Born in 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Bruce Cockburn early discovered the music of Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, which would set the course for his life. With an old guitar given to him by an aunt, he was soon playing along to their records and in time exploring music styles beyond the rock of the day,...
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Born in 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Bruce Cockburn early discovered the music of Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, which would set the course for his life. With an old guitar given to him by an aunt, he was soon playing along to their records and in time exploring music styles beyond the rock of the day, such as jazz and blues.
Returning to Canada for a short time, he decided to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Majoring in music composition, he spent more time seeing local jazz performers and jamming with others than he did on his studies. Realizing he wasn't willing to put the commitment in that was required, he returned to Ottawa after 2 years (receiving an honorary degree 31 years later, in 1997) where he soon hooked up with local poet and musician Bill Hawkins and his band The Children. Hawkins encouraged the budding artist to write his own songs, leading to Cockburn playing in a variety of other area bands ranging from blues to psychedelic rock through the next few years, honing his skills.
1969 was a pivotal year in his life as he decided to forge a solo career, feeling that the songs he was writing worked better with just voice and acoustic guitar. In Toronto, where he was now living, he met Bernie Finkelstein who became his manager. Cockburn also became the first artist signed to Finkelstein's True North record label, a partnership that continues to this day. Each successive album expanded on the previous, adding more textures and sounds. The 1980's was a time of intense travel for Cockburn; images and influences from places as diverse as Tokyo, Europe, Central America, Chile, Jamaica, and Nepal found their way into his songs. The late 1990's saw him very involved with the effort to ban landmines worldwide, participating in fundraising activities and shows and visiting war-torn countries such as Mozambique and Cambodia.
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