James Keelaghan
Encyclopedia
Juno Award
The Juno Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music...
Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Born in Calgary, Alberta and now based in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, many of his songs, such as "Kiri's Piano", about the internment of Japanese Canadians, and "October 70", about the FLQ crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
, are inspired by events and figures in Canadian history. Known for his lilting baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
voice, his driving rhythm guitar, and a keen sense of scene and narrative, Keelaghan’s music bridges traditional folk music with Canadiana
Canadiana
Canadiana is a term referring to things related to the country of Canada. It is most often used to refer to a class of books somewhat wider than Canadian Literature because it also includes books about Canada as well as Canadian non-fiction works....
.
His song "Cold Missouri Waters", about the Mann Gulch fire
Mann Gulch fire
The Mann Gulch fire of 1949 was a wildfire in the Helena National Forest, Montana, United States, which claimed the lives of 13 firefighters including 12 smoke jumpers who were parachuted into the area to fight the fire, but were unable to control it....
of 1949, was covered by the band Cry Cry Cry
Cry Cry Cry (band)
Cry Cry Cry was a folk supergroup, consisting of Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky, and Dar Williams. The band released a single eponymous album of cover songs on October 13, 1998.- Tour :...
in 1998. His songs have also been covered by folk luminaries such as Roy Bailley and Garnet Rogers
Garnet Rogers
Garnet Rogers is a Canadian folk musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He began his professional career working with his brother, folk musician Stan Rogers, and arranging Stan's music.-Career:...
.
Keelaghan studied history at the University of Calgary
University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1966 the U of C is composed of 14 faculties and more than 85 research institutes and centres.More than 25,000 undergraduate and 5,500 graduate students are currently...
and notes that two of his influences there were Drs. Margaret J. Osler
Margaret J. Osler
Margaret J. Osler was a historian and philosopher of early modern science and a Professor of History at the University of Calgary. She received a B.A. in Philosophy from Swarthmore College in 1963, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Indiana University in History and Philosophy of Science under the...
and Silverman. With international popularity from Australia to England, James Keelaghan plays a wide variety of venues from large festivals and concert halls to intimate folk clubs venues and often invites the audience for a beer after his performance.
In 2003, Keelaghan won first prize (Folk Category) of the 8th Annual USA Songwriting Competition.
Frequent guest musicians on his albums include Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing
Stephen Fearing is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter.Fearing was born in Vancouver, British Columbia and raised in Dublin, Ireland. He returned to Canada in 1981 and began pursuing a career in music. In addition to his solo career, Fearing was one of the founding members of Blackie and the Rodeo...
, Oscar Lopez
Oscar Lopez
Oscar Lopez is a Chilean-Canadian folk and nouveau flamenco guitarist. He has won many awards from the Latino community....
and Hugh McMillan
Hugh McMillan
Hugh McMillan may refer to:*Hugh McMillan , 19th century Quebec MP*Hugh Macmillan, Baron Macmillan , Scottish judge*Hugh McMillan , Canadian rock/folk musician...
of Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West
Spirit of the West are a Canadian folk rock band, who were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.-Early years:The band began...
. His latest CD, House of Cards (2009), produced by James Keelaghan, is a collection of ten new original songs, some co-written with Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart
Karine Polwart is a Scottish singer-songwriter. She writes and performs music with a strong folk and roots feel, her songs dealing with a variety of issues from alcoholism to genocide...
, David Francey
David Francey
David Francey is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Born in 1954 in Ayrshire, Scotland, Francey immigrated to Canada with his family at age 12. After spending much of his life doing labour such as carpentry, he began a career in folk music, quickly making a name for himself on the folk festival...
and others . The cd has been receiving critical praise both in Canada and abroad.
Discography
- Timelines (1987)
- Small Rebellions (1990)
- My Skies (1993)
- A Recent Future (1995)
- Compadres (1997, with Oscar LopezOscar LopezOscar Lopez is a Chilean-Canadian folk and nouveau flamenco guitarist. He has won many awards from the Latino community....
) - Road (1999)
- Home (2001)
- Then Again (2004)
- A Few Simple Verses (2006)
- Buddy Where you been (2007) Compadres, with Oscar Lopez
- House of Cards (2009)