Bruce Cockburn

Cockburn was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and began his career in the late 1960s in a band called "The Children". By 1970, Cockburn had begun his solo career with the release of his first self-titled solo album. In addition to a highly successful solo career, Cockburn's songs have been covered by artists ranging from Barenaked Ladies ("Lovers in a Dangerous Time"), Jimmy Buffett ("Pacing the Cage"), to the Jerry Garcia Band ("Waiting for a Miracle").

Although Cockburn has been immensely popular in Canada for decades, he failed to make much of a splash in the USA until 1979, with the release of Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws. "Wondering Where The Lions Are", the first single from that album, became a minor hit in the US, even landing Cockburn on NBC's hit TV show, Saturday Night Live.

Cockburn's second radio hit came in 1984 with the release of his Stealing Fire album and the song "If I Had A Rocket Launcher", written a year earlier after Cockburn had witnessed Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico being attacked by Guatemalan military helicopters.

In the early 1990s Cockburn teamed up with good friend T-Bone Burnett for two albums, Nothing But A Burning Light and Dart To The Heart. The latter included a song "Closer to the Light" inspired by the death of songwriter Mark Heard. Cockburn frequently refers to Heard as his favorite songwriter and was one of many artists that paid tribute to Heard on a tribute album and video entitled Strong Hand of Love.

On March 5, 2001 during the 30th Annual Juno Awards ceremony (Canada's version of the Grammys), Cockburn was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The Cockburn tribute during the Awards telecast from Copps Coliseum[?] in Hamilton, included taped testimonials from U2's Bono, Jackson Browne, Cowboy Junkies[?]' Margo Timmins[?] and Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett. The Barenaked Ladies also performed their version of Cockburn's "Lovers In A Dangerous Time". Best female artist nominees Jann Arden[?] and Terri Clark[?] also performed "Wondering Where The Lions Are" and double nominee Sarah Harmer[?] performed "Waiting For A Miracle".

In 2002, Cockburn released his first greatest hits collection, Anything, Anytime, Anywhere: Singles 1979-2002.

Cockburn finished recording his 30th album in January of 2003, You've Never Seen Everything, which features contributions from Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne, Sam Phillips, Sarah Harmer[?], Hugh Marsh[?], Jonell Mosser[?], Larry Taylor[?] and Steven Hodges[?] (Taylor and Hodges are known for their work with Tom Waits).

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters[?] (CAB) honoured Cockburn by inducting him into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony was held on October 22, 2002 in Vancouver, as part of the Gold Ribbon Awards Gala[?] at the 76th annual Broadcasting 2002: Leadership Through Public Service convention.

On November 27, 2002, the CBC's Life and Times aired a special feature on Cockburn, entitled "The Life and Times of Bruce Cockburn".

External Link

• Gavin's Woodpile- The Bruce Cockburn Newsletter (http://www.seanet.com/~danjer)
• Official Site (http://www.BruceCockburn.com)
• Cockburn lyric project (http://cockburnproject.net/flash)