Bruce Cockburn facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bruce Cockburn
Cockburn performing in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Bruce Douglas Cockburn
Born	(1945-05-27) May 27, 1945 (age 80) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Genres	Folk rock
Instruments	Guitar vocals
Years active	1967–present

Bruce Douglas Cockburn (born May 27, 1945) is a famous Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He plays many styles of music, from folk to rock with jazz influences. His songs often talk about important topics like spirituality, human rights, and protecting the environment. He also shares stories from his travels in places like Central America and Africa.

Bruce Cockburn has written over 350 songs and released 34 albums during his long career, which has lasted more than five decades. By 2018, 22 of his albums had sold enough copies in Canada to earn gold or platinum awards. He has sold over a million albums in Canada alone! In 2014, he also wrote a book about his life called Rumours of Glory.

Bruce Cockburn's Early Life and Learning

Bruce Cockburn was born in 1945 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. As a teenager, he grew up in a part of Ottawa called Westboro. His father, Doug Cockburn, was a doctor who specialized in X-rays.

Bruce found his first guitar in his grandmother's attic around 1959. He loved playing along to songs on the radio. When his first guitar teacher said that old guitar was hard to play, his parents bought him a new one.

Later, he learned piano and music theory from Peter Hall, who was an organist at his family's church. Bruce was very interested in jazz music and wanted to learn how to compose songs. Mr. Hall encouraged him, and Bruce spent a lot of time at his house listening to and discussing jazz.

Bruce went to Nepean High School. His yearbook photo from 1964 showed that he wanted to "become a musician." After high school, he traveled to Europe and played music on the streets of Paris to earn money. He also studied jazz composition at Berklee School of Music in Boston for a while, from 1964 to 1966.

Bruce Cockburn's Music Career

Starting Out in Music

In 1967, Bruce joined a band called The Children. Later that year, he moved to Toronto and formed a new band called The Flying Circus. This group recorded some songs, but they were never released. The band then changed its name to Olivus in 1968. Olivus even opened concerts for famous bands like The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream!

In 1969, Bruce decided to leave the band and start his solo career. His first solo performance was at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1967, and by 1969, he was a main performer there. In 1970, he released his first solo album, also called Bruce Cockburn. One of his songs, "Going to the Country," became popular on the Canadian music charts.

Bruce's guitar playing and songwriting quickly gained him many fans. His early songs often used images of nature and the sea, and they sometimes included ideas from the Bible. He became a Christian early in his career, and many of his albums from the 1970s explored Christian themes. These beliefs also influenced his strong feelings about human rights and protecting the environment.

In the 1970s, Bruce won the Juno Award for Canadian Folksinger of the Year three times in a row. While he was very popular in Canada, he didn't become well-known in the United States until 1979. That year, his album Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws was released. The song "Wondering Where the Lions Are" from that album reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US in 1980. This led to Bruce performing on the TV show Saturday Night Live.

Music in the 1980s and 1990s

During the 1980s, Bruce Cockburn's songs became more focused on cities, global issues, and politics. He became more involved in causes that aimed to make the world a better place. His political concerns became very clear in 1984 with his song "If I Had a Rocket Launcher." He wrote this song after visiting refugee camps in Mexico that had been attacked by military helicopters. Bruce's activism for important causes continues even today. His music also started to include sounds from around the world, like reggae and Latin music.

In 1991, a tribute album called Kick at the Darkness was released, featuring other artists covering Bruce's songs. The band Barenaked Ladies had their first big hit with their cover of his song "Lovers in a Dangerous Time." Even the famous band U2 mentioned a line from this song in one of their own songs.

In the early 1990s, Bruce worked with producer T Bone Burnett on two albums, Nothing but a Burning Light and Dart to the Heart.

Bruce Cockburn performing at the Markham Jazz Festival in 2014.

Music in the 2000s and Beyond

In 2001, Bruce Cockburn performed at the Music Without Borders concert in Toronto. This event helped raise money for refugees from Afghanistan. In 2003, he released his 21st album, You've Never Seen Everything, which featured other well-known musicians like Emmylou Harris and Jackson Browne.

Bruce also released a collection of his best songs called Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979–2002 in 2002. In 2005, he performed at the Live 8 concert in Barrie, Ontario, which was a big event to raise awareness about poverty. He also released an album of instrumental music called Speechless that year. His 22nd album, Life Short Call Now, came out in 2006.

In 2009, Bruce traveled to Afghanistan to visit his brother, who was a medical officer, and to play a concert for Canadian troops. He even performed his song "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" and was given a real rocket launcher for a short time by the military!

In 2011, Bruce released the album Small Source of Comfort. In 2018, his album Bone on Bone won the Contemporary Roots Album of the Year award at the Juno Awards, which are like the Grammy Awards for Canadian music.

Bruce Cockburn's Activism

Bruce Cockburn's songs often have strong political messages. He cares deeply about the environment and the rights of Indigenous peoples. One music dictionary even said that Bruce "always risked an outspoken stand in his work, taking on issues and morality to the detriment of his popular appeal." This means he wasn't afraid to sing about important topics, even if it meant he might not be as popular.

He has worked with relief organizations like Oxfam, traveling to Central America in 1983. He also supports the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. His song "Mines of Mozambique" is about what he saw during a visit to that country in 1995. Bruce is also connected with the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada and has visited Nepal twice with them.

Some of his famous songs about these topics include "If I Had a Rocket Launcher", which shows his anger about the struggles of refugees. "Stolen Land" is about the land claims of the Haida people in British Columbia. And "If a Tree Falls" is one of his best-known songs, speaking out against the cutting down of forests in the Amazon rainforest.

Documentaries and Movie Music

Bruce Cockburn wrote and performed the theme song for the children's TV show Franklin. He also created music for the Canadian documentary film Waterwalker (1984) and two songs for the classic Canadian film Goin' Down the Road (1970).

In 1998, Bruce traveled to Mali, West Africa, with a filmmaker. There, he played music with famous blues musician Ali Farka Toure and kora master Toumani Diabate. This trip was made into a film called River of Sand, which won an award for best documentary.

A documentary film about Bruce, called Bruce Cockburn Pacing the Cage, was released in 2013. It gave people a special look into his music, his life, and his political views.

Songs Covered by Other Artists

Many other artists have performed Bruce Cockburn's songs. Here are some of them:

Awards and Special Recognitions

Awards from 1980 to 2010

Bruce Cockburn was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1982, which is a very high honor in Canada. He was promoted to Officer in 2002. In 1998, he received the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement, which is Canada's top award for performing artists.

He has won thirteen Juno Awards. In 2001, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. During the awards ceremony, famous musicians like Bono from U2 and Jackson Browne spoke about how much they admired Bruce. That year, he also received a SOCAN Folk/Roots award for his songwriting.

In 2002, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters added Bruce Cockburn to the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame. The CBC's Life and Times TV show also aired a special episode about him.

Bruce has received many honorary doctorates from universities, which are special degrees given to people who have achieved great things. He received his first ones from York University, Berklee College of Music, and St. Thomas University. Between 2007 and 2014, he received six more honorary doctorates from universities like Queen's University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Victoria, McMaster University, Laurentian University, and Carleton University.

Awards from 2010 to Today

In 2010, Bruce Cockburn received Earth Day Canada's Outstanding Commitment to the Environment Award for his work protecting the planet. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) in 2012.

In 2017, he received the People's Voice Award from Folk Alliance International. On September 23, 2017, Bruce Cockburn was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Toronto.

Most recently, on June 14, 2024, Bruce received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Wilfrid Laurier University. And on July 12, 2025, the City of Winnipeg gave him the Key to the City, a special honor.

Bruce Cockburn's Personal Life

Bruce Cockburn was married to Kitty Macaulay from 1969 to 1984, and they have a daughter together. In his book, he shared a personal story about becoming a Christian. While on vacation with Kitty, he felt a moment of crisis. He prayed and felt a strong presence, which he believed was Jesus.

In 2011, Bruce married his longtime girlfriend, M. J. Hannett, shortly after their second daughter was born. As of 2014, Bruce and his family live in the San Francisco area, where he wrote his book.

Bruce Cockburn's Albums