For a white dude who was alive in the 80s, I have a very difficult time distinguishing between some of the white dudes who were popular singers in the 80s.
Part of it, I guess, came down to the fact that I was very young, and only starting to become aware of popular music. The only artist I was really aware of was Michael Jackson, so remembering the sound-alike names of Bruce Hornsby, Bruce Cockburn, Bruce Springsteen, Rick Springfield, Robert Palmer, Robert Plant, Bryan Adams…it was a lot to ask of a kid who couldn’t reliably remember how to tie his own shoes.
But hey, never too late to learn, right?
So below are a few things I learned about Bruce Cockburn while listening to his lovely 90-second nugget “Foxglove” this week.
What makes this a beautiful song:
1. Like Bruce Hornsby, Cockburn attended Berklee. A seriously skilled guitarist, his musicianship comes across in this track; solid but not flashy.
2. Like Bryan Adams, Bruce Cockburn is Canadian. This song has a particularly “Canadian Spring” vibe to it.
3. Like Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Cockburn’s music is often politically oriented. A longtime champion of Indigenous rights in Canada, and anti-war movements globally, he knows when to speak out. But preachy isn’t his style, and his activism never comes off as token. His 2005 album Speechless proves that he doesn’t need to always hear the sound of his own voice; it’s a record of beautiful instrumentals for which “Foxglove” is the perfect opener.
Recommended listening activity:
Googling variations on your name to see what you find.