Anna Gutmanis

In October 1989, I released my eponymous debut album with a live acoustic performance at a small but legendary Toronto music venue. One of the albums I'd been listening to before the concert was Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. A few days after my concert - on this very date, October 23rd - Janet's team released Rhythm Nation as a single. I was thrilled! Here was Janet calling out racism and social injustice, making people think while she made them dance. As an indie artist making my debut, I'd opted not to put my political tunes on the Anna Gutmanis album in the hopes of getting airplay across Canada. I got my cross-country airplay, helped by the single Then Came You, but I didn't get the breakout stardom I'd hoped for. Janet, on the other hand, released seven singles from Rhythm Nation 1814 and all of them hit top five on the Billboard Hot 100. Even her brother Michael could never equal that feat.

None of this is to imply that putting a political tune or two on my debut album would have made me famous. After all, the challenges facing a debuting indie Canadian musician are very different from the challenges facing an already-famous American artist, no matter the era. I used to half-joke that, to be female and a pop star in Canada, your initials had to be AM, not AG (think Anne Murray, Alannah Myles, Alanis Morissette)!

I do believe, though, that audiences respond to music that is passionately written, recorded, and performed. And since recording my debut album, I have not shied away from speaking my mind musically. I am proud to have released I am who I am, Another Way Out and Inspire, which speak to the prejudices (and joys!) experienced by LGBTQ+ folks; proud to have released People (Got To Get It Together), urging citizens to rise up against brutal oppression; proud to have released Middle Of The Line, telling the story of women who perform endless unpaid household labour caring for children and aging parents; proud to have released - with Artists 4 Racial Equality - Breonna, a memorial tribute to Breonna Taylor and a plea to end police violence against Black citizens.

I have a treasure trove of songs that have not yet been recorded in the studio, songs about climate change, animal rescue, homelessness - and also about love. As my greatest singer/songwriter hero Laura Nyro said, “I don’t accept limitations. I can use whatever I want to in my work. And that, to me, is freedom." Time and circumstances will tell how many of my treasure trove tunes get recorded and released. In the mean time, I cherish you, dear music lover, and I thank you for being a part of my journey so far!

I see that my song "People (Got To Get It Together)", released over a dozen years ago, has been enjoying a resurgence of late. This makes me very happy. The tune urges people to organize and protest when the wealthy steal from the poor and mistreat the earth. Recent events in my home province of Ontario have shown that when enough people and members of the press get upset about democracy turning to kleptocracy, meaningful change can happen. Thanks to near-constant protesting and reporting, a harmful provincial government decision to give thousands of acres of The Greenbelt to greedy developers has been halted. The protected area containing green space, farmland, forests, wetlands, and watersheds will now continue to clean our air and water, reduce flood risk, provide a home for wildlife (including many endangered species) and grow our food.

Ontarians who care about the well-being of others are also in the process of fighting for continued public health care. A recent citizen referendum saw 99% of voters cast a ballot against privatization of our public hospitals. Tomorrow (Monday September 25th), thousands of us will descend upon the provincial legislature to demand an end to privatization, and the scandal-plagued, unpopular government will have to take notice. Canada's Founder of Medicare Tommy Douglas famously stated "unless those of us who believe in Medicare raise our voices in no uncertain terms, unless we arouse our neighbours and our friends and our communities, we are sounding the death knell of Medicare in this country". I agree, Tommy, and I say "People got to get it together / People got to fight". We will fight that good fight and WE WILL WIN!

I recently experienced both an emotional and a physical injury in rapid succession, so I've been thinking about songs that heal. A few days before all of this went down, a song that I hadn't thought about in a long time popped into my head: "Healing, Part 1" by Todd Rundgren. This tune has been one of my favourites since I first heard it over 4 decades ago. It was not released as a single from Todd's 1981 album Healing, and so folks who are not TR fans likely do not know it. Listening to the tune today, it sure holds up. And I've happily re-discovered "Healing, Part 2" and part 3. The lyrics are profound and beautiful. Todd takes the listener on a journey during which she discovers eternal inner strength and peace that she can access during times of trouble. Then, she can become - or resume being - a guiding light for others. Thank you Todd. May we all work toward healing ourselves and shining our light.

Laura Nyro's song "And When I Die" has been giving me a lot of comfort as we continue to lose so many musical greats. The chorus of Nyro's song goes: "And when I die / And when I'm gone / There'll be one child born / And a world to carry on". As I think about Tina Turner's amazing legacy, I wonder who was born on the day that Tina passed away. Somewhere in the world, is there now a child who will become one of the greatest live performers of all time? Was there a child born on May 24th who will speak out against intimate partner abuse, become a role model for women over the age of 40, and be a great ally to the LGBTQ2S+ community? The world could really use more people like that.

The most commercially successful cover version of "And When I Die" was recorded and released in 1969 by Blood, Sweat & Tears. The band's rendition of Nyro's song was a huge international hit. Fronted by Canadian David Clayton-Thomas, Blood, Sweat & Tears had a strong connection to Laura. "Laura used to come to our rehearsals and hang out. Sometimes she'd bring a pizza to the rehearsal place - we were just all pals, and we knew Laura's songs. Even before she got her recording career launched, she was one of the inner circle of people we hung out with" recalls Clayton-Thomas.

So imagine my joy after the "Lately It's Cold" recording sessions when I discovered that Clayton-Thomas also chose to record at Toronto's Number 9 studios. My producer Karen Kane and I were invited to sign the big wall piano at the studio, and half a year later, David Clayton-Thomas' autograph was inscribed close to mine. When I went back to Number 9 to celebrate the Global Music Award I won for "Lately", I had my photo taken in front of that priceless wall piano. I wonder who will add their indelible signature in the future? It may well be someone born on May 24th, 2023.

During my youth, there were a number of enchanting and irresistible songs that I played over and over again, driving family members and roommates to distraction. One of those songs was "Something Very Special" by Gordon Lightfoot. To me, that tune is the "Bolero" of pop/folk music, utterly mesmerizing the listener. The Canadian singing songwriting legend passed away yesterday in Toronto, and I feel the loss. I'm also still mourning the death of Harry Belafonte, and the loss of Gordon so soon afterward feels like a cruel blow to the music world. Harry was among the artists who covered Gordon's brilliant songs. I can just imagine the musical electricity in the room When Harry Met Gordon in 1967, and I have tried to depict that here.

The closest I ever came to meeting Gordon Lightfoot was in 2013. To prepare for my February 2014 showcase gig at Jane Harbury's "Discoveries", I attended the fall "Discoveries" at Toronto's legendary Hugh's Room. One of the musicians performing that night was Meredith Moon. I did not know it at the time, but Moon is Gordon's daughter, and Gordon was in the audience cheering her on. You want to be very careful about sharing air these days, but I am grateful to have shared some pre-pandemic air with Gordon. And his beautiful music will live forever, as will Harry Belafonte's. Enjoy Harry performing his version of Gordon's "Song for a Winter's Night".