Editing Stompin' Tom Connors (section)

==Musical career==
Connors was never part of the Canadian musical establishment, and his style was quite different from other Canadian icons such as [[Leonard Cohen]] or [[Gordon Lightfoot]].<ref name = "MartinObit" /> He could, however, be characterized as a passionist poet within Canadian culture, similar to [[Milton Acorn]] and [[Stan Rogers]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Stompin' Tom Connors deserves a place in the ranks of Canada's poets|author=Rick Salutin|author-link=Rick Salutin|url=https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2013/03/08/stompin_tom_connors_deserves_a_place_in_the_ranks_of_canadas_poets_salutin.html|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]]|date=March 8, 2013|access-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref> As the ''[[National Post]]'' characterized him:

{{Blockquote|He sang of a nation without politics, to its proud history, and to its better angels. His songs remind us that Canada matters—that we've built something amazing here, and must not take it for granted.<ref name="NatPost" />
}}

Typically writing about Canadian lore and history, some of Connors' better-known songs include "[[Bud the Spud]]", "[[Big Joe Mufferaw (song)|Big Joe Mufferaw]]", "[[Black Donnellys|The Black Donnellys]]", "[[The Martin Hartwell Story]]", "[[Reesor Siding Strike of 1963|Reesor Crossing Tragedy]]", "[[Sudbury Saturday Night]]", and "[[The Hockey Song]]". This last, often incorrectly called "The Good Old Hockey Game," is frequently played over sound systems at [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) games.

Throughout the years, Connors never lost touch with Gaëtan Lepine, the bartender he befriended in Timmins; in fact, the two wrote many songs together. These songs are featured in ''250 Songs by Stompin' Tom: Including All the Words and Chords''.

In 1968, he composed and sang a radio jingle for a Sudbury-area tire store, Duhamel & Dewar, in exchange for a set of winter tires:<blockquote>"When your tires are old and worn

and you think they should be newer,

drive on down to the Tire Town

and see Duhamel and Dewar."<ref>{{cite web |date=September 2016 |title=Stompin' Tom Once Wrote a Radio Jingle for Duhamel & Dewar |url=https://southsidestory.ca/2016/09/stompin-tom-once-wrote-a-radio-jingle-for-duhamel-dewar/ |access-date=March 22, 2018 |work=southsidestory.ca}}</ref></blockquote>During the mid-1970s Connors wrote and recorded ''The Consumer'', an ode to bill-paying that became the theme song for the popular [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] (CBC) consumer affairs program ''[[Marketplace (Canadian TV program)|Marketplace]]''. For the first few seasons, Connors appeared in the program's opening credits, before "The Consumer" was replaced as the theme—initially by an instrumental background version and ultimately by a different piece of music.

In 1974 Connors had a series running on [[CBC Television]] in which he met and exchanged with folks from all across Canada. ''[[Stompin' Tom's Canada]]'' was co-produced with the CBC, and consisted of 26 half-hour episodes.

The song that Connors wrote in the least time was "Maritime Waltz", which was completed in 12 minutes.<ref>{{harvnb|Stompin' Tom|1995|p=490}}</ref>

His character was rough but genuine. As the ''[[National Post]]'' noted:

{{Blockquote|[T]hat persona wasn't [[shtick]]. Stompin' Tom was one of the great Canadian story-tellers, and a uniquely collegial one as well. The proper venue for a [[Gordon Lightfoot]] performance is a [[concert hall]], where the audience connects silently and contemplatively. The proper venue for Mr. Connors was a smoky [[Bar (establishment)|bar room]] where people connected by slamming their beer mugs together, hopefully obliterating whatever differences existed between them.<ref name="NatPost">{{cite news|title=Farewell, Stompin' Tom|url=https://nationalpost.com/opinion/national-post-editorial-board-farewell-stompin-tom|newspaper=[[National Post]]|date=March 13, 2013|access-date=November 11, 2017}}</ref>
}}

In 1999, after completing a 38-city tour,<ref name="Inc.1999">{{cite magazine|author=Bettsy Powell|title=There's no place like home|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58|date=January 16, 1999|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=58|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> Connors received the National Achievement Award at the annual [[SOCAN]] Awards held in Toronto.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.socan.ca/about/awards/1999-socan-awards |title=1999 Socan Awards &#124; Socan |access-date=August 25, 2016 |archive-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916162814/https://www.socan.ca/about/awards/1999-socan-awards |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2009, Connors was the recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual [[SOCAN]] Awards in Toronto.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.socan.ca/about/awards/2009-socan-awards |title=2009 Socan Awards &#124; Socan |access-date=August 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810123959/http://www.socan.ca/about/awards/2009-socan-awards |archive-date=August 10, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Nickname===
Connors' habit of stomping the heel of his left boot to keep rhythm earned him the nickname "that stompin' guy", or "Stomper". It wasn't until [[Canadian Centennial|Canada's 100th birthday]], [[Canada Day|July 1, 1967]], that the name "Stompin" Tom Connors was first used, when Boyd MacDonald, a waiter at the King George Tavern in [[Peterborough, Ontario|Peterborough]], Ontario, introduced Connors on stage.<ref>{{harvnb|Stompin' Tom|1995|p=509}}</ref> Based on an enthused audience reaction to it, Connors had it officially registered in Ontario as Stompin' Tom Ltd. the following week. Various stories have circulated about the origin of the foot stomping, but it's generally accepted that he did this to keep a strong tempo for his guitar playing—especially in the noisy bars and beer joints where he frequently performed. After numerous complaints about damaged stage floors, Connors began to carry a piece of [[plywood]] that he stomped even more vigorously than before. The ''"stompin{{'"}}'' board became one of his trademarks. After stomping a hole in the wood, he would pick it up and show it to the audience (accompanied by a joke about the quality of the local lumber) before calling for a new one. It was reported that when asked about his "stompin' board", Connors replied, "it's just a stage I'm going through". Connors periodically auctioned off his "stompin' boards" for charity, with one board selling for $15,000 in July 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/02/stompin-tom-raises-money-for-orillia-charity |title=Stompin' Tom raises money for Orillia charity |newspaper=Toronto Sun |date=February 7, 2011 |access-date=March 7, 2013}}</ref>

===Favourite guitar===
Connors's favourite guitar was a [[Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson]] [[Southern Jumbo]] [[Steel-string acoustic guitar|acoustic]] that he purchased in 1956 while on his way through [[Ohio]] to [[Nashville, Tennessee]], and Mexico. He discovered it in a furniture store, hidden in a case on top of a shelf and, after some haggling, purchased it for $80 (he had $90 with him). The guitar was used to audition in 1964 at the Maple Leaf Hotel in Timmins, as well as for writing ''Bud the Spud'' four years later. Although retired in 1972, it remained in his possession. It has subsequently been refurbished, a birthday gift from his wife Lena. The serial number inside the guitar reads 2222 in red stamped numbers and the actual age of the guitar is still unknown.<ref>{{harvnb|Stompin' Tom|1995|pp=356–379}}</ref>

===Releases===
Connors released music on seven different labels. His earliest foray into recording was on the CKGB Timmins radio station label. These [[Gramophone record|45 RPM]] [[Single (music)|singles]] were pressed by [[Quality Records]] in Toronto, and distributed (and paid for) primarily by Tom. His first two albums (and two subsequent 45 RPM singles) were released on the Rebel Records bluegrass label, under the name "Tom Connors". These two albums were subsequently re-released on Dominion Records under the Stompin' Tom moniker and had to be totally re-recorded due to a dispute with Rebel Records owner John Irvine.

Most of Connors's well-known albums were released on Dominion Records (1969–70), and after 1971 on the [[Boot Records]] label that he co-founded with Jury Krytiuk and Mark Altman. His releases on Dominion (and all subsequent releases) were done under the name "Stompin' Tom Connors". Most of the Rebel and Dominion albums would be reissued (and in some cases, re-recorded) under the Boot label, and would represent the bulk of his recorded material. It was released on 33{{Fraction|1|3}} RPM record albums, 45 RPM record singles, [[Stereo 8|8-tracks]], and [[Compact Cassette|cassette tapes]].

After his retreat from the music business in the late 1970s, he started the A-C-T (Assisting Canadian Talent) label in 1986, and released two albums: ''Stompin' Tom is Back to Assist Canadian Talent'' and his comeback album, ''Fiddle and Songs'' in 1988. A-C-T also re-released Connors's back catalogue on cassette tapes only.

All of his subsequent releases (and re-releases) have been through [[Capitol Records]] / [[EMI]]. Most of this work is now available on Compact Disc. In recent years, many of his album releases have included at least one re-recording of one of his earlier songs.

===Promoting Canadian artists===
Connors founded three record labels, which promoted not just his own work, but that of other Canadian artists:
* [[Boot Records]], together with its budget label Cynda, which were active in the 1970s and 1980s
* A-C-T, active from the late 1980s

Among artists who were featured on these labels were [[Liona Boyd]],<ref name="Stevenson">{{cite news|title=Love for Stompin' Tom Connors went beyond Canada's borders|author=Jane Stevenson|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2013/03/07/love-for-stompin-tom-connors-went-beyond-canadas-borders|newspaper=[[Toronto Sun]]|date=March 7, 2013|access-date=March 10, 2013}}</ref> [[Rita MacNeil]], [[The Canadian Brass]], [[Dixie Flyers]], [[Charlie Panigoniak]], among others. [[Liona Boyd]] recalled in 2013 about the time Connors signed Boyd to Boot for her first record, 1974's ''The Guitar'', and two more:

{{Blockquote|It was Tom's vision obviously. And as I understood it, he wasn't really a fan of classical music but he had heard Canada had no classical label, which was absolutely true. So bless him, he went and decided he'd be the first one. And he signed myself and the [[Canadian Brass]]. It's like me deciding, "Well listen, maybe I don't know much about [[rap]], but hey Canada's doesn't have a rap label, I'll go and do it." So he was a bit of a pioneer with classical music.<ref name="Stevenson" />
}}

===Cultural and historical references===
In the book ''[[Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda]]'', Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian general who led the [[UNAMIR]] peacekeeping force in [[Rwanda]] during that country's 1994 genocide reported that he played a recording of Connors's song "The Blue Berets" (about United Nations peacekeeping forces) to keep up his troops' morale while their headquarters was under bombardment.

[[The Les Claypool Frog Brigade]] mentions Connors in the song "Long in the Tooth" on the album ''[[Purple Onion (album)|Purple Onion]]'', while [[Corb Lund]] references him in the song "Long Gone to Saskatchewan" and [[Dean Brody]] references him in the song "[[Canadian Girls]]".

[[Tim Hus]] also wrote a song titled "Man with the Black Hat" about Connors.

===Songs referencing Canadian historical events===
The following is a list of events in the [[history of Canada]] which have been the subject of a song by Connors, who is widely renowned for singing about both well-known and little-known episodes in the country's past.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Song
! Summary
|-
|"Reesor Crossing Tragedy"
|1969 song about the [[Reesor Siding Strike of 1963]] which saw three union workers murdered.
|-
|"Tillsonburg"
|When Stompin' Tom worked in the [[Cultivation of tobacco|tobacco field]]s of [[Tillsonburg]], Ontario.
|-
|"Wop May"
|About the Canadian pilot [[Wilfrid R. "Wop" May]].
|-
|"The Bridge Came Tumblin' Down"
|1972 song about the 19 men killed in the collapse of the [[Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing]].
|-
|"The Curse of the ''Marc Guylaine''"
|1973 song about the fishing trawler ''[[Marc Guylaine]]'' which saw two sister-ships and two identical ships all sink under inexplicable circumstances.
|-
|"[[Big Joe Mufferaw (song)|Big Joe Mufferaw]]"
|About the French-Canadian logging legend [[Joseph Montferrand]].
|-
|"The Martin Hartwell Story"
|About the [[bush pilot]] [[Martin Hartwell]] who survived 31 days in the [[Northwest Territories]], after resorting to [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] (Connors' song does ''not'' reference this last fact, instead focusing on the efforts of David Pisurayak Kootook in helping keep Hartwell alive at the cost of his own life).
|-
|"Algoma Central 69"
|About the historical [[Algoma Central Railway]].
|-
|"The Black Donnellys' Massacre" and "Jenny Donnelly"
|Both about the [[Black Donnellys]]
|-
|"The Last Fatal Duel"
|1973 song about [[Robert Lyon (duellist)|Robert Lyon]].
|-
|"Fire in the Mine"
|About the [[Hollinger Mines#Fire|Hollinger Mines fire]] that killed 39 miners in [[Timmins, Ontario]].
|}