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{{Short description|Canadian folk rock band}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name = Great Big Sea |
| name = Great Big Sea
| image = Great-big-sea.jpg
| Background = group_or_band |
| Origin = {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Canada]] |
| caption = Great Big Sea in 2009
| image_size = 250px
| Genre = [[Celtic rock]]<br />[[Folk-rock]] |
| background = group_or_band
| Years_active = [[1993 in music|1993]] &ndash; [[Present (time)|Present]] |
| Label = [[Warner Music Canada]]<br>[[Rounder Records|Rounder Records USA]] |
| origin = [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], Canada
| genre = {{hlist | [[Celtic rock]] | [[folk rock]]}}
| Associated_acts = |
| years_active = 1993–2013
| URL = [http://www.greatbigsea.com/ www.greatbigsea.com] |
| label = {{hlist | [[Warner Music Canada|WEA]] | [[Redeye Distribution|Redeye]] | [[Sire Records|Sire]] | [[Zoë Records|Zoë]]}}
| Current_members = [[Alan Doyle]]<br>[[Séan McCann]]<br>[[Bob Hallett]] |
| past_members = [[Alan Doyle]]<br />[[Bob Hallett]]<br />[[Murray Foster]] (supporting)<br />Kris MacFarlane (supporting)<br />[[Séan McCann]]<br />[[Darrell Power]]
| Past_members = [[Darrell Power]] |
}}
}}


'''Great Big Sea''' (often shortened to GBS) is a [[Canada|Canadian]] [[folk-rock]] band from [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including [[sea shanty|sea shanties]], which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage. The band also performs original material.
'''Great Big Sea''' was a Canadian [[folk rock]] band from [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including [[sea shanty|sea shanties]], which draw from the island's 500-year Irish, Scottish, and Cornish heritage.<ref name="Keillor2008">{{cite book|author=Elaine Keillor|title=Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4rf9W02vv0C&pg=PT298|date=18 March 2008|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-3391-2|pages=298–}}</ref> The band was very successful in Canada, with eleven of their albums being certified Gold in the country, including four being certified Platinum and two achieving multi-platinum certifications.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://musiccanada.com/gold-platinum/?_gp_search=Great%20Big%20Sea&_gp_format=album|title=Gold/Platinum|website=Musiccanada.com|access-date=January 1, 2020}}</ref> Between 1996 and 2016, Great Big Sea was the sixteenth best-selling Canadian artist in Canada and the sixth best-selling Canadian band in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bdsradio.com/pd/docs/Nielsen_Canadian150_2017_vs2.pdf|title=NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS|website=Bdsradio.com|page=28|access-date=January 2, 2020}}</ref>

While it has been confirmed that the band has officially retired, former members [[Alan Doyle]] and [[Séan McCann (musician)|Séan McCann]] have continued performing in their own solo careers typically including music from Great Big Sea in their setlists.


==History==
==History==
===Beginnings===
The band played its first official gig on March 11, 1993, opening for the [[Irish Descendants]] at [[Memorial University]] in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]].<ref>{{cite web | title= CanadianBands| work=canadianbands.com|url=http://www.canadianbands.com}} Retrieved [[November 26]] [[2006]]</ref> The founding band members included [[Alan Doyle]] (vocals, [[guitar]], [[bouzouki]], [[mandolin]]), [[Séan McCann (musician)|Séan McCann]] (vocals, [[bodhrán]], guitar, [[tin whistle]]), [[Darrell Power]] (vocals, bass, guitar, [[Bones (instrument)|bones]]), and [[Bob Hallett]] (vocals, [[fiddle]], [[accordion]], mandolin, [[concertina]], bouzouki, whistles, [[bagpipes]]). Power, McCann and Hallett had already been playing together with a woman named Jackie St. Croix in a band called "Rankin Street." According to Doyle, Rankin Street owned a PA, and he owned a van, which made Great Big Sea "a match made in heaven."<ref>{{cite web | title=Canehdian| work=Canehdian.com |url=http://www.canehdian.com }} Retrieved [[November 26]] [[2006]]</ref>. They toured nearly constantly for the band's first several years, sometimes travelling as many as 300 days a year.
The band played its first official concert on March 11, 1993, opening for the [[Irish Descendants]] at [[Memorial University of Newfoundland]] in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]. The founding band members included [[Alan Doyle]] (vocals, [[guitar]], [[bouzouki]], [[mandolin]]), Séan McCann (vocals, [[bodhrán]], guitar, [[tin whistle]]), [[Darrell Power]] (vocals, bass, guitar, [[Bones (instrument)|bones]]), and [[Bob Hallett]] (vocals, [[fiddle]], [[accordion]], mandolin, [[concertina]], bouzouki, whistles, [[bagpipes]]).


Power, McCann and Hallett had already been playing together in another band. In the winter of 1989, the band, a six-piece with guitar, bass, fiddle, accordion and mandolin played its first show at the [[Memorial University of Newfoundland|Memorial University]]'s winter carnival talent show under the name "Newfoundland Republican Army" or NRA, and won first prize. The band's only other appearance as NRA was later that winter at the university "Grad House". The band then dropped the fiddler, accordion player and the name.
Power retired from Great Big Sea in 2003 to spend more time with his family and friends.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Canadian Encyclopedia| work=TheCanadian Encyclopedia.com|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com}} Retrieved [[November 26]] [[2006]]</ref> Supporting members of the band include [[Kris McFarlane]] (2003) (drums, accordion, guitar, backing vocals) and [[Murray Foster]] (2003, formerly of the band [[Moxy Früvous]]) (bass, backing vocals).


The band found its new name as original bassist Jeff Scott rented an apartment on Rankin Street, [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], where the members first met and discussed the formation of the band. As a four-piece, the band first appeared as "Rankin Street" at a little pub in downtown St. John's called "The Rose and Thistle", playing for $100 and beer. They played through Sean McCann's stereo system, as renting a PA would have cost more than the night's earnings. Susan Hickey (guitar and vocals) left the band months later to attend school in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] and was replaced by Darrell Power. The band gained much popularity playing such local pubs as Bridget's and Greensleeves. In 1991 Jeff Scott was replaced by Jackie St. Croix on bass. The band released one recording on cassette titled "Rankin Street".
The band won the ''Entertainer of the Year'' award at the [[East Coast Music Awards]] for every year between [[1996]] and 2000.<ref>{{cite web | title= East Coast Music Awards inductees| work=ecma.ca|url=http://www.ecma.ca/s_51.asp}} Retrieved [[November 26]] [[2006]]</ref> (In [[2001]], they decided not to submit their name for nomination in order to allow other bands to compete.) They have also been nominated for several [[Juno Award]]s,<ref>{{cite web | title= Juno Awards/Canadian Music Hall of Fame winner and nominations| work=juno-awards.ca|url=http://www.juno-awards.ca}} Retrieved [[November 26]] [[2006]]</ref> including Group of the Year in [[1998]] and [[2005]].


According to Doyle, Rankin Street owned a PA system and he owned a van, which made Great Big Sea "a match made in heaven."<ref>{{cite web|title=Canehdian|work=Canehdian.com|url=http://www.canehdian.com}} Retrieved November 26, 2006</ref> They toured nearly constantly for the band's first several years, sometimes traveling as many as 300 days a year.
Great Big Sea's first concert DVD and videos collection, the ''Great Big DVD'', saw release in [[Canada]] and the [[United States]] in [[2003]] and [[Europe]] in [[2004]].


In 1997, the band reached the top ten of the Canadian ''RPM'' pop chart with "[[When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)]]", a cover of a song by the British folk group [[Oysterband]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3296&type=1&interval=30&PHPSESSID=l217vq7csbvjmuaq5l1kcq7s56 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-12-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225120456/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3296&type=1&interval=30&PHPSESSID=l217vq7csbvjmuaq5l1kcq7s56 |archive-date=2013-12-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=50 legendary Canadian songs in honour of Canada's 150th birthday|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3539103/canadian-songs-music-artists-canada-day/|website=Global News|language=en}}</ref> They performed at the 1999 Stardust Picnic festival at Historic Fort York, [[Toronto]].<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20000204135613/http://chartattack.com/road/reviews/1999/19990721-stardust.html "Live Reviews: The Stardust Picnic"]}}. ''Chart Attack'', July 11, 1999, Howard Druckman</ref>
In late [[2005]], the band released its long-awaited "traditional" album, ''The Hard and the Easy'', on which they recorded their favourite Newfoundland party songs. The title of the album comes from a line of the song "Tickle Cove Pond," one of two songs on the album about a horse falling through ice.


The band won the ''Entertainer of the Year'' award at the [[East Coast Music Awards]] for every year between 1996 and 2000.<ref>{{cite web| title= East Coast Music Awards inductees| work= ecma.ca| url= http://www.ecma.ca/s_51.asp| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061207054336/http://www.ecma.ca/s_51.asp| archive-date= 2006-12-07}} Retrieved November 26, 2006</ref> In 2001, they decided not to submit their name for nomination in order to allow other bands to compete. They have also been nominated for several [[Juno Award]]s,<ref>{{cite web | title= Juno Awards/Canadian Music Hall of Fame winner and nominations| website=Juno-awards.ca|url=http://www.juno-awards.ca}} Retrieved November 26, 2006</ref> including Group of the Year in 1998, 2005, 2009, and 2011.
Also in late [[2005]], Great Big Sea released its first podcast, with clips of the band bantering back and forth in the studio mixed with various songs by them and other artists. They have since released several podcasts.


===The 2000s===
On [[February 9]], [[2006]], the band's tour bus tipped on its side into a ditch on the [[Trans-Canada Highway]] about 80 kilometres east of [[Vancouver, British Columbia|Vancouver]] near [[Abbotsford]]. Their driver suffered minor head injuries, but everyone in the band was unhurt. The band went on to continue their tour including their performance that evening at [[The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts]] just hours after the accident.
Power retired from Great Big Sea in 2003 to spend more time with his family and friends.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Great Big Sea| encyclopedia=TheCanadian Encyclopedia.com|url=http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-big-sea-emc/}} Retrieved November 26, 2006</ref> Supporting members of the band include Canadian freelance drummer Kris MacFarlane (2002) (drums, accordion, guitar, backing vocals) and [[Murray Foster]] (2003, formerly of the band [[Moxy Früvous]]) (bass, backing vocals).


In the [[2000 Canadian federal election|2000 Canadian Federal Election]], controversy occurred when [[Stockwell Day]] and the [[Canadian Alliance]] used the band's hit single, "[[Ordinary Day (Great Big Sea song)|Ordinary Day]]", at a rally without their permission. The band noted that this was a [[copyright violation]] and ordered that Day cease using the song for campaigning purposes.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/don-t-use-our-song-great-big-sea-tells-day-1.202706 | publisher=CBC News | title='Don't use our song,' Great Big Sea tells Day | date=October 24, 2000 |access-date=April 27, 2018}}</ref>
On [[November 21]], [[2006]], the band released their second concert DVD, ''Courage & Patience & Grit'', recorded in [[Belleville, Ontario]]. It is also the second release by the band to be titled by a line from their [[2005]] song, "Tickle Cove Pond".


Great Big Sea's first concert DVD and videos collection, the ''[[Great Big DVD]]'', saw release in Canada and the United States in 2003 and Europe in 2004.
On [[June 13]], [[2007]], the band stated that they are going to be going back into the studio in Late Summer/Early Fall to record new material for their new album which should release in February of 2008.


In late 2005, the band released its long-awaited "traditional" album, ''[[The Hard and the Easy]]'', on which they recorded their favourite Newfoundland party songs. The title of the album comes from a line of the song "[[Tickle Cove Pond]]", one of two songs on the album about a horse falling through ice.
==Charts==
{| class="wikitable"


Also in late 2005, Great Big Sea released its first podcast, with clips of the band bantering back and forth in the studio mixed with various songs by them and other artists. They have since released several podcasts.
|-


On February 9, 2006, the band's tour bus tipped on its side into a ditch on the [[Trans-Canada Highway]] about 80 kilometres east of [[Vancouver]] near [[Surrey, British Columbia|Surrey]]. The bus went on its side (right side) right beside the commercial weigh scales. As traffic backed up as far as [[Chilliwack|Chilliwack, British Columbia]], [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police|RCMP]] started to re-route traffic through the weigh scales. Their driver suffered minor head injuries, but everyone in the band was unhurt. The band went on to continue their tour including their performance that evening at [[The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Inside the Great Big Sea tour bus crash| work= Blogaholics.ca|url= http://www.blogaholics.ca/archives/2006/02/inside_the_grea.html }} Retrieved May 20, 2008</ref>
! Year
! Album
! Chart
! Position


On November 21, 2006, the band released their second concert DVD, ''[[Courage & Patience & Grit]]'', recorded in [[Belleville, Ontario]]. It is also the second release by the band to be titled by a line from their 2005 song, "Tickle Cove Pond".
|-
[[File:Great Big Sea.jpg|thumb|300px|Great Big Sea at [[Byron Bay Bluesfest]] in Australia, in April 2012.]]
|1997
|Play
|Top Canadian Albums
|9
|-
|1999
|Turn
|Top Canadian Albums
|9
|-
|2000
|Road Rage
|Top Canadian Albums
|9
|-
|2002
|Sea of No Cares
|Top Canadian Albums
|1
|-
|2002
|Sea of No Cares
|Top World Music Albums
|7
|-
|2004
|Something Beautiful
|Top Canadian Albums
|4
|-
|2004
|Something Beautiful
|Top World Music Albums
|3
|-
|2005
|The Hard And The Easy
|Top Canadian Albums
|3
|-
|2005
|The Hard And The Easy
|Top World Music Albums
|2
|}
<!--http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:ipj9ke9t7q7c~T5 source-->


==Discography==
===Later career===
On June 13, 2007, the band announced they would return to the studio with producer [[Hawksley Workman]]. On March 14, 2008, the band announced that the title of the new album would be ''[[Fortune's Favour]]'', borrowing a phrase from one of the songs on the album, "England". Prior to the release, a few of the songs that were eventually included on the album were played at live concerts, including "Love Me Tonight", "Walk on the Moon" "The Rocks of [[Merasheen Island|Merasheen]]", "Straight To Hell", and "Oh Yeah". On April 17, 2008, the band's website announced that the first single from ''Fortune's Favour'' would be "Walk on the Moon". People who pre-ordered the album from the band's official website were also treated to exclusive digital downloads of the songs "Belong (A Capella)" and "Gallow's Pole". The album was officially released on June 24, 2008 across all of North America.
*[[1993 in music|1993]]: ''[[Great Big Sea (album)|Great Big Sea]]''
*[[1995 in music|1995]]: ''[[Up (Great Big Sea album)|Up]]''
*[[1997 in music|1997]]: ''[[Play (Great Big Sea album)|Play]]''
*[[1998 in music|1998]]: ''[[Rant and Roar]]''
*[[1999 in music|1999]]: ''[[Turn (album)|Turn]]''
*[[2000 in music|2000]]: ''[[Road Rage (album)|Road Rage]]'' (live)
*[[2002 in music|2002]]: ''[[Sea of No Cares]]''
*[[2004 in music|2004]]: ''[[Something Beautiful*]]''
*[[2005 in music|2005]]: ''[[The Hard and the Easy]]''
*[[2008 in music|2008]]: '''TBA'''


On February 23, 2010, band member [[Séan McCann]] released his debut solo album ''Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes'' to pleasing critical success. The nine track collection was recorded over the course of several months earlier this year at GreatBigStudio in St. John's.<ref>[http://www.greatbigsea.com/news/news_archive.aspx] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620000753/http://www.greatbigsea.com/news/news_archive.aspx |date=June 20, 2010 }}</ref>
== DVD ==
* [[Great Big DVD]] (2003)
* [[Courage & Patience & Grit]] (2006)


On July 13, 2010, Great Big Sea released their new album ''[[Safe Upon the Shore]]'' in North America. Alan's "From the Road" blog on the band's website, originally confirmed its production in an April posting, speaking also of the album's subsequent release in July.<ref>[http://www.greatbigsea.com/about/GBS_AlansFTR.aspx] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524025450/http://www.greatbigsea.com/about/GBS_AlansFTR.aspx |date=May 24, 2010 }}</ref> "Nothing But A Song" is the first single off the bands' ninth studio recording, with a subsequent tour kicking off at the end of the summer 2010.
== Other releases ==

*[[2005 in music|2005]]: Podcasts
The Canadian television series ''[[Republic of Doyle]]'' uses Great Big Sea's "Oh Yeah" as its [[theme song]].
*[[2006 in music|2006]]: Podcasts

*[[2007 in music|2007]]: Podcasts
Great Big Sea appeared on "[[It's Friday]]", a song by [[Dean Brody]] on his 2012 album ''[[Dirt (Dean Brody album)|Dirt]]''.

Great Big Sea announced a 'greatest hits' album titled "XX" in October 2012, accompanied by a 20th anniversary tour with 32 dates in 28 cities across the US and Canada which kicked off on March 5, 2013 in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and finished in [[St. John's, Newfoundland|St. John's]] on April 23, 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seaandbescene.com/2012/10/great-big-sea-celebrates-20-years/ |title=GREAT BIG SEA Celebrates 20 Years « Sea and be Scene |website=Seaandbescene.com |access-date=2020-03-21}}</ref>

===McCann's departure===
In 2013, McCann announced that he would be leaving the band at the end of the [[XX (Great Big Sea album)|''XX'']] tour, much to the dismay of his bandmates.<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/great-big-seas-sean-mccann-becomes-a-musician-entrepreneur/article32511242/ " After Great Big Sea, Séan McCann becomes a musician-entrepreneur"]. Josh O’Kane, ''The Globe and Mail'', Oct. 27, 2016</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2013-11-15/article-3481864/Sean-McCann-leaves-Great-Big-Sea/1|title=Sean McCann leaves Great Big Sea|publisher=Thetelegram.com|access-date=14 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232356/http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2013-11-15/article-3481864/Sean-McCann-leaves-Great-Big-Sea/1|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In an interview with [[Bob Mersereau]] for the CBC, McCann discussed his life changes. "I stopped drinking two and a half years ago, I've decided to leave the band I've been in for 20 years. I'm 46 years old, and I've decided to make ...changes."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/nb/mt/east-coast-music/2014/02/sean-mccann-on-quitting-drinking-quitting-great-big-sea-turning-it-into-a-great-album.html|title=East Coast Music with Bob Mersereau - CBC New Brunswick|date=4 February 2014|publisher=Cbc.ca|access-date=14 January 2015}}</ref>

In 2020, McCann coauthored a memoir with his wife, Andrea Aragon, titled "One Good Reason" that discusses his early life, battle with addiction and how this affected his life in the band. In it, McCann says that struggling to maintain his new sobriety he told his bandmates in January 2013 that XX would be his last tour with the band, but the rest of the band and its management refused to announce this publicly. Finally, in November 2013 with XX almost over, McCann announced his departure himself in a tweet, feeling that the fans needed to know. While largely vilified by Great Big Sea fans with little said by the band or management to counter this view, McCann claims he was devastated by how Great Big Sea ended and wishes it could have gone differently.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://seanmccannsings.com/the-book|title=The Book}}</ref>

===Retirement===
On November 5, 2015, Alan Doyle was quoted in an interview with Christopher Tessmer of the ''[[Leader-Post|Regina Leader-Post]]'',<ref>{{cite news| url=https://leaderpost.com/entertainment/alan+doyle+loving+life+solo/11492386/story.html | work=Leader Post | title=Doyle's loving life as a solo act | date=November 5, 2015}}</ref> "We’re all struggling to define what the status of Great Big Sea is right now. As most people know, at the end of 2013 — after our 20th Anniversary tour — Sean (McCann) quit and left the band. We spent a length of time — a year or so — to find an amicable way that Bob (Hallett) and I could continue without him. We couldn’t, so we came to the realization that we didn’t want to go on like that. We don’t want to fight for the spoils of it. For the lack of a better term, the band is now happily retired."

On February 27, 2017, Doyle was quoted in an interview with Jason Setnyk of the Cornwall Seeker, "Of course (we’re still friends). Sean, Bob, Darrell, and myself still own the publishing. Sean doesn’t live in Newfoundland anymore. We don’t talk as much as we once did, but he seems to be doing really well and great, and good luck to him."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-02-22|title=Interview with Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea touring Southern Ontario|url=https://theseeker.ca/2017/02/interview-alan-doyle-great-big-sea/|access-date=2020-07-03|website=The Seeker Newspaper Cornwall|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Charity work===

Great Big Sea is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism and worked with them on a radio [[Public service announcement|PSA]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://artistsagainstracism.org/radio-2/ |title=Radio |website=Artistsagainstracism.org |access-date=2020-03-21}}</ref>

== Discography ==
{{Main|Great Big Sea discography}}
* ''[[Great Big Sea (album)|Great Big Sea]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Up (Great Big Sea album)|Up]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Play (Great Big Sea album)|Play]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Turn (Great Big Sea album)|Turn]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Sea of No Cares]]'' (2002)
* ''[[Something Beautiful (Great Big Sea album)|Something Beautiful]]'' (2004)
* ''[[The Hard and the Easy]]'' (2005)
* ''[[Fortune's Favour]]'' (2008)
* ''[[Safe Upon the Shore]]'' (2010)
* ''[[XX (Great Big Sea album)|XX]]'' (2012)


==See also==
==See also==
Line 119: Line 97:


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}

<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Great Big Sea}}
*[http://www.greatbigsea.com Official website]
{{Wikiquote}}
*[http://www.greatbigsea.com/themusic/podcast.aspx Official Podcast]
*[http://gestsongs.com/agbs.htm Artist Listing Page for Great Big Sea at GEST Songs of Newfoundland and Labrador]
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-big-sea-emc Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca]
* [https://canadianbands.com/artists/great-big-sea/ Article at canadianbands.com]
* {{discogs artist|Great Big Sea}}
* {{IMDb name|1670086}}


{{Great Big Sea}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Great Big Sea| ]]
[[Category:Canadian folk rock groups]]
[[Category:Canadian folk rock groups]]
[[Category:Celtic fusion groups]]
[[Category:Celtic fusion groups]]
[[Category:1990s music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1993]]
[[Category:2000s music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2013]]
[[Category:Newfoundland and Labrador music]]
[[Category:Musical groups from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Maritime music]]
[[Category:1993 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:People from Newfoundland]]
[[Category:2015 disestablishments in Newfoundland and Labrador]]
[[Category:Zoë Records artists]]

[[Category:Canadian Celtic music groups]]
[[de:Great Big Sea]]
[[fr:Great Big Sea]]
[[pt:Great Big Sea]]
[[sv:Great Big Sea]]

Latest revision as of 21:47, 4 April 2024

Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea in 2009
Great Big Sea in 2009
Background information
OriginSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Genres
Years active1993–2013
Labels
Past membersAlan Doyle
Bob Hallett
Murray Foster (supporting)
Kris MacFarlane (supporting)
Séan McCann
Darrell Power

Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year Irish, Scottish, and Cornish heritage.[1] The band was very successful in Canada, with eleven of their albums being certified Gold in the country, including four being certified Platinum and two achieving multi-platinum certifications.[2] Between 1996 and 2016, Great Big Sea was the sixteenth best-selling Canadian artist in Canada and the sixth best-selling Canadian band in Canada.[3]

While it has been confirmed that the band has officially retired, former members Alan Doyle and Séan McCann have continued performing in their own solo careers typically including music from Great Big Sea in their setlists.

History[edit]

Beginnings[edit]

The band played its first official concert on March 11, 1993, opening for the Irish Descendants at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Newfoundland. The founding band members included Alan Doyle (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin), Séan McCann (vocals, bodhrán, guitar, tin whistle), Darrell Power (vocals, bass, guitar, bones), and Bob Hallett (vocals, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, concertina, bouzouki, whistles, bagpipes).

Power, McCann and Hallett had already been playing together in another band. In the winter of 1989, the band, a six-piece with guitar, bass, fiddle, accordion and mandolin played its first show at the Memorial University's winter carnival talent show under the name "Newfoundland Republican Army" or NRA, and won first prize. The band's only other appearance as NRA was later that winter at the university "Grad House". The band then dropped the fiddler, accordion player and the name.

The band found its new name as original bassist Jeff Scott rented an apartment on Rankin Street, St. John's, where the members first met and discussed the formation of the band. As a four-piece, the band first appeared as "Rankin Street" at a little pub in downtown St. John's called "The Rose and Thistle", playing for $100 and beer. They played through Sean McCann's stereo system, as renting a PA would have cost more than the night's earnings. Susan Hickey (guitar and vocals) left the band months later to attend school in Halifax and was replaced by Darrell Power. The band gained much popularity playing such local pubs as Bridget's and Greensleeves. In 1991 Jeff Scott was replaced by Jackie St. Croix on bass. The band released one recording on cassette titled "Rankin Street".

According to Doyle, Rankin Street owned a PA system and he owned a van, which made Great Big Sea "a match made in heaven."[4] They toured nearly constantly for the band's first several years, sometimes traveling as many as 300 days a year.

In 1997, the band reached the top ten of the Canadian RPM pop chart with "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)", a cover of a song by the British folk group Oysterband.[5][6] They performed at the 1999 Stardust Picnic festival at Historic Fort York, Toronto.[7]

The band won the Entertainer of the Year award at the East Coast Music Awards for every year between 1996 and 2000.[8] In 2001, they decided not to submit their name for nomination in order to allow other bands to compete. They have also been nominated for several Juno Awards,[9] including Group of the Year in 1998, 2005, 2009, and 2011.

The 2000s[edit]

Power retired from Great Big Sea in 2003 to spend more time with his family and friends.[10] Supporting members of the band include Canadian freelance drummer Kris MacFarlane (2002) (drums, accordion, guitar, backing vocals) and Murray Foster (2003, formerly of the band Moxy Früvous) (bass, backing vocals).

In the 2000 Canadian Federal Election, controversy occurred when Stockwell Day and the Canadian Alliance used the band's hit single, "Ordinary Day", at a rally without their permission. The band noted that this was a copyright violation and ordered that Day cease using the song for campaigning purposes.[11]

Great Big Sea's first concert DVD and videos collection, the Great Big DVD, saw release in Canada and the United States in 2003 and Europe in 2004.

In late 2005, the band released its long-awaited "traditional" album, The Hard and the Easy, on which they recorded their favourite Newfoundland party songs. The title of the album comes from a line of the song "Tickle Cove Pond", one of two songs on the album about a horse falling through ice.

Also in late 2005, Great Big Sea released its first podcast, with clips of the band bantering back and forth in the studio mixed with various songs by them and other artists. They have since released several podcasts.

On February 9, 2006, the band's tour bus tipped on its side into a ditch on the Trans-Canada Highway about 80 kilometres east of Vancouver near Surrey. The bus went on its side (right side) right beside the commercial weigh scales. As traffic backed up as far as Chilliwack, British Columbia, RCMP started to re-route traffic through the weigh scales. Their driver suffered minor head injuries, but everyone in the band was unhurt. The band went on to continue their tour including their performance that evening at The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts.[12]

On November 21, 2006, the band released their second concert DVD, Courage & Patience & Grit, recorded in Belleville, Ontario. It is also the second release by the band to be titled by a line from their 2005 song, "Tickle Cove Pond".

Great Big Sea at Byron Bay Bluesfest in Australia, in April 2012.

Later career[edit]

On June 13, 2007, the band announced they would return to the studio with producer Hawksley Workman. On March 14, 2008, the band announced that the title of the new album would be Fortune's Favour, borrowing a phrase from one of the songs on the album, "England". Prior to the release, a few of the songs that were eventually included on the album were played at live concerts, including "Love Me Tonight", "Walk on the Moon" "The Rocks of Merasheen", "Straight To Hell", and "Oh Yeah". On April 17, 2008, the band's website announced that the first single from Fortune's Favour would be "Walk on the Moon". People who pre-ordered the album from the band's official website were also treated to exclusive digital downloads of the songs "Belong (A Capella)" and "Gallow's Pole". The album was officially released on June 24, 2008 across all of North America.

On February 23, 2010, band member Séan McCann released his debut solo album Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes to pleasing critical success. The nine track collection was recorded over the course of several months earlier this year at GreatBigStudio in St. John's.[13]

On July 13, 2010, Great Big Sea released their new album Safe Upon the Shore in North America. Alan's "From the Road" blog on the band's website, originally confirmed its production in an April posting, speaking also of the album's subsequent release in July.[14] "Nothing But A Song" is the first single off the bands' ninth studio recording, with a subsequent tour kicking off at the end of the summer 2010.

The Canadian television series Republic of Doyle uses Great Big Sea's "Oh Yeah" as its theme song.

Great Big Sea appeared on "It's Friday", a song by Dean Brody on his 2012 album Dirt.

Great Big Sea announced a 'greatest hits' album titled "XX" in October 2012, accompanied by a 20th anniversary tour with 32 dates in 28 cities across the US and Canada which kicked off on March 5, 2013 in Los Angeles and finished in St. John's on April 23, 2013.[15]

McCann's departure[edit]

In 2013, McCann announced that he would be leaving the band at the end of the XX tour, much to the dismay of his bandmates.[16][17]

In an interview with Bob Mersereau for the CBC, McCann discussed his life changes. "I stopped drinking two and a half years ago, I've decided to leave the band I've been in for 20 years. I'm 46 years old, and I've decided to make ...changes."[18]

In 2020, McCann coauthored a memoir with his wife, Andrea Aragon, titled "One Good Reason" that discusses his early life, battle with addiction and how this affected his life in the band. In it, McCann says that struggling to maintain his new sobriety he told his bandmates in January 2013 that XX would be his last tour with the band, but the rest of the band and its management refused to announce this publicly. Finally, in November 2013 with XX almost over, McCann announced his departure himself in a tweet, feeling that the fans needed to know. While largely vilified by Great Big Sea fans with little said by the band or management to counter this view, McCann claims he was devastated by how Great Big Sea ended and wishes it could have gone differently.[19]

Retirement[edit]

On November 5, 2015, Alan Doyle was quoted in an interview with Christopher Tessmer of the Regina Leader-Post,[20] "We’re all struggling to define what the status of Great Big Sea is right now. As most people know, at the end of 2013 — after our 20th Anniversary tour — Sean (McCann) quit and left the band. We spent a length of time — a year or so — to find an amicable way that Bob (Hallett) and I could continue without him. We couldn’t, so we came to the realization that we didn’t want to go on like that. We don’t want to fight for the spoils of it. For the lack of a better term, the band is now happily retired."

On February 27, 2017, Doyle was quoted in an interview with Jason Setnyk of the Cornwall Seeker, "Of course (we’re still friends). Sean, Bob, Darrell, and myself still own the publishing. Sean doesn’t live in Newfoundland anymore. We don’t talk as much as we once did, but he seems to be doing really well and great, and good luck to him."[21]

Charity work[edit]

Great Big Sea is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism and worked with them on a radio PSA.[22]

Discography[edit]

Main article: Great Big Sea discography

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Elaine Keillor (18 March 2008). Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 298–. ISBN 978-0-7735-3391-2.
  2. ^ "Gold/Platinum". Musiccanada.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "NIELSEN MUSIC & BILLBOARD PRESENT CANADA 150 CHARTS" (PDF). Bdsradio.com. p. 28. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  4. ^ "Canehdian". Canehdian.com. Retrieved November 26, 2006
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-25. Retrieved 2017-12-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "50 legendary Canadian songs in honour of Canada's 150th birthday". Global News.
  7. ^ "Live Reviews: The Stardust Picnic"[usurped]. Chart Attack, July 11, 1999, Howard Druckman
  8. ^ "East Coast Music Awards inductees". ecma.ca. Archived from the original on 2006-12-07. Retrieved November 26, 2006
  9. ^ "Juno Awards/Canadian Music Hall of Fame winner and nominations". Juno-awards.ca. Retrieved November 26, 2006
  10. ^ "Great Big Sea". TheCanadian Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved November 26, 2006
  11. ^ "'Don't use our song,' Great Big Sea tells Day". CBC News. October 24, 2000. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "Inside the Great Big Sea tour bus crash". Blogaholics.ca. Retrieved May 20, 2008
  13. ^ [1] Archived June 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ [2] Archived May 24, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "GREAT BIG SEA Celebrates 20 Years « Sea and be Scene". Seaandbescene.com. Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  16. ^ " After Great Big Sea, Séan McCann becomes a musician-entrepreneur". Josh O’Kane, The Globe and Mail, Oct. 27, 2016
  17. ^ "Sean McCann leaves Great Big Sea". Thetelegram.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  18. ^ "East Coast Music with Bob Mersereau - CBC New Brunswick". Cbc.ca. 4 February 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  19. ^ "The Book".
  20. ^ "Doyle's loving life as a solo act". Leader Post. November 5, 2015.
  21. ^ "Interview with Alan Doyle of Great Big Sea touring Southern Ontario". The Seeker Newspaper Cornwall. 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  22. ^ "Radio". Artistsagainstracism.org. Retrieved 2020-03-21.

External links[edit]

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