Bruce Cockburn

Bruce Cockburn (born May 27, 1945, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist best known for music blending folk, rock, pop, and jazz and for lyrics that typically addressed spiritual themes and global issues from a politically charged perspective. Often considered a “songwriter’s songwriter,” Cockburn’s songs have been recorded by more than 20 musicians—including American musicians Judy Collins, k.d. lang, Jimmy Buffett, Chet Atkins, and Jerry Garcia as well as Canadian artists Anne Murray and the Barenaked Ladies.

Early years and career

Cockburn was raised on a farm near Pembroke, west of Ottawa, Ontario, and in Ottawa itself. He began playing clarinet and trumpet before becoming obsessed with an old guitar he found in his grandmother’s attic when he was in his teens. He took lessons with Ottawa music store owner Hank Simms and studied theory and composition independently in high school before busking on the streets of Paris, France. Starting in 1964 Cockburn studied theory, composition, and arranging at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. During this period, he was introduced to the urban folk music revival and jazz, two styles that would influence his work in the mid-1970s; however, he dropped out in 1966 and returned to Ottawa.

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Upon his return he played in a succession of rock bands, including The Esquires, The Children, and The Flying Circus. The latter changed its name to Olivus and had some success as a live band, opening for American musicians Wilson Pickett and Jimi Hendrix, American folk rock band the Lovin’ Spoonful, and British rock band Cream. Cockburn performed solo in coffeehouses and at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1967 and 1969, while serving also as a member of the folk-rock band 3’s a Crowd when it was revived for a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television series in 1968.

Cockburn partnered with Canadian music promoter Bernie Finkelstein in the music-publishing firm Golden Mountain Music and released his debut record album, Bruce Cockburn (1970). The record launched the label and included two songs, “Going to the Country” and “Musical Friends,” that reached the Top 40 on RPM’s adult contemporary chart. Finkelstein also became Cockburn’s manager. With the critical and popular success of his music for the landmark feature film Goin’ Down the Road (1970) and the LPs Bruce Cockburn, High Winds, White Sky (1971), and Sunwheel Dance (1972), Cockburn rose to national prominence. Night Vision, his 1973 album, was certified gold in Canada in 1979.

By the mid-1970s, after dabbling in such diverse spiritual pursuits as Buddhism and black magic, Cockburn converted to Christianity, and the imagery in his songs became more overtly religious. As a result of this shift, music writers bestowed on him the tag of “Christian mystic.”

Mainstream crossover and increasing political focus

During the late 1970s, Cockburn released the eight-song LP Dancing in the Dragon’s Jaws (1979)—which completed a trilogy of acoustic jazz/folk albums with In The Falling Dark (1976) and Further Adventures Of (1978). The reggae-flavoured single “Wondering Where the Lions Are” cracked the Top 40 in Canada and reached No. 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it Cockburn’s biggest American hit to date. His commercial success continued with the release of Humans (1980), which was considered by many to be Cockburn’s finest. The album included “Tokyo,” “Fascist Architecture (I’m Okay),” and the reggae-influenced “Rumours of Glory,” which became some of his most enduring and popular songs.

Cockburn created and produced Inner City Front in 1981. The months leading up to that album’s release included the dissolution of Cockburn’s 10-year marriage, leading him to switch from country to city life, and he adopted a more rugged, urban sound characterized by more politicized lyrics with a greater emphasis on the electric guitar. Cockburn’s political activism and anger with the state of the world became more apparent on The Trouble With Normal (1983), especially on the title track, as well as on “Civilization and its Discontents” and “Planet of the Clowns.”

Cockburn’s words and music took on even greater urgency on Stealing Fire (1984), which followed his first trip to Central America on behalf of the international development group Oxfam International. The album included the single, “Lovers in a Dangerous Time,” which had an evocative mix of politics and romance and became a Top 40 single in Canada. Throughout the remainder of the 1980s, Cockburn produced a string of politically charged albums, including World of Wonders (1986) and Big Circumstance (1988). The double-CD compilation album Waiting for a Miracle: Singles 1970–87 (1987) featured many of Cockburn’s most treasured tracks and was certified platinum in Canada.

Cockburn released several additional albums during the 1990s and 2000s. In the early 1990s he teamed with American Grammy- and Academy Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, and producer T Bone Burnett to produce Nothing but a Burning Light (1991) and Dart to the Heart (1994). In the early 2000s Cockburn unveiled the anthology Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979–2002. The album You’ve Never Seen Everything (2003) revealed a definite jazz influence and retained Cockburn’s politically charged global perspective while also incorporating cameos from such roots music friends as Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer and American singer-songwriter Emmylou Harris. Cockburn’s celebrated artistry as a guitarist was showcased on Speechless (2005), after which he returned to form with such albums as Life Short Call Now (2006) and Slice O’ Life—Solo Live (2009). His later albums included Crowing Ignites (2019).

Cockburn was a dedicated social justice activist with left-leaning politics. He worked with the Unitarian Services Committee, Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, Friends of the Earth, and World Vision Canada. He also spoke out on such issues as Third World debt, Aboriginal rights, human rights abuses, and the environment. His memoir, Rumours of Glory, was published in 2014, accompanied by a box set of the same name that consisted of a live concert DVD filmed in 1988 and a compilation of 117 songs.

Honours

Cockburn had 17 albums certified gold in Canada and three certified platinum and sold more than seven million copies worldwide. He was the winner of 12 Juno Awards from more than 30 nominations; he won in the folksinger and folk artist categories in 1971–73 and 1980–82. Cockburn was named male vocalist of the year in 1981 and 1982, and he received the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award in 2006. His 20th studio album, Breakfast in New Orleans, Dinner in Timbuktu (1999), which included the fan favourite “Last Night of the World,” won the 2000 Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo. Cockburn would repeat in this category in 2012 with his album Small Source of Comfort (2011). He also won the 2018 Juno Award for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year for Bone on Bone (2017).

Canadian environmentalist David Suzuki and Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot inducted Cockburn into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2001. Cockburn’s songs “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” and “Wondering Where the Lions Are” were ranked No. 11 and No. 29, respectively, in a list of the “most essential Canadian songs of all time” compiled by the CBC Radio series 50 Tracks in 2005. Cockburn was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1982, and he was promoted to Officer in 2002. Cockburn received the Outstanding Commitment to the Environment Award from Earth Day Canada in 2010 and was featured on a Canadian postage stamp in 2011.

The original version of this entry was published by The Canadian Encyclopedia .