The Tragically Hip Details

The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as The Hip, are a Canadian rock band from Kingston Ontario, consisting of Gordon Downie (lead vocals and guitar), Paul Langlois (guitar and backing vocals), Rob Baker (guitar, known as Bobby Baker until 1994), Gord Sinclair (bass and backing vocals) and Johnny Fay (drums and percussion). Since their formation in 1983 they have released 12 studio albums, two live albums, 1 EP, and 54 singles. Nine of their albums have reached No. 1 in Canada. They have received numerous Canadian Music awards, including 14 Juno Awards.

The Tragically Hip formed in 1983 in Queen's University residence Waldron Tower in Kingston, Ontario. Guitarist Paul Langlois joined in 1986; while saxophonist Davis Manning left that same year. They took their name from a skit in the Michael Nesmit movie Elephant Parts. In the mid 80s they performed in small music venues in Ontario until being discovered by MCA.] They were then signed to a long-term record deal with MCA, and recorded the self-titled EP The Tragically Hip

The sound on their first two full-length albums is sometimes characterized as "blues-tinged," although there are definite acoustic punctuations throughout both discs. While the band failed to achieve significant international success with these first two albums, their sales and dominance of modern rock radio in Canada gave them license to subsequently explore their sound.