Humble beginnings beget a humble man. So it is with Tom Cochrane.
Born in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, the son of a bush pilot, Cochrane set the stage for his future at 11 years old when he swapped a toy train set for his first guitar. The rest, as they say, is history. Cochrane hit the music scene in the 1980s with Red Rider, releasing four acclaimed studio albums in succession. The momentum peaked with the track “Lunatic Fringe,” which went on to become one of the most-played songs in history on American Rock radio. After a lineup change, 1986 saw the band resurface as Tom Cochrane & Red Rider. With hits like “Boy Inside The Man” and “Untouchable One,” Cochrane’s songwriting was on a roll. 1988’s haunting “Big League”, both tragic and inspirational in the same breath, held massive homeland appeal with its impactful hockey-focused thread.
Although Red Rider folded, Cochrane’s new solo career quickly took him further than ever before. Mad Mad World was only the beginning. In the nearly two decades since that LP was released, Cochrane has reached numerous milestones – another four solo albums, greatest hits collections, six Junos and 15 more nominations, and a 2003 induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
Throughout his career, Cochrane has thrown his considerable support behind a wide range of worthy causes. He has travelled to Africa on behalf of World Vision four times and has been a key player in both the Make Poverty History campaign and the World Society for the Protection of Animals. But of all of his legacies, perhaps the most significant is the respect he commands.
