Blue Rodeo | |
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Blue Rodeo in concert, February 28, 2010 in Whistler, British Columbia
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Background information | |
Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Genres | Country rock |
Years active | 1984 | –present
Labels | WEA, Warner Music Group, Rounder |
Website | bluerodeo |
Members |
Jim Cuddy Bazil Donovan Greg Keelor Glenn Milchem Mike Boguski Colin Cripps |
Past members |
Cleave Anderson Bob Wiseman Mark French Kim Deschamps James Gray Bob Packwood Bob Egan |
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have been signed with Warner Music Group since their debut album, Outskirts, in March 1987. Including Outskirts, they have 15 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and collaborations.
Cuddy and Keelor met in high school and became friends. After university, when all their other friends were starting to get jobs, they decided to form a band and started to play music more often. They put together a several bands without commercial success. They released a single as Hi-Fi's in 1980.
Cuddy and Keelor moved to New York City to help their music careers. There they met Bob Wiseman. When they came back to Toronto in the summer of 1984, they decided to put another band together. They had already thought of the name for the band when before they met Anderson and asked him to join them. Anderson introduced Donovan, and these musicians became the band Blue Rodeo. In 1985 Blue Rodeo played their first show together at The Rivoli in Toronto; one week later, they performed at Handsome Ned's "Honky Tonk Heart".
By 1999 the band had sold more than two million albums in Canada.
Cuddy, Keelor, Donovan and Cripps have all released solo albums, and Glenn Milchem performs his own solo music under the pseudonym "the swallows". Keelor has also gone on to produce for other artists, notably alt-country group Cuff the Duke, who have also toured as support for Blue Rodeo.
Blue Rodeo members have collaborated extensively with other notable Canadian artists, including Sarah McLachlan, The Tragically Hip, Burton Cummings, Great Big Sea, Jann Arden, The Sadies, Skydiggers, Cuff the Duke, Crash Vegas, Cowboy Junkies, Sarah Harmer, Jill Barber, and Kathleen Edwards. They have won many Canadian music awards, including seven Juno Awards and seven SOCAN awards.