Cover Story

Submitted by Sandy Graham

Cover Photo Credit: William C. Smith

In 1847, over 100,000 Irish immigrants migrated to Canada in what would be the result of the infamous potato famine. Nearly 40,000 of these people passed through Toronto, which at the time had a population of just under 20,000.  In the summer of 1847, 863 Irish people died in the fever sheds that were erected at what is now Toronto’s thriving theatre district at King Street West and John Street. In total 1,100 people lost their lives during this tragic time, many died trying to nurse the sick back to health. Next time you walk the streets of downtown Toronto, look for the plaque erected in their memory, right in the heart of the theatre district.

More claim they have Irish ancestry in Canada than any other group in the world. I believe the statistic would be around 300,000 in Toronto alone, an estimated 700,000 in Ontario. So it would make sense that the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Toronto is one that is well attended.

The 26th annual Toronto St. Patrick’s Day Parade takes place on Sunday, March 17th. Up to 500,000 people are expected in downtown Toronto for the fun and excitement. The two hour parade has truly become an end of winter fixture on the Toronto calendar.

The parade is organized by the not-for-profit St. Patrick’s Parade Society.  The Society, through the Parade, works to promote and celebrate all things Irish, while incorporating bands and floats from various communities, representing Toronto’s multicultural diversity.

Submitted by Don Graham

Troubled country singer Mindy McCready has died of an apparent suicide at her home in Heber Falls, Arkansas at the age of 37.  McCready hit the top of the charts in 1996 with her sassy anti chauvinist song ‘Guys Do It All The Time’. She also had a hit with ‘Ten Thousand Angels’ that same year and the album of the same name sold a whopping 2 million copies. In 2004 she was charged with obtaining the pain Oxycontin fraudulently, a charge which she pled guilty to and received three years probation.  In May 2005 she violated that probation when she was arrested for drunken driving. Then came an attempted suicide in July, 2005, overdosed in September of that year and slit her wrists in December 2008.That was also the year she was charged in Arizona with hindering prosecution and unlawful use of transportation. Those charges stemmed from an alleged attempt in June 2005 to purchase two
high performance boats, but she claimed she was trying to stop a con man. She also made several trips to rehab and appeared on the VH1 reality show "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" in 2010. As a side note she is the fifth celeb to die after appearing on that show. There was Joey Kovar who died of an overdose in 2012, as did former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr in 2011. Also Taxi’s Jeff Conaway and Rodney King.

Submitted by Don Graham

The Grammys will be presented for 55th time on Sunday February 10th in Los Angeles California, The Grammys started in 1959 as a way to recognize achievements in the music industry, similar to the Emmys and the Oscars for television and movie accomplishments. This was the beginning of NARAS (The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.) Once it was decided to create the award, there was still a question of what to call it. One working title was the Eddie, paying homage to the inventor of the phonograph, Thomas Edison. It was decided that they would use the name of the Emile Berliner invention, the gramophone, for the award.

A lot of Canadian artists have won Grammys over the years. David Foster has won 16 Grammys and been nominated 47 times. Celine Dion has 5 awards, and her songwriters have won 5 as well.  Alanis Morrisette has 7. Michael Buble and Diana Krall each have 3.  Bryan Adams has been nominated 15 times but only won once. Neil Yong has  won 1 as well as Nelly Furtado with 1. Sarah McLachlin has 3 and  Shania Twain has 5. Canadian Polka King Walter Ostenak has won 3 times.

Gordon Lightfoot oddly enough has never won a Grammy and Leonard Cohen was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Award in 2010. Daniel Lanois has taken home 5 Grammys as a producer or co-producer. In 2011 Canadian band Arcade Fire were up against Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, Eminem and Lady Antebellum for album of the year and shocked the music world by winning.

Submitted by Don Graham

Born on January 25th, 1759, in Alloway, Scotland, Burns would have been a tragic rock star in today’s world. Poems and songs of everlasting love such as “My Love Is Like a Red Red Rose”, and marrying his sweetheart Jean Armour the same year that his first book of poetry was published. They moved to a rented farm in Dumfrie and when things went sour with the farm he sunk into a deep depression. The depression inspired him to write his poetry. Sounds like the angst ridden singer/songwriters of today, doesn’t it. And to complete the image, he died tragically at the young age of just 37 from rheumatic heart disease. Of course if he was active in today’s music scene I’m sure Simon Cowell would have told him to “stick to farming, there’s no future for you in the music business. Thank you for coming out. Bye bye!”

But thankfully Burns didn’t encounter a Cowell or anyone like him. He was hugely successful and remains one of Scotland best loved and well known bards.
Even if you’re not Scottish and don’t know Robbie Burns you’ve heard of him and even if you haven’t heard of him it’s a safe bet you know at least one of his songs. Burns wrote the New Year’s Eve perennial song “Auld Lange Syne”.

The legacy he left has inspired Scots around the world to celebrate his life every January 25th with a Robbie Burns Day dinner including bagpipe, kilts and the reading of a Burns classic ”Ode To a Haggis”. And no Burns feast would be complete without the dish of choice, haggis.