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I spend a lot of time writing about music and telling you why I think you should know about a particular song or artist, this week I’ve have chosen songs by artists I have recently interviewed so I could give you some of their insight as well. In the case of Chris Whitley, it’s from his daughter.

Poison Girl – Chris Whitley (1991)

Before passing away far too soon at the age of 45, Chris Whitley had a career in music that was fueled by talent mixed with random acts of discovery. Very early in his life and just out of high school he was discovered while busking on the streets of NYC by someone who ran a travel agency, and for some reason this person believed Chris would be huge in Belgium and offered to send him over there. Fast forward a few years and he released a couple of albums and even though he fell short of the grand Belgium aspirations of his travel agent fan, he did make a small dent in the music scene over there but more importantly it was the beginning of a musical path that would bring him back to New York and his next random moment of discovery. Sometime in 1988 Daniel Lanois discovered Chris Whitley playing in a NYC club and immediately took it upon himself to help Chris get a record deal, which he managed to do. His label debut was recorded at Lanois’s New Orleans home and produced by Lanois protégé Malcom Burn who at that point had worked with The Neville Brothers, Bob Dylan and Blue Rodeo. The album “Living with the Law” was thought to be the beginning of breakthrough for Chris Whitley and it helped him score a tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but the stars never aligned and he became a cult artist; one of those musicians who didn’t have mainstream success but had the respect and admiration of the musicians who did. Everyone from Bruce Springsteen and Iggy Pop to John Mayer and Keith Richards have at one time or another mentioned his music and claimed to be fans.

When he passed away of lung cancer in 2005 he left behind a daughter, Trixie, who was 2 years old at the time he recorded that “Living with the Law” album at Daniel Lanois’s home, and she was with her dad through some of that process. Almost 19 years later Daniel Lanois started a new project he calls Black Dub which was completed by one more act of Whitley randomness when he called Trixie, who was an aspiring musician making ends meet as a waitress, and asked her if she would like to sing in his new band. This is what Trixie said about connecting with Daniel again:

“I was living in Dan’s house at that time when my dad was there, so I was about two or three years old… but I hadn’t seen him since then, but when we re-met It did feel like family in a way”-Trixie Whitley

Lukey – Great Big Sea with the Chieftains (1998)

Since the early 60’s The Chieftains have found huge success popularizing the traditional music of their Irish homeland and while on that journey have worked with a diverse range of artists like Mick Jagger, Elvis Costello, Madonna and Ziggy Marley. In 1998 they were part of an album called “Fire in the Kitchen” that paired them with Canadian artists and along with Great Big Sea gave their take on the traditional Newfoundland and Labrador song Lukey’s Boat. Bob Hallett of GBS said this about the making of the video in Ireland:

“A ton of money had been spent, and there was this big script, we’re going to do this and talk about that, go to this place… and the Chieftains are like no, we’re just going to sit here in this pub and drink a pint, and you guys can film that… and we’re like, alright, this is going to be okay”-Bob Hallett

Try – Blue Rodeo (1987)

Blue Rodeo, after more than 20 years, can still sell out arenas coast to coast. Their popularity never seems to waiver and the funny thing is, their biggest hit was from their debut album “Outskirts” back in 1987. That’s a LONG time to be playing everyone’s favorite Blue Rodeo tune night after night and it got me thinking about the relationship between a hit song and its writer; this is what Jim Cuddy says:

‘When we first started, the first five years, we played so much that there were certain songs we had to do all the time and after five years I had a lot of fatigue with certain songs – like Try. So I took a year off Try…I think now, we gauge the amount we play in general so it’s nice to have certain songs that people like and want to hear, and we try in our concerts to give people some they want to hear, some they don’t know they’re gonna hear, so no, I don’t really have a problem with any of them now”-Jim Cuddy

No Mistakes – Classified (2005)

Classified is getting a lot of well deserved attention since signing to a major label which is ironic for an artist like him because so much of his music and a lot of his appeal over his long career of making music has revolved around the topic of being outside of that world and being the ultimate independent artist. What I love about his story is that after a while, the industry just couldn’t deny the longevity and success of this guy and he is now reaping the benefits of that machine instead of standing outside in the cold…. and he hasn’t had to change a damn thing. The only difference now is that he has more time to focus on his craft and all of a sudden his music’s reach has doubled and tripled because radio and media often times need some sort of validation from a record company before they will support something, and now that he has been validated he is getting more exposure. So while you may be hearing him for the first time with his new found membership to the industry, let’s not forget all the hard work and amazing songs that got him there and feel lucky that he has a large and strong back catalogue that you can discover. This is what he says about the old songs meeting the new exposure:

“…for an older song that I do at shows that people still react to, is No Mistakes – which came out in 2004-2005, and it was just you know when I was still coming up, never really getting any play on Much or anything like that, and just doing my stuff… that’s the one I find that a lot of people if they go back and hear it they’re like, Yo, I love that song No Mistakes”-Classified

Highway of Hero’s – The Trews (2010)

The Trews have had HUGE radio success in Canada with something like 13 top 10 hits including 2 number 1’s, however, it was their 2010 track “Highway of Hereo’s” that has made the biggest impact for the band. “Highway of Hero’s” is a song that was inspired by the death of Capt. Nichola Goddard from The Trews’ hometown of Antigonish, N.S. and the song turned into a tribute to not only her, but all Canadian Soldiers who have lost their lives protecting our freedom. Released as a charity single for the Hero Fund (a Canadian charity that provides scholarships for families of fallen soldiers), it actually came in between albums for the band but now has turned out to be their most successful song but in a very different way than they have grown accustomed. It’s a beautiful example of how music can be so much bigger then sales and chart positions. This is what Colin MacDonald told me about the tune:

“I’ve had people come up at shows with their brother’s dog tags who didn’t come back and they just hold them up while we played it at the show. You know it’s hard to keep it together for that one when people do that kind of stuff, and I think overall it’s been a pretty moving song”-Colin MacDonald

thanks for listening,
=mw