James Gordon is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known as a founding member of

Tamarack ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

. He has also released more than 20 solo albums.

Musical career

As a prolific songwriter, James Gordon is known for such diverse songs as " Sweaters for Penguins" and "

Frobisher Bay Frobisher Bay is an inlet of the Davis Strait in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is located in the southeastern corner of Baffin Island. Its length is about and its width varies from about at its outlet into the Davis Strait ...

". He wrote the weekly song for the

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

program ''Basic Black''. He is proficient on a variety of instruments including guitar, piano, banjo and mandola. His songs have been covered by other musical artists such as the

Cowboy Junkies Cowboy Junkies are an alternative country and folk rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1985 by Alan Anton (bassist), Michael Timmins (songwriter, guitarist), Peter Timmins (drummer) and Margo Timmins (vocalist). The three Timminses ...

("Mining for Gold") and

Melanie Doane Melanie Doane is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and music educator. Early years Daughter of J. Chalmers Doane, a music educator and member of the Order of Canada, Doane learned many instruments at a young age, including piano, bass gui ...

. He has toured internationally in North America, the British Isles, Southeast Asia, and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. He is a co-founder of Guelph's annual

Hillside Festival The Hillside Festival is an annual three-day, five-stage (including one kids' stage) summer festival occurring in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, hosting musicians, spoken word artists, workshops and more. The Hillside Festival occurs in late July on Gu ...

and was its first creative director, from 1985 to 1988. He also founded (and was the artistic director of) the Canadian Songwriters' Festival, and was a board member of the Ontario Council of Folk Festivals. Gordon is active in arts-, civics-, and environment-related causes in the Guelph region, for which he was given the Guelph Mayor's Award in 2008.

Politics

Provincial

He was the candidate for the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

in the riding of

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

in the 2011 Ontario provincial election but lost to incumbent

Liz Sandals Liz Sandals (née MacNaughton; born ) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2018 who represented the ridings of Guelph—Wellington and Guelph. She served in cabinet ...

. He ran again in 2014 but once again lost to Liz Sandals.

Municipal

James Gordon declared his candidacy for Ward Two City Councillor in the city of

, Ontario in the 27 October 2014 Guelph municipal election. Gordon was elected to serve alongside

Andy Van Hellemond Andy Van Hellemond (born February 16, 1948) is a Canadian former National Hockey League referee and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1999. He is also a former municipal politician, serving on city council for the City of Guelph, On ...

and plans to continue his activist pursuits such as touring his one-man show, "Stephen Harper: The Musical". Gordon was re-elected in

2018 Ontario municipal elections The 2018 municipal elections in Ontario were held on October 22, 2018. Voters in the province of Ontario elected mayors, councillors, school board trustees and all other elected officials in all of the List of municipalities in Ontario, provinc ...

. Gordon announced his retirement from municipal politics in June 2022.

Discography

Tamarack

* ''Au Canada'' (1980) * ''Wind River'' * ''Spirit & Stone'' * ''13'' * ''Fields of Rock and Snow'' (1993) * ''Frobisher Bay'' (1993) * ''Leaving Inverarden'' (1995) * ''Blankets of Snow'' (1998)

Solo recordings

* ''Looking for Livingstone'' (1987) * ''Farther Along'' (1991) * ''Hometown Tunes'' (1994) * ''Dim Lights, Small City'' (1995) * ''More Hometown Tunes'' (1997) * ''Pipe Street Dreams'' (1999) * ''Mining for Gold: Twenty Years of Songwriting'' (2002) * ''Tune Cooties'' (2002) * ''One Timeless Moment'' (2003) * ''Endomusia'' (2004), includes "Weapons of Mass Instruction" * ''Nine Green Bottles'' (2007), includes "Casey Sheehan Didn't Die for Nothing", credited to James Gordon and Sons * ''My Stars Your Eyes'' (2009) * ''Coyote's Calling'' (2013), includes "Jack's Dream" * “Sunny Jim” (2016) includes “This Canoe Runs on Water” & “I’m Just A Farmhouse” (SOCAN). * “Heritage Hall Sessions” (2020) * “Crybabies Caravan” viral single with 300,000 views 2022 * When I Stayed Home “(2022) * “ Wrinkles and Scars” ( 2024 )

Folk operas (musicals)

James Gordon used to perform with David Archibald as "Jim and Dave", producing family-oriented musicals. * ''Jim and Dave's Awesome Environmental Adventure'' (1990) * ''Jim and Dave's Awesome Search for the Golden Toad'' (1992) * ''Jim and Dave's Awesome Supernatural Camping Adventure'' (1993) More recently, his work includes: * ''Hardscrabble Road'' (2003) * ''Two Steps and a Glass of Water'' (2005), which deals with mental illness and health, also a film by Glenn Curtis * ''Tryst and Snout'' (2007) * ''Stephen Harper: The Musical'' (2013)

Cinema

* "Mining for Gold" on the soundtrack of the film '' Silver City'' (2004) * ''Two Steps and a Glass of Water''

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, James 1955 births Living people Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian anti–Iraq War activists Canadian anti-war activists Ontario New Democratic Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections Guelph city councillors Musicians from Guelph Singers from Ontario