When a Canadian band marks a 40th anniversary, there’s a good chance CKUA host Terry David Mulligan has known them just as long. Blue Rodeo is one of those bands. Mulligan first interviewed them in the 80s on his Much Music West show, when they were a brand-new group out of Toronto. Many conversations have followed in the intervening decades.
Now, during their 40th anniversary year, the three reconnect once again. On Saturday, November 21, Mulligan features an interview with band founders Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor on Mulligan Stew. Tune in from 5pm to 7pm to hear them swap stories from the 80s to today.
“They’ve grown up now,” says Mulligan, remembering those early days. “Except for Greg,” he adds, and laughs. “They’ve grown up and life is good. They’ve survived themselves.”
Blue Rodeo’s 40-year milestone comes with plenty to celebrate: 12 Juno Awards, a Star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, appointments to the Order of Canada, a place in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and even their own Canadian postage stamp. And it’s hard to find a longtime Canadian who couldn’t hum along to their 1992 hit “Lost Together.”
What stands out most, Mulligan says, is that four decades in, the band is still playing and even more remarkably, Cuddy and Keelor remain close friends. “They still disagree,” Mulligan says. “They disagree all the time. But they’ve been doing this for 40 years. And the friendship is still solid and they’re good people.”
He adds, “How on earth you retain that in the music business – which is a nasty business – how you retain that sweet side of yourself for 40 years is beyond me. It’s something to learn from each of them.”
Connecting with the two musicians again was a pleasure, Mulligan says. “We made each other laugh,” he says of their most recent chat.
Their ease comes from years of familiarity: “There’s a mutual trust thing here. They trust me and they know I know my music. There’s a real honesty between the three of us.”
They also talk about CKUA’s role in the band’s early days. “As a young band the support from CKUA is tremendous. It was thrilling to know we were being played on CKUA and to hear ourselves on CKUA. They’ve always had that reputation of breaking bands and that’s an amazing place to be,” says Keelor.
He notes they weren’t alone: “Hundreds of Canadian bands have experienced that and broadened their audiences by being played on CKUA.”
The interview covers some fun facts fans may not know. For example, early on, Cuddy was the singer. Keelor didn’t sing. Their big breakthrough came when they tried harmonizing, something that shaped their sound ever since. Looking back, Keelor admits “we made the mistake of listening to other people’s advice. It just left a bitter taste. We decided to just stumble along in our own way and see what happens.”
Forty years later, the answer is: a lot. Tune in to hear all about it!
“Lost Together,” Blue Rodeo’s 1992 hit, performed live with friends:
