Deaths on October 17

Gord Downie, Canadian musician (b. 1964)

Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer and activist. He was the lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, which he fronted from its formation in 1984 until his death in 2017. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and popular artists in Canadian music history.Downie has released seven solo albums, two posthumously: Coke Machine Glow (2001), Battle of the Nudes (2003), The Grand Bounce (2010), And the Conquering Sun (2014), Secret Path (2016), Introduce Yerself (2017), and Away Is Mine (2020). His first to hit number one was Introduce Yerself, shortly after his death. His family and managers said future releases are planned, including solo material and unreleased work with the Hip.