Blue Rodeo: Biography

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• Discography
• Biography
• Related Artists

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• Wilco
• Uncle Tupelo
• The Bottle Rockets
• The Long Ryders
• Son Volt
• Tom Petty
• The Jayhawks

• Gram Parsons
• The Band
• Bob Dylan
• Neil Young
• Buffalo Springfield
• The Flying Burrito Brothers
• R.E.M.

• Skydiggers
• The National
• The Thousand Dollar Playboys
• Farrell Spence
• The Sadies
• Luther Wright & The Wrongs

• Crash Vegas
• Bob Wiseman
• Cleave Anderson
• The Hi-Fi's
• Bob Egan
• Mark French
• Anne Bourne

Formed:

Jan 1, 1985 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Genres:

Alt Country Music, Rock Music, Alternative Rock Music, Adult Alternative, Folk & Country Rock Music

Decades Active:

1980's|1990's|2000's

Artistic Quality

Low

Cultural Impact

Low

Popularity

Low

Ratings Guide

Blue Rodeo's style has drawn comparisons to a number of pop and rock icons, including the Beatles, Buffalo Springfield, the Band, and Bob Dylan. Formed in Toronto, Blue Rodeo is led by the songwriting team of vocalists/guitarists Jim Cuddy and Greg Keelor, and also features bassist Bazil Donovan, drummer Glenn Milchem, and keyboardist Bob Wiseman, who also plays harmonica and accordion. Their debut album, 1987's Outskirts, showcased the group's harmonies and musical interplay in a classic, rootsy folk-rock style. The punchier Diamond Mine (1989) covered more lyrical ground, bringing a bit of social commentary into Blue Rodeo's tales of loss and heartbreak, but the recording site (an empty hall in Toronto) dulled the songs' impact somewhat. In 1990, Wiseman recorded his own solo album, Bob Wiseman Sings Wrench Tuttle: In Her Dreams. Producer Pete Anderson (Michelle Shocked, Dwight Yoakam) accentuated the group's vocal harmonies on the following year's Casino, which was well-received. Even higher praise was reserved for Lost Together, which synthesized the previous albums' stylistic changes into a cohesive whole. Wiseman left soon after the album's release, and was replaced on keyboards by James Gray. Also, Kim Deschamps joined the group on pedal steel. Blue Rodeo continued innovating throughout the '90s, releasing three more studio albums during the decade. The Days in Between followed in mid-2000.

- Steve Huey, All Music Guide