Norm Hacking
Encyclopedia
Norm Hacking was a Canadian
folk music
singer-songwriter
.
. When he was six his family "moved out to 'Scarberia'," he would jokingly say. Hacking described most of Scarborough at that time as a "sea of mud". "There was nothing but polywogs and field mice and there was even a chicken farm on the corner of Kennedy and Lawrence."
Of his father, Hacking said "My old man was AWOL pretty early in life. He left when I was six." He described his mother Kathy as a "saint".
, Hacking started performing while a student at Scarborough College
(a campus of the University of Toronto
), where he graduated as an English major.
His career as a musician began when a representative from the student council, who had heard him play, asked him to perform at a concert. "I said, 'You're crazy, are you out of your mind.' And he said '50 bucks, six songs...' You got me. I got up and nobody threw anything. In fact, several women who wouldn't normally speak to me came up after the gig and were cluttering about how they liked the music. And I said, 'Wow, this is good.'"
He then accepted an invitation to play the pub two weeks later, which he did with a lead guitar accompanist. "By the end of the night you couldn't hear yourself playing, it was so loud. And the table in front of the stage, they had been playing euchre all night and screaming and yelling, and they all got up in unison and mooned the stage. I said, 'OK, so that's how it is'."
Hacking would eventually become a regular at various establishments in Toronto
. The recordings of early performances in 1976 and 1977 became his first solo album, Norm Hacking Live (1977).
Critically acclaimed albums Cut Roses (1980) and Stubborn Ghost (1988) followed, and led to many festival
and concert appearances. A video
of the song "Sammy", from the album Cut Roses, aired on The Nashville Network
. Upon becoming the single caregiving parent to his young son Ben, however, he cut back on touring.
In 1996, with his son now a teen, Hacking released a greatest hits
album with four new songs, Skysongs... A Writer's Collection, and returned to more active performing. In 1996, and again in 1997, he was artistic director of the Caledon Folk Festival
.
A group of Canadian and American
songwriters recorded 18 of his songs for a tribute album, One Voice: A Tribute to Norm Hacking, Vol. 1, in 2001. Wayne Marshall of Three Flamingos Music initiated the project. The performers on the album included Michael Peter Smith
, Alan Rhody, Mikel Miller, Roger James, Nancy White
, Chris Whiteley, Ron Nigrini, Jory Nash
, Slowpoke, Jason Fowler and many others.
Hacking released I Am The Night, a collection of 33 original spoken word selections - poetry, prose, and lyrics - in 2005. Richard Christy, of the Kingston Whig-Standard, described each piece as "a very real slice of life. They are easy to relate to yet are neither simple nor boring... Hacking, like John Steinbeck, understands the depths of very simple situations and the simplicity of very complicated events."
On October 4, 2006, Hacking's mother Kathy died, with Norm at her side. He had spent most of his time since July with her at Scarborough Grace Hospital. Her death came as a profound emotional blow to Hacking, whose health deteriorated noticeably in the last few months, friends said.
Along with performing, in 1992 Hacking started writing a column, Racetrack Hack, for Taxinews, a monthly publication for and about Toronto's taxi industry.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
Early life
Hacking spent his first six years living in a house that used to be his grandparents, in the Gerrard Street and Victoria Park Avenue area of Scarborough, OntarioScarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
. When he was six his family "moved out to 'Scarberia'," he would jokingly say. Hacking described most of Scarborough at that time as a "sea of mud". "There was nothing but polywogs and field mice and there was even a chicken farm on the corner of Kennedy and Lawrence."
Of his father, Hacking said "My old man was AWOL pretty early in life. He left when I was six." He described his mother Kathy as a "saint".
Musical career
After attending Winston Churchill Collegiate InstituteWinston Churchill Collegiate Institute
Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario. Although the language of instruction is English, 59 percent of the students do not use English as their primary language, and 26 percent have resided in Canada less than five years...
, Hacking started performing while a student at Scarborough College
University of Toronto Scarborough
The University of Toronto Scarborough is a satellite campus of the University of Toronto. Based in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the campus is set upon suburban parkland in the residential neighbourhood of Highland Creek...
(a campus of the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
), where he graduated as an English major.
His career as a musician began when a representative from the student council, who had heard him play, asked him to perform at a concert. "I said, 'You're crazy, are you out of your mind.' And he said '50 bucks, six songs...' You got me. I got up and nobody threw anything. In fact, several women who wouldn't normally speak to me came up after the gig and were cluttering about how they liked the music. And I said, 'Wow, this is good.'"
He then accepted an invitation to play the pub two weeks later, which he did with a lead guitar accompanist. "By the end of the night you couldn't hear yourself playing, it was so loud. And the table in front of the stage, they had been playing euchre all night and screaming and yelling, and they all got up in unison and mooned the stage. I said, 'OK, so that's how it is'."
Hacking would eventually become a regular at various establishments in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The recordings of early performances in 1976 and 1977 became his first solo album, Norm Hacking Live (1977).
Critically acclaimed albums Cut Roses (1980) and Stubborn Ghost (1988) followed, and led to many festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
and concert appearances. A video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of the song "Sammy", from the album Cut Roses, aired on The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
. Upon becoming the single caregiving parent to his young son Ben, however, he cut back on touring.
In 1996, with his son now a teen, Hacking released a greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album with four new songs, Skysongs... A Writer's Collection, and returned to more active performing. In 1996, and again in 1997, he was artistic director of the Caledon Folk Festival
Caledon Folk Festival
The Caledon Folk Festival was a folk-jazz-blues-roots music festival which operated from 1996 to 1999 in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. The Festival was founded in February 1996 by Norm Hacking, Christian Tobin and Michael Tobin as a way to generate a more positive cultural atmosphere in the Caledon...
.
A group of Canadian and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriters recorded 18 of his songs for a tribute album, One Voice: A Tribute to Norm Hacking, Vol. 1, in 2001. Wayne Marshall of Three Flamingos Music initiated the project. The performers on the album included Michael Peter Smith
Michael Peter Smith
Michael Peter Smith is a Chicago, U.S.-based singer-songwriter. Rolling Stone Magazine once called him "The greatest songwriter in the English language"...
, Alan Rhody, Mikel Miller, Roger James, Nancy White
Nancy White
Nancy White is a Canadian singer-songwriter, whose topical songs were a regular feature on CBC Radio from 1976 to 1994 on the public affairs show Sunday Morning...
, Chris Whiteley, Ron Nigrini, Jory Nash
Jory Nash
Jory Nash is a folk music-oriented Canadian singer-songwriter and musician.-Albums:* One Way Down * Tangle With the Ghost * Lo-Fi Northern Blues * Spaz Loves Weezie * Folk, Jazz, Blues & Soul...
, Slowpoke, Jason Fowler and many others.
Hacking released I Am The Night, a collection of 33 original spoken word selections - poetry, prose, and lyrics - in 2005. Richard Christy, of the Kingston Whig-Standard, described each piece as "a very real slice of life. They are easy to relate to yet are neither simple nor boring... Hacking, like John Steinbeck, understands the depths of very simple situations and the simplicity of very complicated events."
On October 4, 2006, Hacking's mother Kathy died, with Norm at her side. He had spent most of his time since July with her at Scarborough Grace Hospital. Her death came as a profound emotional blow to Hacking, whose health deteriorated noticeably in the last few months, friends said.
Along with performing, in 1992 Hacking started writing a column, Racetrack Hack, for Taxinews, a monthly publication for and about Toronto's taxi industry.
Death
A chronic leg infection limited his mobility in his final years. Norm Hacking died in his sleep from an apparent heart attack in his home on the night of November 25, 2007. "What I admired most about Norm and his songs are their realness, their honesty," said Chris Whiteley. "He made no excuses and his songs were those of a hopeless romantic. His best work was filled with a sense of wonder, and I hope those songs will be around for a long time for others to sing."Discography
- 1977: Norm Hacking Live
- 1980: Cut Roses
- 1988: Stubborn Ghost
- 1993: A Day in the Studio
- 1996: Skysongs: A Writer's Collection
- 1999: The Ache
- 2003: Orange Cats Make the Very Best Friends (with Kirk Elliot)
- 2005: I Am The Night
- 2005: When Cats Go Wrong (with Cynthia Nugent; includes book ISBN 1551929171, publisher: Raincoast BooksRaincoast BooksRaincoast Books is a Canadian book distribution and wholesale company. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Raincoast was founded by Mark Stanton and Allan MacDougall in 1979 as a consignment wholesaler that shared overhead, warehouse space and staff with the pair's sales agency, Stanton &...
)