Biography

May 27, 1945 · Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Was openly embraced by the Contemporary Christian Music industry in the USA for his Christian-themed music. Many of his recordings were openly sold in Christian bookstores in the USA. This relationship soured with the release of his album "World of Wonders". It featured songs highly critical of US involvement in Latin American governmental affairs (especially the song "Call It Democracy", which included the "F-word" and lyrics accusing global corporate interests and the International Monetary Fund with creating poverty with unsupportable debt). In responce to the backlash he received in the US Christian media (including Christian record distributors refusing to carry his recordings), he wrote the song "Gospel of Bondage". He now includes more politically-themed music in his albums.

His last name rhymes with "slow burn".

Pictured on one of four non-denominated Canadian commemorative postage stamps honoring Canadian recording artists, issued 30 June 2011. Price of issue was 59¢. Others honored in this issue were Kate McGarrigle & Anna McGarrigle (on a single stamp), Ginette Reno, and Robbie Robertson.

Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist. Since 1970 has released over 20 albums and received numerous Juno awards.

[After entertaining troops in Afghanistan] I have great sympathy for, and to some extent sympathy with, those young Canadians that are over there in uniform, doing their best to get a very difficult thing done... [But]at the same time, it seems unlikely to me that they will get either the time or the support, or at least get the support, for a long enough time to finish the mission.

A sane person doesn't think war is a good idea. I'm not a pacifist. I feel that there are situations where fighting is inescapable, but we don't go looking for those things.. There are some decision-makers in the world whose version of sanity is a little different from what I consider the right one.

[on his deficiency as a husband in his first marriage] I was like a chainsaw rendering of Rodin's 'The Thinker', a frozen simulacrum of anger, avoidance and angst in the posture of a man taking a dump.

I hope to write a good song and have people hear it. That's it. I don't think songs change the world. People change the world, and if people embrace a particular song as a kind of anthem, then that song becomes part of the process of change.