Harry Hibbs (September 11, 1942December 21, 1989) was Newfoundland's best-known icon for traditional

Newfoundland music Newfoundland and Labrador is an Atlantic Canadian province with a folk musical heritage based on the Irish, English and Cornish traditions that were brought to its shores centuries ago. Though similar in its Celtic influence to neighboring Nova S ...

. He was born Henry Thomas Joseph Hibbs, September 11, 1942 on Bell Island, Dominion of Newfoundland. He was educated at St. Kevin's High School, Wabana, and moved with his family to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

shortly after the death of his father. There, Harry worked at various manufacturing facilities such as an auto parts factory, printing plant, and a munitions factory. At one of these plants he suffered a career changing accident that prevented him from any strenuous work; this led Harry to take up performing music. He had learned this skill from his father, who was an accomplished fiddle player and also played accordion. In addition, His mother had taught him to sing Irish ballads.Historic Wabana
'Harry Hibbs'
accessed on September 11, 2022. Hibbs became a member of the Caribou Show Band that played regularly to expatriate Newfoundlanders living in Toronto. Members of the band at that time were Johnny Burke on bass guitar, Norma Gale, vocals, Brian Barron, mandolin and fiddle, Roddy Lee on drums, Bob Lucier on steel guitar and Harry Hibbs on accordion. Hibbs was signed to Arc Records by Phil Anderson, president of Arc Records, and the first album released in October 1968 with signature song "

The Black Velvet Band "The Black Velvet Band" (Roud number 2146) is a traditional folk song collected from singers in Ireland, Australia, England, Canada and the United States describing how a young man is tricked and then sentenced to transportation to Australia, a ...

". In 1968 a weekly television show called ''At the Caribou'' featuring Hibbs aired on

CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero (company), Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Ham ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

. Hibbs appeared on many television programs such as ''

The Tommy Hunter Show Thomas James Hunter, CM, O.Ont (born March 20, 1937) is a Canadian country music performer, known as "Canada's Country Gentleman". Career In 1956, he began performing as a rhythm guitarist on the CBC Television show, '' Country Hoedown''. '' ...

'', ''

Singalong Jubilee ''Singalong Jubilee'' was a CBC Television programme produced between 1961 and 1974. It featured musical performances by local singers, playing folk, country, and gospel music, in studio on stage and on location. Anne Murray, Catherine McKinnon, K ...

'' and ''

Don Messer's Jubilee ''Don Messer's Jubilee'' was a folk musical TV variety show produced at station CBHT in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was broadcast by CBC Television nationwide from 1957 until 1969, after almost two decades in various formats on CBC radio. T ...

''. Hibbs went on to record 26 albums, of which several went gold. He opened his own nightclub, the ''Conception Bay'', in Toronto in 1978. Hibbs died in Toronto on December 21, 1989 of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. Steve Fruitman of

CIUT-FM CIUT-FM is a campus and community radio station owned and operated by the University of Toronto. The station broadcasts live and continuously from Toronto on the 89.5 FM frequency. Programming can also be heard nationally via channel 826 on Shaw ...

created the Porcupine Award in 1990 for those who deserve recognition for their work in Canadian folklore music. In 1991 the Harry Hibbs Award was inaugurated and its first recipient was Geoff Meeker. This award was eventually renamed the Harry Hibbs Award for Perseverance. In 1993 Harry Hibbs was inducted into the Porcupine Hall of Fame.

References

;Citations

External links

Harry Hibbs - Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador v. 2, p. 932

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hibbs, Harry 1942 births 1989 deaths Canadian folk singer-songwriters Musicians from Newfoundland and Labrador Deaths from cancer in Ontario 20th-century Canadian male singers Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters 20th-century Canadian male musicians