid 80's to hear a CD player for the first time and using Stompin' Tom as their inaugural disc.
posted by furtive at 9:26 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Oh man, that Norm MacDonald twitter tribute was wonderful.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 9:28 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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to think of how many artists have come and gone in his time but he stayed true to the calling. we won't see another one like him.
posted by ecourbanist at 9:40 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

Canada's Dylan. And I mean that.
posted by mazola at 9:42 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

When we were very young my friends and I, immaturely sensing our way to what we would later know as irony, used to make fun of people like Stompin' Tom. We thought he was hokey, kind of embarrassing, and all too Canadian which I think is a fairly common response when exposed continuously to the cultural behemoth the lies across the border.

Over time however, I have have developed a lot of respect for him, mainly because he stayed so damned true to who he was. And there were some pretty fine songs too. There's a singular thing to his enterprise; as someone up thread said, you can't cover the music he made.

So, Stompin' Tom Connors, you who made truly great songs like Sudbury Saturday Night resonate so well as I got older, I bid you a fond adieu.

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posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 10:00 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]

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posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 10:03 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by peagood at 10:21 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by Lukenlogs at 10:28 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

I believe my birthright, and the summer I spent working on an Inco mine site, allows me to declare you all honorary Sudburians through this coming Saturday night. Bingo and stinko-ness for all!

Sail on to glory, good sir.

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posted by bethnull at 10:39 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

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Goodbye Tom. I am Canadian and I am proud of you.
Thanks for everything.
posted by dougzilla at 10:42 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by sfred at 10:51 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

I went to a hockey game tonight and they paid tribute to him before the game. And as always, we sang TGOHG.

I'm not Canadian, but he was one of the things that signified Canada for me. Godspeed.

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posted by arcticseal at 11:01 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

What happens after and hour and a half of Tom stompin'
posted by thecjm at 11:04 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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posted by chapps at 11:04 PM on March 6 [1 favorite]

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As a chid of immigrants, Stompin' Tom Connor was always one of those Canadian cultural shibboleths that I felt I urgently needed to understand, in the hopes that my Canadian-ness would no longer be questioned.
posted by LMGM at 11:28 PM on March 6 [2 favorites]

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posted by joeycoleman at 12:07 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

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posted by Lina Lamont at 12:26 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

The CBC once had a contest; there's the saying "as American as apple pie", but what is our equivalent? The winner was "As Canadian as... possible under the circumstances." And usually that's pretty appropriate, but Stompin' Tom was more Canadian than possible under all circumstances. Too Canadian for the Canadian music industry, but with nothing but pride in our country - not a hint of jingoism.

Stompin' Tom's music is more than a contribution to the arts of Canada, his music was a contribution to the geography of Canada.

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posted by Homeboy Trouble at 12:29 AM on March 7 [6 favorites]

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posted by Jughead at 2:51 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

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At least he won't have to worry about a Sasquatch stealing his wristwatch while playing hopscotch up a tree.

(Disclaimer: not Canadian but married a Canadian and Stompin' Tom was pretty neat.)
posted by Kitteh at 4:27 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Aw, damn. What are we gonna do with all that extra plywood now?
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 5:20 AM on March 7 [4 favorites]

So sad. Gonna miss Old Tom. But I bet you'll hear it at every NHL game for the next couple of weeks out of respect for the guy. RIP STC!
posted by tenniselbowtips at 6:12 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Aw, damn. What are we gonna do with all that extra plywood now?

If I recall my Stompin' Tom banter correctly:

'I saw the neighbour's house burnin' down. I says "HEY NEWF! YOUR HOUSE IS BURNIN' DOWN!" He says "THAT'S ALLRIGHT, I GOT ME ENOUGH LUMBER IN THE ATTIC TO BUILD ME ANOTHER!"'
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:31 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]

I bet you'll hear it at every NHL game for the next couple of weeks out of respect for the guy

Don't they play it at every hockey game anyway? At least every one I've been to in Canada.
posted by hydrobatidae at 6:49 AM on March 7 [2 favorites]

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"He now has an astounding 61 recorded albums, 10 of which have yet to be released to the public."

WOW.
posted by Kabanos at 9:11 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

RIP Tom. So good, I double posted about ya.

In Skinner's Pond, Prince Edward Island, a video tour of the now defunct Stompin' Tom Museum covers much of his younger life and his impact on Canadians across many generations.
posted by Rodrigo Lamaitre at 9:12 AM on March 7 [2 favorites]

I'm an American but a HUGE HUGE HUGE Stompin' Tom fan. A friend from Vancouver was playing "Bud the Spud" at my house in the 90s and I loved the song so he made me a 90 minute Stompin' Tom mix tape with all his hits. I wore that tape out and to this day tell people all about Stompin' Tom. He's how I learned all the provincial capitals and the little I know about Canadian history.

I work near Camden Yards and whenever the Blue Jays play the Orioles I always welcome the visiting Blue Jays fans by asking if they are fans of STC.

I'm actually surprised at how much this is affecting me. It's not seemly to cry at work.

Rest in Peace, buddy. You've brought me so much happiness.
posted by josher71 at 9:39 AM on March 7 [6 favorites]

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posted by dbscissors at 9:47 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

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posted by GuyZero at 10:17 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

He was sort of looked at with as much amusement as respect for years and years, but now in retrospect, I honestly think he's the most iconic Canadian ever.
posted by davebush at 10:33 AM on March 7 [2 favorites]

I don't know what it's like in other parts of Canada, but here in British Columbia the rest of Canada seems somewhat remote - not real, and somewhat foreign. Stompin' Tom did his best to bring this strange, unlikely nation together by singing songs about it.
posted by KokuRyu at 11:53 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

And who could forget the classic Hockey Song by Jughead (where are they now?)
posted by KokuRyu at 11:55 AM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Well, I think this might be the cutest version of Bud the Spud ever recorded.

CBC's Q had an excellent tribute to Stompin' Tom this morning. It's available here, streaming or podcast. There are interviews with Dave Bidini, Charlie Angus, and Brian Edwards, as well as Jian Ghomeshi's last interview with Stompin' Tom himself.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:57 AM on March 7 [2 favorites]

His songs are impossible to cover.

You be the judge: NDP caucus sings Bud the Spud.

On preview: yup, you're right.
posted by mazola at 12:09 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Q had a good hour on him this morning.
posted by transient at 12:43 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Has nobody mentioned his infamous jingle for PEI tourism yet? Just hearing eight-double zero in his inimitable way makes me recall the whole damned song instantly, and as a URL it redirects to PEI's official tourism page.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 12:50 PM on March 7 [2 favorites]

KokuRyu - I used to work with Jughead's harmonica player. In fact, he hired me. Really nice guy.
posted by davebush at 2:09 PM on March 7 [2 favorites]

The NDP caucus was kind of pushing Bud the Spud into Boy Named Sue territory, but it was still nice to see the reunion of L'Etranger. And it was earnest and sweet as hell, so I liked it for what it was anyway.
posted by maudlin at 4:28 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]

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posted by kneecapped at 8:31 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]

*snif*

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posted by rhombus at 10:19 PM on March 7 [1 favorite]

Cool little tidbit from today's NHL Grab Bag on Grantland - someone out there did some detective work to figure out the exact hockey game described in Stompin Tom's song. (scroll down a bit to the section "Obscure Former Player Of The Week").
posted by mannequito at 8:13 PM on March 8 [2 favorites]

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posted by empatterson at 8:19 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]

His songs are impossible to cover.

The Hanson Brothers (a.k.a. NoMeansNo) beg to differ.
posted by jeffen at 9:55 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]

Stompin' Tom was more punk than NoMeansNo ever were (and I say that as someone who has WRONG on vinyl from back in the day).
posted by unSane at 10:03 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]

Whether that's the case or not, as I was listening to Stompin' Tom today, I couldn't help notice how he had that punk snarl on certain songs and that more punk bands need to cover him.
posted by jeffen at 10:06 PM on March 8 [2 favorites]

True dat. I was at a hockey game tonight (OHL) which was wall-to-wall Stompin' Tom and sat next to my bro-in-law, whose friend ALSO used to deliver beer to the old boy (I guess he worked with my friend) and he was pointing out that ST never made a cent out of music until he was 45 or so. He saw him in, I guess, the early to mid 80s and said he already seemed old then.

He lived it, that's for sure.
posted by unSane at 10:11 PM on March 8 [2 favorites]

When I said they're impossible to cover, though, I meant it. I've tried, and you can't even get close to the sincerity and humour. Not a trace of irony in it, but still wry.
posted by unSane at 10:13 PM on March 8 [2 favorites]

He did get weathered looking pretty early on but if this concert is any indication he stayed pretty fiery till the end.
posted by jeffen at 10:15 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]

"Not a trace of irony in it, but still wry"

Agreed.

Still wanna hear some Ramones-y pop-punk band do "Goodye Rubberhead".
posted by jeffen at 10:17 PM on March 8 [1 favorite]

So I've done my fact checking about the song about my distant cousin, Joe, and it turns out that it was Sudbury and not Ottawa in which Stompin' Tom and Joe met up (and Joe's farm is not near Ottawa but about two hours' drive north of Toronto). They spent three days on a drunk together. And Joe is the Gypsy Joe referred to in "Sudbury Saturday Night".

With Irish Jim O'Connel there and Scotty Jack MacDonald,
There's honky Fredrick Hurchell gettin' tight, but that's alright,
There's happy German Fritzy there with Frenchy getting tipsy,
And even Joe the Gypsy knows it's Saturday tonight.
posted by orange swan at 8:15 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]