Jim Cuddy | |
|---|---|
 Jim Cuddy with Blue Rodeo in 2005 at the Spencerville Fair | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | James Gordon Cuddy |
| Born | December 2, 1955 Toronto, Canada |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, piano, mandolin, vocals |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Warner Music Canada |
| Website | jimcuddy |
James Gordon Cuddy, OC (born December 2, 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter [1] primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo. [2]
Cuddy was born in Toronto, Ontario. His mother Jean Cuddy was an English teacher at Monarch Park Secondary School. He attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute, where he met and befriended Greg Keelor, his future bandmate. [3] He also went to Upper Canada College and Queen's University.
After graduating from university, Cuddy and Keelor formed a band called the Hi-Fis along with Jim Sublett on drums and Malcolm Schell playing bass. The band released a single in 1980 featuring "Look What You've Done" and on the B side "I Don't Know Why (You Love Me)". The record was not a commercial success, and when they couldn't get a record deal in Toronto, they headed off to New York City. [4] In New York they met keyboardist Bob Wiseman, but were still unable to arrange a recording contract. They later moved back to Toronto.
In 1984 Cuddy and Keelor formed a new band, Blue Rodeo, with Wiseman, and recruited Bazil Donovan on bass and Cleave Anderson on drums as backup. Since that time, Cuddy has continued to lead the band, which has toured extensively and released 16 studio albums.
Cuddy has recorded a number of solo albums and performs live with the Jim Cuddy Band, featuring musicians such as Bazil Donovan, Colin Cripps, Joel Anderson, Steve O'Connor, Anne Lindsay and Gavin Brown. Guest performers on his solo albums have included Kathleen Edwards, former Weeping Tile member Sarah Harmer, and Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. [5]
Jim Cuddy's song "Whistler" from the All in Time album was featured in the 2002 documentary Ski Bums by John Zaritsky.
In 2016, Cuddy participated in a benefit concert in Edmonton, Alberta and another in Toronto, Ontario for the citizens of Fort McMurray, whose town was destroyed by fire. [6]
On March 19, 2020, he performed the first concert in the National Arts Centre's #CanadaPerforms series of livestreamed home concerts by Canadian musicians during the COVID-19 pandemic. [7]
He narrates the TVOntario documentary series Striking Balance . [8]
Cuddy won Best Male Vocalist at The 1999 JUNO Awards and Adult Alternative Album of the Year for The Light That Guides You Home at The 2007 JUNO Awards [9]
In 2000, Cuddy and Blue Rodeo bandmate Greg Keelor were the recipients of the National Achievement Award at the annual SOCAN Awards held in Toronto. [10]
In 2013, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada along with Greg Keelor, "for their contributions to Canadian music and for their support of various charitable causes". [11]
In 2024, Cuddy and Keelor were inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. [12]
Cuddy is married to Canadian actress Rena Polley. [13] They have three children, their daughter Emma, and their two sons, Devin and Sam, who are also musicians. [14] His brother Loftus Cuddy was a Conservative candidate for the riding of Toronto—Danforth in the 2004 Canadian federal election. [13]
In the 2004 edition of Canada Reads , Cuddy advocated for Guy Vanderhaeghe's novel The Last Crossing , which won the competition. In the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, an "all-star" competition pitting the five winning advocates from previous years against each other, Cuddy returned to champion Timothy Taylor's novel Stanley Park .
In 2016, Cuddy collaborated with Tawse Winery in Niagara to launch a new wine brand, Cuddy by Tawse. [15]
In 2017, Cuddy narrated the documentary TV series Striking Balance. [16]
| Title | Album details | Peak positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [17] | |||
| All in Time |
| 38 | |
| The Light That Guides You Home |
| 18 |
|
| Skyscraper Soul |
| 8 | |
| Constellation |
| 3 | |
| Countrywide Soul |
| 56 | |
| All the World Fades Away |
|
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | |||
| 1998 | "Disappointment" | 53 | All in Time |
| "Too Many Hands" [A] | — | ||
| 1999 | "Trouble" | — | |
| "All in Time" | 73 | ||
| 2006 | "Pull Me Through" | — | The Light That Guides You Home |
| 2007 | "Married Again" (with Kathleen Edwards) | — | |
| "Maybe Sometime" | — | ||
| 2011 | "Everyone Watched the Wedding" | — | Skyscraper Soul |
| 2012 | "Regular Days" | — | |
| 2024 | "All the World Fades Away" | — | All the World Fades Away |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||
| Year | Single | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Somewhere Else" | Jim Bryson | The North Side Benches |
| 2008 | "Songbird" | Melanie Doane | A Thousand Nights |
| 2011 | "Hard Luck Girl" | The Cooper Brothers | In from the Cold |
| 2013 | "Pancho and Lefty" | George Canyon | Classics II |
| Year | Video | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Disappointment" | Ulf Buddensieck |
| "Too Many Hands" | ||
| 1999 | "Trouble" | |
| 2004 | "Somewhere Else" (with Jim Bryson) | |
| 2006 | "Pull Me Through" | |
| 2007 | "Married Again" (with Kathleen Edwards) | |
| 2008 | "Songbird" (with Melanie Doane) | |
| 2011 | "Everyone Watched the Wedding" | |
| 2018 | "You Be The Leaver" | Tatjana Green/Matthew Barnett [20] |
| "Constellations" | Christopher Mills | |
| 2019 | "Back Here Again" | Stephen Hughes |
| "Glorious Day" | Peter Guzda | |
| 2024 | "Learn to Live Alone" | Jenn Grant [21] |
| "Impossible" | ||
Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They 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.
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and collaborations.
Diamond Mine is the second album by Blue Rodeo, released in 1989. It was recorded in 1989 at the Donlands Theatre in Toronto and mixed at the Kingsway Studio in New Orleans. It is the last Blue Rodeo album to feature original drummer Cleave Anderson and includes several instrumental interludes by Bob Wiseman on the majority of versions. Diamond Mine was the second best-selling Cancon album in Canada in 1989.
Casino is the third studio album by Blue Rodeo. It was drummer Mark French's only album with the band. It was produced by Dwight Yoakam guitarist Pete Anderson.
Lost Together is the fourth studio album by Blue Rodeo. It was Bob Wiseman's last album with the band, and was the first to feature drummer Glenn Milchem, and steel guitar player Kim Deschamps.
Five Days in July is the fifth studio album by Canadian country-rock band Blue Rodeo. It was released by WEA on October 26, 1993, in Canada and Discovery Records on September 27, 1994, in the United States. The band's most commercially successful album, it has been certified six times platinum as of 2008.
Palace of Gold is the ninth studio album by the Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo. It is the band's first album with guitarist Bob Egan, formerly of Freakwater and Wilco, and is notable for performances featuring the Bushwhack Horns.
Michelle McAdorey is a Canadian singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. She was a member of the 1990s band Crash Vegas, and now performs and records as a solo artist.
Are You Ready is the tenth studio album by Blue Rodeo, released on April 5, 2005.
Colin Cripps is a Canadian musician and record producer.
Lori Yates is a Canadian alternative country music singer and songwriter.
Sherry Kean is a former Canadian pop and country singer, who had a Canadian Top 40 hit in 1984 with "I Want You Back".
James Gregory Keelor, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the band Blue Rodeo, where he shares song writing and vocal duties with Jim Cuddy. Keelor has also released three solo albums and appeared as a guest musician on albums by Crash Vegas and Melissa McClelland. He participated, along with Rick White and members of The Sadies, in the supergroup The Unintended.
James Kevin Rankin is a Canadian country and folk artist. A member of The Rankin Family, Rankin has also released seven solo albums: Song Dog (2001), Handmade (2003), Edge of Day (2007), Forget About the World (2011), Tinsel Town (2012), Back Road Paradise (2014) and Moving East (2018). Rankin's solo and Rankin Family awards include 5 Junos, 27 East Coast Music Awards, 9 SOCAN top radio play Awards, 7 Canadian Country Music Awards, 2 Music NS Awards, and 2 Canadian Radio Music Awards.
"Try" is a song written by Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy, and recorded by Canadian country rock group Blue Rodeo. Released in October 1987, it was the second single from their debut album, Outskirts. Considered one of the band's most enduring and beloved signature songs, the song peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart, number 3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 6 on the Top Singles chart.
Devin Cuddy is a Canadian singer-songwriter who fronts the Devin Cuddy Band.
In Our Nature is the thirteenth studio album released by Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo, released on October 29, 2013. The album was entirely recorded in Greg Keelor's farm house just outside Peterborough, Ontario.
1000 Arms is the fifteenth studio album by Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo, released on October 28, 2016.
Many a Mile is the sixteenth studio album by Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo, released on December 3, 2021.
All the World Fades Away is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Jim Cuddy, released on June 14, 2024.
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