The-Men-of-the-Deeps-13

Their code of life has passed the test of time,

through their music they expose their souls.1

The decades of the 1980s and 1990s challenged the time and talents of The Men of the Deeps to heights that not even the enthusiastic and visionary minds that gave birth to the group could have imagined. The popularity of the choir expanded considerably throughout this period. No one was more surprised than the men themselves when a reference to the choir suddenly surfaced on the popular American television program, Jeopardy. The category was “Canada,” the clue was “The Men of the Deeps,” and the answer (put in the form of a question) was “What are coal miners?”

The rapid rise in performance commitments throughout the late 1970s and into the 1980s had brought with it a realization that there was more to these commitments than signing contracts and boarding buses and planes; there was the ever-expanding need for new and original repertoire that needed some attention. There was, of course, the small collection of songs remaining from the 1967 song writing contest that had been organized by Nina Cohen and Dr. Helen Creighton. Songs like “Kelly’s Cove,” “Little Pinkie Engine,” “The Omen” and “The Man With a Torch in His Cap”; those had become part of the choir's standard repertoire. Helen Creighton remained faithful to her commitment to bring relevant songs to the attention of the group, and it was during this period that the influence of some of Cape Breton’s past and present poets and songwriters began to surface. The music of well-loved Cape Breton bards like Charlie MacKinnon and John Allan Cameron, past and present poets and songwriters like Lillian Crewe Walsh, Leon Dubinsky and Allister MacGillivray provided new material to bolster the choir’s concert repertoire promoting the music and traditions of Cape Breton’s coal mining communities.

The active participation of the choir’s musical director in the Canadian Folk Music Society2 contributed considerably to expanding the knowledge and repertoire of coal mining communities, not only of Cape Breton, but of similar communities around the world. Songs from the collections of Ontario’s Edith Fowke3 (whose publications on labour and industrial protest songs exerted a strong influence on the repertoire of the choir), British Columbia’s Phil Thomas (“Are You from Bevan?”4) and Pennsylvania’s George Korson (“We’re All Jolly Wee Miner Men”5) began to find their way into the permanent repertoire and contributing to the historical knowledge that shaped a concert by The Men of the Deeps.

Fig. 4.1 – Partial score of “The Man With a Torch in His Cap.” From And Now the Fields are Green, op. cit.

Others who exerted some influence on the direction the repertoire of Nova Scotia’s coal miners choir was taking included Real Benoit (a singing miner from the Rouyn-Noranda area of Quebec, whose songs reveal much about the camaraderie that binds miners), and Kate Braid (a carpenter, teacher and award-winning poet from British Columbia whose relationship with The Men of the Deeps produced a touching and revealing documentary on the choir which aired on Lister Sinclair’s popular CBC radio program Ideas); Geoff Drake, an immigrant from Wales whose passion and interest in the songs of the land of his birth, left a poignant imprint on the music of the choir, and the music of England’s Northumbrian coal mining communities began to exert an influence on the choir’s music when the director was introduced to Johnny Handel (“Dust in the Air”), arguably one of Northumbria’s most prolific bards.

The influence from the mining areas of northern England continued into the new millennium when first tenor Nipper MacLeod had the privilege of participating in a conference at Northumbria University focusing on the issues that grew out of the famous miners’ strike of 1984 in England. Accompanied by Dalhousie University researchers Drs. Judy and Larry Haiven, with support from several labour unions and funding from the Nova Scotia Department of Tourism, the conference afforded Nipper an opportunity to join in concert with one of that area’s national treasures, pop singer Billy Bragg at a major fundraising gala in the historic city of Durham.

Fig. 4.2 – Miner and choir member Nipper MacLeod. Photo by Owen Fitzgerald.

As the years progressed, the music of gifted composers and folk music enthusiasts from other countries found a place in the on-going repertoire of Cape Breton’s coal miners choir: Scotland’s Ian Campbell (“The Canny Miner Lad”); Ireland’s Brendan Graham (“You Raise Me Up”); England’s Dave Webber (“Working at the Coal Face”); and Kay Sutcliffe (“Coal, Not Dole”); Belgium’s Willy Appermont and Roger Gaspercic (“No More Coal”); and from the United States the choir successfully adopted the music of Guy Clark and Roger Murrah (“Immigrant Eyes”). In recent years the music of international composer and performer, Elton John, found its way into the choir’s repertoire (“Once We Were Kings”). Informative notes on all the songs in the repertoire of The Men of the Deeps are provided in appendix 4.

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Late in 1980, the men were introduced to Canada’s north when they flew to Labrador and northern Quebec on a private plane supplied by Iron-Ore Canada. For the most part, the weather in Labrador was good to the group; however, poor weather kept Brian Mulroney (then president of Iron-Ore Canada) from attending the final concert and reception in Schefferville, Quebec.

Fig. 4.3 – The Aurora, weekly newspaper serving Labrador West.

Fig. 4.4 – Newspaper clipping. Source unknown.

Preparations began early for what was to become The Men of the Deeps biggest television experience to date, the Anne Murray Christmas Special, later televised to audiences throughout North America. The show, which also featured famed country singer, Kris Kristofferson, was aired in December 1981. It amounted to a quasi-holiday for members of the choir – culminating in a two-week taping period divided between two locations: Halifax/Dartmouth and the famed Keltic Lodge at Ingonish in Cape Breton. Anne’s entire family shared the spotlight on the show which opened with a cameo appearance by Halifax’s unique children’s “ukulele band.”

Actor Alan Thicke wrote the script for the show and, although the choir members had spoken scripted lines on television before, this show was destined to become an entirely new experience when the group learned that the choir members were also expected to dance with Anne Murray. Hollywood choreographers Jim Bates and his wife, Judy, assured the men that they had “taught football players to dance,” so they didn’t look upon coal miners as any more of a challenge.

Fig. 4.5 – Left to right: Jack O’Donnell, Ernie Poirier, Anne Murray, Yogi Muise, Nipper MacLeod, from their dance number during Anne Murray Christmas Special, 1981.

Fig. 4.6 – Opening refrain of “The Ballad of Springhill.” From And Now the Fields are Green, op. cit.

It turned out to be a blast. Dressed in tuxedos and top hats, with pit shovels in hand, The Men danced their way through “Everything Old is New Again” – Anne doing the solo and the men backing her up with vocals and fancy steps. At the conclusion of that scene senior member, Aubrey Martell, representing The Men of the Deeps, presented Anne with a rhinestone-covered mining pick and a pit helmet – also bedecked with rhinestones. Those items were eventually displayed at the very popular Anne Murray Centre in Springhill, and that dance is still floating around in cyberspace somewhere out in “YouTube land.”

Ann’s mother, Marion, was a delight to get to know. She became a good friend and a cherished fan of The Men of the Deeps who never missed a performance whenever the group appeared in Springhill. And it was a special treat for the men, when visiting and performing in Springhill, to meet and get to know, Maurice Ruddick and Caleb Rushton. Maurice, known on the surface as The Singing Miner, kept the spirits of his co-workers alive when the fate of the underground miners seemed so grim during that fateful disaster of 1958. And Caleb, in another section of the mine during that same disaster, did likewise. Caleb’s role would eventually be immortalized in one of the verses of Peggy Seeger’s famous “Ballad of Springhill.” Maurice wrote a song about his experience, which was subsequently collected by Memorial University’s Neil Rosenberg and published in the 1992 O’Donnell collection And Now the Fields are Green.6 Sadly, both Maurice and Caleb are now deceased; Maurice passed away in 1988 and Caleb in 2008.

In 1982, long-time friend and supporter of The Men of the Deeps, Ann Terry MacLellan was made the second honorary member of the all-male choir. Nina Cohen, of course, had merited that honour very early in the history of the choir. Two other prominent females would later have their names added to that roster of honorary members: Springhill’s Anne Murray and Cape Breton’s Rita MacNeil.7

Fig. 4.7 – TV Guide, Maritime Provinces Edition, n.d.

Fig. 4.8 – The Men of the Deeps' third recording, Waterloo Music.

Canada’s CANPRO Awards, honouring the best in Canadian television, came to Nova Scotia in 1983, and Cape Breton’s Men of the Deeps choir was invited to perform at the Halifax venue. The appearance generated a complimentary editorial in the Canadian edition of TV Guide: Describing the group as “one of the world’s great choirs,” editor Ken Larone was impressed with the stage demeanour of the men, prompting him to conclude: “Their code of life has passed the test of time, and through their music they expose their souls.”8

The release of The Men of the Deeps third LP recording with Waterloo Music Company came in 1984.9 The new album was recorded live the previous summer at the Cape Breton Miners’ Museum in Glace Bay during one of the many weekly concerts that feature The Men of the Deeps throughout the summer months. Those summer concerts over the years have symbolized a strong bond between the miners choir and the Miners’ Museum – both having been born as a result of Canada’s Centennial Year, 1967.

It was in 1984 that The Men first performed with beloved Cape Breton songstress, Rita MacNeil. The concert, at Glace Bay’s beautiful and historic Savoy Theatre, was a fundraiser for the local hospital. Rita still wore her signature hat in those days, and her band for that concert included Scott Macmillan on lead guitar, with Joella Foulds on guitar and back-up vocals (Joella eventually went on to co-found, with Max MacDonald, Cape Breton’s popular Celtic Colours International Festival); Ralph Dillon was on keyboards, Allie Bennett on electric base and Halifax musician, John Alphonse, on drums.

Fig. 4.9 – Rita MacNeil, 1995. Publicity photo by Mark Mainguy. Reference number: 95-204-26295. Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University.

Fig. 4.10– Partial score of Rita MacNeil's “Working Man.” From And Now the Fields are Green, op. cit.

Those early concerts with Rita provided a great opportunity for The Men of the Deeps to acquire the knack of spontaneously harmonizing back-up for her lilting melodies. Most successful in that first concert was, of course, the ever-popular “Working Man.” In subsequent years, whether the choir was performing with Rita or on its own, popular demand has dictated that neither the chorus nor Rita MacNeil can complete a concert performance without including “Working Man.”10 That 1984 concert was the beginning of a mystical bond between Rita and the men that bloomed for the next three decades.

During the 1980s and into the 1990s Cape Breton’s singing miners began to attract the attention of some serious promoters. Famed bassoonist, George Zukerman, who ran the concert management Overture Concerts out of Vancouver came up with the slogan “Who are these Men? And what makes their story such an unusual and fascinating one?” And Bob Missen of Robert Missen Artists Management in Toronto entered the scene in the mid 1980s to become one of The Men of the Deeps’ most avid supporters and promoters. His company is known today as The Bobolink Agency, and the choir is still very much a favourite on his roster of artists.

Rita MacNeil’s tour managers, Brooks Diamond Productions of Halifax, and later Rockland Entertainment’s Brian Edwards of Peterborough, Ontario, and Lupins Productions in Cape Breton, headed up by Rita’s son, Wade Langham, were all instrumental in advancing the popularity of The Men of the Deeps by making the group an integral part of Rita’s many North American tours. Although the choir toured successfully on its own, the “package” of the chorus and Rita MacNeil proved to be a winning combination. Beginning with the highly successful appearances at Vancouver’s Expo ’86, the ensemble entertained audiences throughout North America right up until her untimely death in 2013.

The New York concert management firm of Gurtman and Murtha Productions later took The Men of the Deeps under its wing resulting in some interesting and very successful concert tours of the southern United States and the Appalachian coal mining areas of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky. (Those tours will be discussed in Chapter 6.)

In 1986, The Men of the Deeps marked the group’s 20th-anniversary year beginning with a concert before an enthusiastic crowd at Halifax’s Rebecca Cohn Auditorium.11 It is interesting to note when reading news coverage of that concert that, in 1986 the ages of the men in the choir ranged from 23 to 80, and that there were eight original members still active in the group. (As the years slowly creep by, the age of the youngest Men of the Deeps choir members has slowly crept up, and in this, the choir’s 50th year, the youngest member is in his early fifties!)

Fig. 4.11 – Chronicle Herald, January, 1986.

Fig. 4.12 – Jack and Judy O'Donnell and Anne Terry aboard the Queen Elizabeth II ocean liner.

Very few performances could rival a special concert aboard the famous ocean liner Queen Elizabeth II when it docked in Sydney Harbour in 1986. One of the successful hallmarks of The Men of the Deeps is the talent of its individual members for chatting with their audiences following a performance, and on that day a very special encounter between tenors Doug Morris and Don Matheson and a wheelchair-confined passenger from England took place. Doug and Don have since both passed away, but that personal encounter between those two choir members (both original members) and Victoria Wignall, a 92-year-old passenger from Brighton, England, reaped an interesting result when, in 1992, Doug received in the mail a cheque for ₤ 300 (the equivalent in 1992 of $ 637.41). In her accompanying letter, Ms. Wignall said she was “shocked beyond words” when she heard of the May 9 (1992) Westray explosion that trapped 26 men deep in the bowels of the mine. (See more about the Westray Mine disaster in chapter 5.) “I feel so sorry for all the bereaved, and I would like you to give this cheque to any fund set up for the families of the men who died.”12

Doug Morris obliged Ms. Wignall’s wish, travelling to Plymouth, Nova Scotia, and presenting the generous donation to the officials in charge of the fund.13

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Over the years there have been certain individuals who have introduced a special dynamic into the routine performances of The Men of the Deeps. Jim MacLellan is one of those individuals. As previously mentioned, Jim had been away from the choir for several years because of his commitment to DEVCO as manager of No. 26 Colliery in Glace Bay. Jim was deeply moved when he learned that Allister MacGillivray’s haunting ballad about the “No. 26 Mine Disaster” was now a part of the choir’s repertoire; he is still visibly moved when the choir performs that song. But what gives Jim a wonderful balance is that he also possesses a unique sense of humour. Jim’s penchant for telling humourous stories eventually found its way into the performances of The Men of the Deeps, and since his return to the group in 1986 his stories have been an integral part of most concert performances of the choir.

Fig. 4.13 – The Men of the Deeps group photo from Expo ’86. Non-chorus performers include Jack O'Donnell, Scott Macmillan, Allie Bennett, Rita MacNeil, John Alphonse and Ralph Dillon. Photo by Siwik Productions.

It was at Expo ’86 in Vancouver that the bond between Rita MacNeil and The Men of the Deeps began to blossom. It was at that time also that a particular bond between Rita’s guitarist, Scott Macmillan, and the Men also began to take shape. Scott has become a towering figure in the Nova Scotia music community; and as host conductor of Symphony Nova Scotia Maritime Pops for ten years, he introduced The Men of the Deeps and several other Cape Breton artists to the world of symphonic accompaniment. The appearances at Vancouver’s Expo ’86 proved to be very special, in that The Men, in addition to their own series of concerts, were partnered in concerts with Rita MacNeil and the RCMP Concert Band. All of those performances were well-received by multiple audiences and favourably reviewed by the press. Following those Expo appearances The Men of the Deeps and Rita MacNeil went their separate ways to tour other parts of Canada.

The trip en route to Expo ’86 had included a stopover at the Sharon Temple near Newmarket, Ontario, where the choir had the pleasure of sharing the stage with popular Celtic singer, Loreena McKennitt. A highlight of that concert was a rendition of one of the oldest songs in the repertoire of The Men of the Deeps, “She Loves Her Miner Lad”14 which is sung to the tune of the popular Newfoundland folksong, “She’s Like the Swallow”; Nipper MacLeod joined Loreena in a duo rendition of the song.

Fig. 4.14 (Right) – On stage at Expo ’86, accompanied by the RCMP band.

Fig. 4.15 (Middle) – Cape Breton Post, n.d. Post photo by Ted Rhodes.

Fig. 4.16 (Bottom) – With Rita MacNeil at the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, NS.

That busy year concluded with a performance before the Canadian Conference of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada which was meeting in Cape Breton; the choir’s performance at the conference was hailed as “most compelling” by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra’s Murray Ginsberg.15

During the next two years The Men of the Deeps got to know concert halls throughout the Maritime Provinces. The year 1987 saw the men performing at numerous venues from Campbellton, New Brunswick to Alberton, Prince Edward Island, to Baddeck, Nova Scotia. And the group was welcomed at some of the area’s unique concert venues including: Sydney’s Centre 200 where the men joined a large cast of Nova Scotia performers at the opening of the facility; the beautiful Fredericton Playhouse; Pictou’s DeCoste Centre for the Performing Arts; Prince Edward Island’s Confederation Centre; and, of course, Glace Bay’s historic Savoy Theatre.

With the possible exception of the 1976 tour of China, 1989 was one of the most memorable years to date for The Men of the Deeps. That concert season for the choir began in March with an appearance with Rita MacNeil at the Juno Awards in Toronto. At the Junos, The Men mingled with many of the icons of Canada’s musical world: Gordon Lightfoot, k.d. lang, Anne Murray, Jeff Healey, Murray McLauchlan, Blue Rodeo.... And Rita’s award-winning song, “Working Man,” backed up by The Men of the Deeps, brought the audience to its feet! Even the stage set seemed to have been designed with Rita and her song in mind.

Fig. 4.17 – Newspaper clipping. Source unknown.

Fig. 4.18 (Middle) – Posing with k.d. lang at the Juno Awards in Toronto.

Fig. 4.19 (Below left) – Newspaper clipping reviewing Miramichi festival performance. Source unknown.

4.20 (Below) – Program from Miramichi Folk Song Festival.

It was an extraordinarily busy year – with the March appearance at the Junos, followed by the Miramichi Folk Festival in New Brunswick in April, a concert appearance with Anne Murray scheduled for July and return performances slated for later in the year at Pictou’s DeCoste Centre and Charlottetown’s Confederation Centre.

The choir had been deeply honoured to receive an invitation from Nicholas Goldschmidt, Artistic Director for the world choral festival to be held in Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall in 1989. Niki had been a friend of The Men of the Deeps since 1975 when he oversaw the sound check for The Men of the Deeps performance at the Canada Day ceremonies on Parliament Hill. The invitation to appear at the 1989 International Choral Festival was indeed something of which the Cape Breton coal miners could be proud.

The opportunity to perform in Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall was an honour in which any amateur choir would take pride, and it turned out to be all that the group could ever expect it to be. Nicholas Goldschmidt had planned the festival as a showcase for many of the world’s outstanding choirs, and it was a special honour for The Men of the Deeps to be included as one of Canada’s thirty-one choir participants. Chris Dafoe, writing for Toronto’s Globe and Mail captioned his very favourable review with the headline “Mining the musical heritage of Cape Breton.” (Fig. 4.22)16 The concert was recorded and in 1991 became the group’s first compact disc release.17

4.21 (Right) – Cover of festival program. Top right photo is of Nicholas Goldschmidt.

4.22 (Below) – Clippings reviewing festival performance by The Men. The Toronto Star and Chronicle Herald.

Upon its return from the International Choral Festival the choir was invited to perform for the opening of the Anne Murray Centre in Anne’s beloved Springhill – an invitation which The Men of the Deeps accepted with pride and gratitude.

As the decade drew to a close, Dr. Helen Creighton celebrated her 90th birthday on September 5, 1989. The Men of the Deeps took the opportunity to show appreciation to the folklore icon by sending her a bouquet of twenty-eight roses – representing the twenty-eight singing members of the choir. She had often remarked over the years on a similar gesture from the choir back in 1974 when she was gravely ill, and this gesture on the occasion of her 90th birthday meant a great deal to her. Dr. Creighton’s appreciative response was her last communication with the group:

How kind of you to remember me on my 90th birthday with lovely cards and flowers. The beauty of the flowers, like your treasured friendship, lingers on. And how delightful to have the signatures of all the miners on the card.... I always take great pleasure in hearing them when they perform on radio and television.

Affectionately, Helen Creighton

The Men were deeply saddened to learn of the death of the choir’s long-time mentor on December 12, 1982.

Fig. 4.23 – The Globe and Mail, June 24, 1989, C3, Globe and Mail photo by Edward Regan.