Discover

'Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors OC' (born February 9, 1936) is one of Canada's most prolific and well-known folk singers.

Contents

Early life

Musical career

Nickname

Notable achievements

Trivia

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Footnotes

External links

Early life

He was born Charles Thomas Connors (known as Tommy Messer) in Saint John, New Brunswick to the teenaged Isabel Connors and her boyfriend Thomas Sullivan. Tom spent a short time living with his mother in a low-security women's penitentiary before he was seized by Children's Aid Society and later adopted by the ''Aylward'' family in Skinners Pond, Prince Edward Island.
At the age of 15 he left his adoptive family, to hitchhike across Canada, a journey that consumed the next 13 years of his life as he traveled between various part-time jobs while writing songs for his guitar. In his last stop in Timmins, Ontario, he worked in one of the local gold mines and was offered a year-long contract to sing on stage at the ''Maple Leaf Hotel'', which earned him the attention of the local CKGB radio station.

Musical career

During the mid-1970s, Connors wrote and recorded "The Consumer", an ode to bill-paying that became the theme song for the popular CBC consumer affairs program, ''Marketplace''. For the first few seasons, Connors appeared in the opening credits of the program, before "The Consumer" was replaced as the theme initially by an instrumental background version, and ultimately by another piece of music entirely.
Typically writing about Canadian lore and history, some of Connors' better-known songs have included "Bud the Spud", "Big Joe Mufferaw", "The Black Donnellys", "Reesor Crossing Tragedy", "Sudbury Saturday Night" and "The Hockey Song" (aka "The Good Old Hockey Game"); the last is frequently played over sound systems at NHL hockey games.

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.^[1] 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". Stompin' Tom periodically auctions off his stompin' boards for charity.

Notable achievements

He received an honorary Doctorate of Law from St. Thomas University in 1993, which was the inspiration for his album titled ''Dr. Stompin' Tom Connors, eh?'', released the same year. In 1996 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and four years later was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Toronto.
As the 1970s progressed, he retired to his farm in Norval, Ontario to protest the lack of support given to Canadian stories by the policies of the Federal government, particularly the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). He also boycotted the Juno Awards (Canada's Grammy Award) in protest of the qualification guidelines set by CARAS for possible nominees who were being consistently nominated and awarded outside of their musical genre. He strongly opposed artists who conducted most of their business in the United States being nominated for Juno's in Canada. Connors, who referred to these particular artists as "turncoat Canadians", felt that in view of the fact that they had chosen to live and work in the U.S., it was only fair that they competed with Americans for Grammy Awards, and left the Juno competition to those who are lived and conducted business in Canada.
His protest caught national attention when he sent back his six Junos accompanied by a letter to the board of Directors.
"Gentlemen:I am returning herewith the six Juno awards that I once felt honored 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 Juno's 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
He remained in retirement for 12 years before persistent love from young roots revivalists drew him back into the studio and on to the stage. To this day, Stompin' Tom never fails to sell every available ticket for a performance, and remains one of Canada's more prolific recording artists. His songs often pay tribute to Canadian newsmakers or personalities, and can be topical, referring to news events of the day.
An autobiography detailing his childhood years in a female prison, in an orphanage, and as an indentured farm labourer became a bestseller in 1997. It details his life "Before the Fame", and in 2000 he did his second autobiography "The Connors Tone". Recent years have seen the re-release of 25 of his record albums.
Connors' music is rarely heard outside Canada, with the possible exception of his anthemic "The Hockey Song" which has been recorded by many artists. It has been suggested that Connors refuses to allow foreign release of his material, although a more likely reason is that the very Canadian-specific subject matter of many of his folk songs has resulted in limited demand in foreign markets. When ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' taped a week's worth of shows in Canada in 2004, Connors was one of the guests of honor, leading the Toronto audience in a rendition of "The Hockey Song"; this was one of the only times Connors had ever performed on American television.
He planted a ceremonial tree sapling at Laurier Hall.
In The Greatest Canadian list, he ranked #13, the highest placing for any artist on the list.
He currently lives in Ballinafad, Ontario.

Trivia

★ Tom's favourite guitar was a 'Gibson ''Southern Jumbo''' acoustic that he purchased in 1956 while on his way through Ohio to Nashville, TN and Mexico. He discovered it in a furniture store, hidden in a case on the top of some shelf, and after some haggling, purchased it for $80 (all he had was $90 on him). The guitar was used to audition in 1964 at the Maple Leaf Hotel in Timmins, as well as for writing ''Bud the Spud'' four years later. Although retired in 1972, it remains in his possession.^[1]

★ The fastest song that Tom ever wrote was ''Maritime Waltz''; time, 12 minutes.^[1]

★ Primus dedicated a cover of Rush's "YYZ" to him at the Hummingbird Centre on the Frizzle Fry Tour in 2004.

Discography

Tom has released music on no fewer than seven different labels. His earliest foray into recording was on the CKGB Timmins radio station label. These 45 RPM singles were pressed by Quality Records in Toronto, and distributed (and paid for) primarily by Tom. His first two albums (and two subsequent 45 RPM singles) were released on the Rebel Records bluegrass label, under the name "Tom Connors".
Most of Tom's well-known albums were released on Dominion Records, and on the Boot Records label that he co-founded with Jury Krytiuk and Mark Altman. His releases on Dominion (and all subsequent releases) were done under the name "Stompin' Tom Connors". Most of the Rebel and Dominion albums would be reissued (and in some cases, re-recorded) under the Boot label, and would represent the bulk of his recorded material. It was released on 33 1/3 RPM record albums, 45 RPM record singles, 8-tracks, and cassette tapes.
After his retreat from the music business in the late 70's, he started the ACT (Assisting Canadian Talent) label in 1986, and released two albums.
All of his subsequent releases (and rereleases) have been through Capital / EMI. Most of this work is now available on compact disc. In recent years, many of his album releases have included at least one re-recording of one of his earlier songs.

Albums

A partial list of his recorded works includes:

★ 1967 ''The Northlands' Own Tom Connors''

★ 1969 ''On Tragedy Trail''

★ 1970 ''Bud the Spud and Other Favourites''

★ 1970 ''Stompin' Tom Meets Big Joe Mufferaw''

★ 1970 ''Merry Christmas Everybody''

★ 1971 ''Live at the Horseshoe''

★ 1972 ''My Stompin' Grounds''

★ 1972 ''Love & Laughter''

★ 1973 ''Stompin' Tom and the Hockey Song''

★ 1973 ''To It and at It''

★ 1974 ''Across This Land with Stompin' Tom Connors [live]''

★ 1974 ''Stompin' Tom Meets Muk Tuk Annie''

★ 1975 ''The North Atlantic Squadron''

★ 1975 ''The Unpopular Stompin' Tom Connors''

★ 1976 ''Stompin' Tom at the Gumboot Cloggeroo''

★ 1985 ''Stompin' Tom Is Back to Assist Canadian Talent''

★ 1994 ''Fiddle and Song''

★ 1995 ''Stompin' Tom and the Moon Man Newfie''

★ 1995 ''Northlands Zone''

★ 1995 ''The Unpopular Stompin' Tom Connors''

★ 1996 ''More of the Stompin' Tom Phenomenon''

★ 1996 ''Once Upon a Stompin' Tom''

★ 1997 ''Believe in Your Country''

★ 1997 ''Long Gone to the Yukon''

★ 1997 ''The Confederation Bridge''

★ 2002 ''An Ode For The Road''

★ 2004 ''Stompin' Tom & The Hockey Mom Tribute''

Compilations

★ 1971 ''The Best of Stompin' Tom Connors''

★ 1972 ''Stompin' Tom Connors Sings 60 Old Time...''

★ 1973 ''Northlands Zone''

★ 1976 ''Stompin' Tom Sings 60 More Old Time Favorites''

★ 1978 ''Pistol Packin' Mama''

★ 1978 ''Bringing Them Back''

★ 1990 ''A Proud Canadian''

★ 1993 ''Dr. Stompin' Tom, Eh?''

★ 1993 ''K.I.C. Along with Stompin' Tom''

★ 1998 ''25 of the Best Stompin' Tom Souvenirs''

★ 2001 ''And the Moon Man/Unpopular''

★ 2001 ''Sings Canadian History''

★ 2006 ''Live Concert (DVD)''

Footnotes

1. Stompin' Tom - Before the Fame, , Stompin' Tom, Connors, Viking Penguin, 1995, ISBN 0-670-86487-0
2. Stompin' Tom - Before the Fame, , Stompin' Tom, Connors, Viking Penguin, 1995, ISBN 0-670-86487-0
3. Stompin' Tom - Before the Fame, , Stompin' Tom, Connors, Viking Penguin, 1995, ISBN 0-670-86487-0

External links

★ Official Website

★ Giant mural design of Stompin' Tom Connors promoting his "A Proud Canadian" CD Release, 1990