Editing Bruce Cockburn (section)

==Career==
===Early career===
In early 1967 he joined the final lineup of [[The Esquires (Canadian band)|the Esquires]]. He moved to [[Toronto]] that summer to form [[The Flying Circus (Canada)|The Flying Circus]] with Marty Fisher and Gordon MacBain, former [[Bobby Kris & The Imperials]] members, and Neil Lillie, ex-[[The Tripp|Tripp]] member. The group recorded some material in late 1967 (which remains unreleased) before changing its name to Olivus in the spring of 1968, by which time Lillie (who changed his name to [[Neil Merryweather]]) had been replaced by Dennis Pendrith from Livingstone's Journey. Olivus opened for [[The Jimi Hendrix Experience]] and [[Cream (band)|Cream]] in April 1968.<ref>Cockburn, pp. 89, 93 & 94</ref> That summer Cockburn broke up the band with the intention of going solo, but ended up in the band [[3's a Crowd (band)|3's a Crowd]] with [[David Wiffen]], [[Colleen Peterson]], and Richard Patterson, who had been a co-member of The Children. Cockburn left [[3's a Crowd (band)|3's a Crowd]] in the spring of 1969 to pursue a solo career.

Cockburn's first solo appearance was at the [[Mariposa Folk Festival]] in 1967, and in 1969 he was a headliner.<ref>Cockburn, pp. 100–101</ref> In 1970 he released his self-titled, solo album. A single, "Going to the Country", appeared on the RPM Top 50 Canadian Chart.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=2507 |title=Top 50 Canadian Chart |publisher=RPM Magazine |volume=13 |issue=23 |date=July 25, 1970}}</ref>

Cockburn's guitar work and songwriting won him an enthusiastic following. His early work featured rural and nautical imagery and Biblical metaphors. Raised as an [[agnostic]], early in his career he became a [[Christians|Christian]].<ref>"I was brought up as an agnostic … and when I first became a Christian in the Seventies I didn't really know what it was I'd adopted." [http://cockburnproject.net/issues/personal/christianity.html Faith in Practice: Holding on to the Mystery of Love], by Bruce Cockburn as told to Cole Morton, Third Way, September 1994, page 15.</ref> Many of his albums from the 1970s refer to Christian themes, which in turn inform his concerns for [[human rights]] and [[environmentalism]]. His references to Christianity include the Grail imagery of 20th-century Christian poet [[Charles Williams (British writer)|Charles Williams]] and the ideas of theologian [[Harvey Cox]].<ref>Adria, Marco, "Making Contact with Bruce Cockburn", ''Music of Our Times: Eight Canadian Singer-Songwriters'' (Toronto: Lorimer, 1990), p. 97.</ref>

In 1970 Cockburn became partners with Bernie Finkelstein in the music publishing firm Golden Mountain Music.<ref>{{cite journal| last= McPherson| first= David| title= Bernie Finkelstein's Golden Mountain| journal= Words and Music| date=Fall 2012}}</ref> He won the Juno for Canadian Folksinger of the Year, three years in a row, 1971–73.<ref>Cockburn, p. 121</ref> He was nominated for Canadian Folksinger of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year at the 1974 Juno Awards.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Juno Award Nominations Listed|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vAcEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA54|date=March 9, 1974|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=54}}</ref>

While Cockburn had been popular in Canada for years, he did not have a big impact in the United States until 1979, with the release of the album ''[[Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws]]''. The album's first single, "[[Wondering Where the Lions Are]]", reached No. 21 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] in the US in June 1980, earning Cockburn an appearance on [[NBC]]'s TV show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.  Cockburn's label, True North Records, also signed a distribution deal with Recordi Records in Italy.<ref name= "Inc.1979">{{cite magazine|title=Cockburn Push|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8yMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT89|date=June 2, 1979|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.| pages= 89– |issn= 0006-2510}}</ref>

===1980s and 1990s===
Through the 1980s Cockburn's songwriting became increasingly urban, global and political as he became more involved with progressive causes. His political concerns were first hinted at on the albums: ''Humans'', ''Inner City Front'' and ''The Trouble with Normal''. They became more evident in 1984, with his second US radio hit, "[[If I Had a Rocket Launcher]]" (No. 88 in the US<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1985-02-16|title=Billboard Hot 100: February 16, 1985|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|accessdate=February 13, 2021}}</ref>) from the ''[[Stealing Fire (Bruce Cockburn album)|Stealing Fire]]'' album. He had written the song a year earlier, after visiting Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico that were attacked by Guatemalan military helicopters. His political activism continues to the present. His internationalist bent is reflected in the many [[world music]] influences in his music, including [[reggae]] and [[Latin American music|Latin music]].

In 1991 Intrepid Records released ''[[Kick at the Darkness]]'', a tribute album to Cockburn whose title comes from a phrase in his song "[[Lovers in a Dangerous Time]]". It features the [[Barenaked Ladies]]' cover of that song, which became their first Top 40 hit and an element in their early success. This lyric was also referenced by [[U2]] in their song "[[God Part II]]" from their album ''[[Rattle and Hum]]''. Also in 1991, three of Cockburn's songs were listed in a Toronto Star survey among Toronto's top songs of all time.<ref>{{cite news|title=T.O.'s top songs of all time |newspaper=Toronto Star |author=Mackowycz, Bob |date=November 30, 1991 |page=K3}}</ref>

In the early 1990s, Cockburn teamed with [[T Bone Burnett]] for two albums, ''Nothing but a Burning Light'' and ''[[Dart to the Heart]]''. The latter included a song, "Closer to the Light", inspired by the death of songwriter [[Mark Heard]], a close friend of Cockburn and Burnett. Cockburn frequently refers to Heard as his favourite songwriter and he was one of many artists who paid tribute to Heard on an album and video titled ''[[Strong Hand of Love]]''.

[[File:Bruce Cockburn at Markham Jazz Festival 2014.jpg|thumb|Bruce Cockburn at Markham Jazz Festival 2014]]

=== 2000s===
In 2001 Cockburn performed as part of the Music Without Borders concert, a benefit for the United Nations Donor Alert Appeal, which raised funds for refugees from Afghanistan, at the [[Air Canada Centre]] in Toronto.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20011121105024/http://chartattack.com/damn/2001/10/2203.cfm "LIVE: Music Without Borders"]}}. ''Chart Attack'', October 22, 2001. Review by Paul Gangadeen</ref>

In January 2003 Cockburn finished recording his 21st album, ''You've Never Seen Everything'', which features contributions from [[Emmylou Harris]], [[Jackson Browne]], [[Sam Phillips (singer)|Sam Phillips]], [[Sarah Harmer]], [[Hugh Marsh]], [[Jonell Mosser]], [[Larry Taylor]] and Steven Hodges.

Some of Cockburn's previously published material had been collected in several albums: ''Resume'', ''Mummy Dust'', and ''Waiting for a Miracle''. His first [[greatest hits]] collection was ''Anything Anytime Anywhere: Singles 1979–2002'', released in 2002.

Cockburn performed a set at the [[Live 8]] concert in [[Barrie, Ontario]], on July 2, 2005. ''Speechless'', an instrumental compilation of new and previously released material, was released on October 24, 2005.  His 22nd album, ''Life Short Call Now'', was released on July 18, 2006.

Canadian senator and retired general [[Roméo Dallaire]], who is active in humanitarian fundraising and promoting awareness, appeared on stage at the [[University of Victoria]] with Cockburn. The October 4, 2008, concert was held to aid the plight of child soldiers.<ref>''[[Victoria Times Colonist]]'', April 17, 2008</ref>

In 2009 Cockburn travelled to Afghanistan to visit his brother, Medical Officer Capt. John Cockburn, and to play a concert for Canadian troops. He performed his 1984 song "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" and was temporarily awarded an actual [[rocket launcher]] by the military. Cockburn has stated that, while unsure of the original [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Invasion of Afghanistan]], he supported [[Canada's role in the Afghanistan War|Canada's role there]].<ref>{{cite web|author=CBC |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/cockburn-visits-brother-in-afghanistan-1.852110 |title=Cockburn visits brother in Afghanistan |publisher=CBC.ca |access-date=March 13, 2014}}</ref>

Cockburn released the studio album ''[[Small Source of Comfort]]'' in 2011.

In 2018, Cockburn's album ''Bone on Bone'', was named Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at the Juno Awards.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/music/junos/news/junos-2018-the-complete-list-of-winners-1.4579405 "Junos 2018: the complete list of winners"]. ''CBC News'',  · March 25, 2018</ref>