Stompin' Tom Conners dead at age 77
- Thread starter earth_as_one
- Start date
Mike has gone from around 300 views of his video when I posted it here, to over 21,000 today, and most wonderfully, has been invited to play at the celebration of Tom's life.
Want me to say hi for you?
Tell him to keep his eyes open for a big Black Bear, I'll be lookin out for him.
I'd like to shake his hand. I loved his tribute.
I've never had the pleasure of meeting him, he's a friend of a friend. I'm merely happy to try to pass along the buzz.
Thanks for posting that for me Karrie. I couldn't for the life of me get my internet to work on my phone in Peterborough.
I'm uploading video's and pics right now, as well as writing about our experience. I'll get back to this thread in just a bit.
I'm uploading video's and pics right now, as well as writing about our experience. I'll get back to this thread in just a bit.
So long Stompin' Tom...
What a day, we arrived around noon, and as we stretched our legs, SCB picked up the faint sounds of Stompin' Toms music in the air. We looked around for it origins, and found it coming from the truck of a small Chevy Cavalier, at the far end of the parking lot.
I turned to the family and said "I'm going over to introduce myself" and did just that.
I reached the car just as its owner finished setting up a large cardboard poster of Stompin' Tom. I siad as I approached, "Hey bud", and he turned to me with an outstretched hand and a hardy, "How you doing' brother, where you from?", which turned out to be the question of the day.
I had just met Vander Greene from Sudbury, a recent retiree from Inco, and a real personality. Along with Vander was his Uncle Mike another retiree from Inco, both with the same love for Stompin' Tom, and like us, felt the an urgent necessity to be in Peterborough yesterday.
As we gathered'round his little car, stompin' our left foot to the folky sounds of ole Tom, more and more people began to arrive, including a gentleman who went simply by the name Blackwell. Soon the beers came out and the mood and tone went up a few notches as our little crowd grew and shrank as people came, introduced themselves, told us where they were from, and moved on.
We met people from Vancouver, PEI, yes even from Skinner's Pond, Calgary, Manitoba, Sask, Quebec NB, Newfoundland, and even some Americans from Florida. Who where introduced to Stompin' Tom by Snowbirds.
Our little impromptu tailgater, drew the attention of every news crew that came through the entrance, and by 2pm, we had all been interviewed by everyone of them. Even Kooter got centered out by a couple of the news crews, when they were looking for words from the younger generations and what Stompin' Tom meant to him.
Once we hit the cue, it didn't calm down much...
We decided to make our way to the line, before it got to long, we were hoping for floor seats and a close up view. We ended up just outside the doors, as a snow squall blew through, but not even that daunted the crowds. The temps dipped and the sun faded as a young man broke his bagpipes and gave even more life to the crowd.
Young man playing bagpipes at Stompin' Tom memorial - YouTube
As his notes hit the air, the crowd raised a load cheer, and kept it going, as the young man played his heart out while his fingers were visibly cold and stiff. Blackwell driven by spirit and fueled by a little beer, decided it was time to entertain the audience with his best attempt at a fine Irish jig. he was soon joined by another reveler, and of course the TV camera weren't far behind. Them being at work, I gave way to them as best I could, you can even hear me saying, "Go ahead bud" to one of them as he hesitated to step in y shot...
Blackwell, doing his best Irish jig - YouTube
I talked to all those around me in the line, and of course, the question of the day was always front and center. CAW retirees to young steamfitters, they came from all over. besides their affections for Stompin' Tom, the other common theme was, we were all blue collar types. That's not to say that all suits didn't get ole Tom, but it was pretty obvious, he appealed to the patriots, the back bone, the builders of the nation.
Soon one of the organizers appeared with guest books, and began handing them out along the line, for us to sign...
As promised the doors opened at 5pm...
The crowd surged and we funneled into the arena, we got separated from our new found friends, but managed to get our seats on the floor, front and just off center. No sign of Vander, mike or Blackwell though. But being me, and as inconspicuous as I am, they saw me from the nose bleed section, and I told them how to get to the floor section.
The mood inside was electric. TV cameras everywhere. People talking, crying, cheering, all around us. Provincial flags from every province waving around the arena, showed us all that every province was being represented. Two bus loads of East Coasters made the room vibrate with cheers and songs form ole Tom and the east, as we all awaited the start of the show.
The RCMP pallbearers carried Stompin' Tom onto the stage, while Stompin' Toms band played a mournful melody. If you managed to keep your composure through that, it was Lena's placement of his iconic hat, upon his coffin, that softened even my hardened heart.
I won't go into all the details of the various performances, besides the fact that they're available on YouTube. I was just to busy enjoying the artists to really do anything like take pictures, videos and notes.
But I would like to post this, simply because of the CC connection, via a friend of a friend of karrie's, and the fact that when the video of Mike Plume was posted here, he wasn't yet invited to perform.
I'll tell you this, if you managed to keep a dry eye through the arrival of Tom, the placement of his hat by Lena, this was the moment that not anyone within my view could not help but shed a tear.
Mike Plume's "Good-bye Stompn' Tom" and the standing ovation he earned - YouTube
Mike earned a standing, albeit tearful, ovation. The place erupted with cheers, howling, hoots and yips. It simply expressed our collective feelings and said "Good-Bye" in a fitting fashion, for us all...
After Tom was carried off stage by the RCMP Honour Guard, Brian Edwards took sometime to regain his composure, before returning to the stage to do one last thing.
To paraphrase him... "If I let the evening end on a somber note, Tom said he would come back and kick my ****".
And the band jumped to, and the evening ended with "Sudbury Saturday Night".
The place roared, people danced in the aisles, the band almost drowned out as we all sang one of Tom's most iconic songs.
What a day, we arrived around noon, and as we stretched our legs, SCB picked up the faint sounds of Stompin' Toms music in the air. We looked around for it origins, and found it coming from the truck of a small Chevy Cavalier, at the far end of the parking lot.
I turned to the family and said "I'm going over to introduce myself" and did just that.
I reached the car just as its owner finished setting up a large cardboard poster of Stompin' Tom. I siad as I approached, "Hey bud", and he turned to me with an outstretched hand and a hardy, "How you doing' brother, where you from?", which turned out to be the question of the day.
I had just met Vander Greene from Sudbury, a recent retiree from Inco, and a real personality. Along with Vander was his Uncle Mike another retiree from Inco, both with the same love for Stompin' Tom, and like us, felt the an urgent necessity to be in Peterborough yesterday.
As we gathered'round his little car, stompin' our left foot to the folky sounds of ole Tom, more and more people began to arrive, including a gentleman who went simply by the name Blackwell. Soon the beers came out and the mood and tone went up a few notches as our little crowd grew and shrank as people came, introduced themselves, told us where they were from, and moved on.
We met people from Vancouver, PEI, yes even from Skinner's Pond, Calgary, Manitoba, Sask, Quebec NB, Newfoundland, and even some Americans from Florida. Who where introduced to Stompin' Tom by Snowbirds.
Our little impromptu tailgater, drew the attention of every news crew that came through the entrance, and by 2pm, we had all been interviewed by everyone of them. Even Kooter got centered out by a couple of the news crews, when they were looking for words from the younger generations and what Stompin' Tom meant to him.
Once we hit the cue, it didn't calm down much...
We decided to make our way to the line, before it got to long, we were hoping for floor seats and a close up view. We ended up just outside the doors, as a snow squall blew through, but not even that daunted the crowds. The temps dipped and the sun faded as a young man broke his bagpipes and gave even more life to the crowd.
Young man playing bagpipes at Stompin' Tom memorial - YouTube
As his notes hit the air, the crowd raised a load cheer, and kept it going, as the young man played his heart out while his fingers were visibly cold and stiff. Blackwell driven by spirit and fueled by a little beer, decided it was time to entertain the audience with his best attempt at a fine Irish jig. he was soon joined by another reveler, and of course the TV camera weren't far behind. Them being at work, I gave way to them as best I could, you can even hear me saying, "Go ahead bud" to one of them as he hesitated to step in y shot...
Blackwell, doing his best Irish jig - YouTube
I talked to all those around me in the line, and of course, the question of the day was always front and center. CAW retirees to young steamfitters, they came from all over. besides their affections for Stompin' Tom, the other common theme was, we were all blue collar types. That's not to say that all suits didn't get ole Tom, but it was pretty obvious, he appealed to the patriots, the back bone, the builders of the nation.
Soon one of the organizers appeared with guest books, and began handing them out along the line, for us to sign...
As promised the doors opened at 5pm...
The crowd surged and we funneled into the arena, we got separated from our new found friends, but managed to get our seats on the floor, front and just off center. No sign of Vander, mike or Blackwell though. But being me, and as inconspicuous as I am, they saw me from the nose bleed section, and I told them how to get to the floor section.
The mood inside was electric. TV cameras everywhere. People talking, crying, cheering, all around us. Provincial flags from every province waving around the arena, showed us all that every province was being represented. Two bus loads of East Coasters made the room vibrate with cheers and songs form ole Tom and the east, as we all awaited the start of the show.
The RCMP pallbearers carried Stompin' Tom onto the stage, while Stompin' Toms band played a mournful melody. If you managed to keep your composure through that, it was Lena's placement of his iconic hat, upon his coffin, that softened even my hardened heart.
I won't go into all the details of the various performances, besides the fact that they're available on YouTube. I was just to busy enjoying the artists to really do anything like take pictures, videos and notes.
But I would like to post this, simply because of the CC connection, via a friend of a friend of karrie's, and the fact that when the video of Mike Plume was posted here, he wasn't yet invited to perform.
I'll tell you this, if you managed to keep a dry eye through the arrival of Tom, the placement of his hat by Lena, this was the moment that not anyone within my view could not help but shed a tear.
Mike Plume's "Good-bye Stompn' Tom" and the standing ovation he earned - YouTube
Mike earned a standing, albeit tearful, ovation. The place erupted with cheers, howling, hoots and yips. It simply expressed our collective feelings and said "Good-Bye" in a fitting fashion, for us all...
After Tom was carried off stage by the RCMP Honour Guard, Brian Edwards took sometime to regain his composure, before returning to the stage to do one last thing.
To paraphrase him... "If I let the evening end on a somber note, Tom said he would come back and kick my ****".
And the band jumped to, and the evening ended with "Sudbury Saturday Night".
The place roared, people danced in the aisles, the band almost drowned out as we all sang one of Tom's most iconic songs.
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Long live the memory of Stompin' Tom, we could use another dozen like him and a lot less of the sh*t that inundates the air waves today!
Just got this link sent to me from my buddy...
Stompin’ Tom remembered in joyous memorial | CityNews
Me, the kids and our new friend Vander are at 1:50.
Stompin’ Tom remembered in joyous memorial | CityNews
Me, the kids and our new friend Vander are at 1:50.
Lol. Seriously.
I mean, it was a long post sure but it just seemed like that was because it was a full day, so there was a lot to tell. And you're pretty good with describing the atmosphere.
And you're welcome.
Chorus Radio stations
CKWSTV.com - Giving you more Online! A Local Tribute to Stompin Tom Kingston News
TRIBUTES CONTINUE TO POUR IN FOR CANADIAN FOLK SINGING ICON -- STOMPIN TOM CONNORS.
They played tributes to Tom on all their stations.
Perhaps our Canadian NHL Teams could also do the same during between periods.
I am sure they could find a video of Tom saying I wrote this song just for you - or words to that effect.
Then cut away to Tom singing this.
Stompin Tom Connors: The Hockey Song - YouTube
CKWSTV.com - Giving you more Online! A Local Tribute to Stompin Tom Kingston News
TRIBUTES CONTINUE TO POUR IN FOR CANADIAN FOLK SINGING ICON -- STOMPIN TOM CONNORS.
They played tributes to Tom on all their stations.
Perhaps our Canadian NHL Teams could also do the same during between periods.
I am sure they could find a video of Tom saying I wrote this song just for you - or words to that effect.
Then cut away to Tom singing this.
Stompin Tom Connors: The Hockey Song - YouTube
You know when CBC had that big kerfuffle a few years ago with the rights to the HNIC song coming to an end? This is probably the one they should have adopted. Lol.
Stompin' Tom Connors statue unveiled in downtown Sudbury
You already knew Stompin' Tom was a national icon, but having fellow Canadians raise money to erect a statue as a tribute to his life truly solidified his legendary status.
That's exactly what happened for Stompin' Tom Connors, the popular Canadian folk and country musician from Saint John, N.B. Connors died in March 2013 and since then, residents of Sudbury, Ont., have made it a priority to ensure he is forever remembered by collecting funds to honour him with a 600-plus pound bronze statue that depicts the musician stomping to the beat of his music during the 1970s.
Tyler Fauvelle is a sculptor who says he always thought it was important to do something for the man who left us with The Hockey Song, which is regularly heard in hockey arenas from coast to coast. The artist adds it was easy to identify with Connors.
Fauvelle says Connors's message was simple: "Be proud of your country and shine a light on what makes it wonderful."
video
Stompin' Tom Connors statue unveiled in downtown Sudbury - Sudbury - CBC News
You already knew Stompin' Tom was a national icon, but having fellow Canadians raise money to erect a statue as a tribute to his life truly solidified his legendary status.
That's exactly what happened for Stompin' Tom Connors, the popular Canadian folk and country musician from Saint John, N.B. Connors died in March 2013 and since then, residents of Sudbury, Ont., have made it a priority to ensure he is forever remembered by collecting funds to honour him with a 600-plus pound bronze statue that depicts the musician stomping to the beat of his music during the 1970s.
Tyler Fauvelle is a sculptor who says he always thought it was important to do something for the man who left us with The Hockey Song, which is regularly heard in hockey arenas from coast to coast. The artist adds it was easy to identify with Connors.
Fauvelle says Connors's message was simple: "Be proud of your country and shine a light on what makes it wonderful."
video
Stompin' Tom Connors statue unveiled in downtown Sudbury - Sudbury - CBC News
I find it hard to believe Stompin' Tom has been dead 21/2 years, just doesn't seem possible. Where has the time gone? A Canadian hero for sure!
Mar 6th, 2013 original OP.. Necro Thread
What happen somebody Necro Stompin' Tom, now he's like Elvis.
What happen somebody Necro Stompin' Tom, now he's like Elvis.
tay posted the nice article about his statue being erected. Unlike Flossy, he did not start a new thread but added it to this one.
I would prefer to think somebody saw him at a dinner in the Yukon last week alive..