Joseph Kim Mitchell (born July 10, 1952) is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band

Max Webster Max Webster was a Canadian hard rock band formed in Toronto in 1972. The band's founder, Kim Mitchell, enjoyed a long and successful solo career in their native Canada. Biography Initially a trio for their first gigs in December 1972, the orig ...

before going on to a solo career. His 1984 single, " Go for Soda", was his only charted song on the US ''Billboard''

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, reaching number 86. Several other singles such as "

Patio Lanterns "Patio Lanterns" is a song by Canadian rock musician Kim Mitchell that was first released as a single in June 1986 and later appeared in the 1986 album ''Shakin' Like a Human Being''. An acoustic recording of the song was released as a single in 1 ...

", "Rock and Roll Duty", and "Rockland Wonderland", reached the top 20 in Canada.

Early life

Mitchell attended St. Clair Secondary School in

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes where Lake Huron fl ...

. During the 1970s, Mitchell began playing with local bands in Sarnia. After going through a few name changes with essentially the same band, Mitchell and "Zooom" headed for

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 ancho ...

, Ontario. Zooom eventually dissolved, with Mitchell travelling to the Greek islands.

Career

1982–2003

On his return to Canada, he formed the band

with fellow Sarnia native

Pye Dubois Pye Dubois is a Canadian lyricist and poet. He has worked mainly with Kim Mitchell and Max Webster (with whom he was considered an unofficial fifth non-performing member), and occasionally Rush. Career Dubois accompanied Max Webster in the stud ...

. Max Webster toured extensively and built a string of hits. Mitchell's solo career began after his departure from Max Webster in 1982, with session work and a succession of solo albums. A new sound was tested on the club circuit and recorded on his 1982 self-titled mini-album. Songs such as "Chain of Events" featured Mitchell's lead vocal and guitar and Dubois' suburban storytelling, anchored by the visceral drum/bass combination of Paul DeLong and Robert Sinclair Wilson. Peter Fredette added a vocal and guitar counterpoint. In early 1985, the song "Go for Soda" from the ''

Akimbo Alogo ''Akimbo Alogo'' is the first full-length solo album from Canadian singer and guitarist Kim Mitchell, released on Alert Records in Canada, and on Bronze Records in other territories, including the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Japa ...

'' album became an international hit and remains his best known song outside of his native Canada. His most successful Canadian album was the follow-up, 1986's ''

Shakin' Like a Human Being ''Shakin' Like a Human Being'' is the second solo album by Canadian rock musician Kim Mitchell, released in 1986. This album was released in Canada on Alert Records and on Atlantic Records in the US. The album won the Juno Award for Album of ...

'', featuring the hits "Alana Loves Me", "Easy to Tame", and the biggest hit of his career, "

". His 1989 album, '' Rockland'', achieved critical acclaim and was the highest placing chart album of his career. In 1992, Mitchell played guitar on the track "Brave and Crazy" from

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member of the Canadian Music ...

's album ''

Mad Mad World ''Mad Mad World'' is the second studio album by Canadian rock singer Tom Cochrane, originally released in 1991 in Canada and in the United States on February 17, 1992. The first single from the album, " Life Is a Highway", became a hit in late ...

''. In that same year he also made a cameo appearance (as himself) on the third-season finale of the Canadian sketch program ''

The Kids in the Hall The Kids in the Hall is a Canadian sketch comedy troupe formed in 1984, consisting of comedians Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson. Their eponymous television show ran from 1989 to 1995, on CBC, in C ...

''. In 1995, Mitchell participated in the Kumbaya Festival to raise money for AIDS research."Kumbaya disc needs more odd couplings"
''Toronto Star'' - Toronto, Ont. By Peter Howell and Geoff Chapman Sep 2, 1995 Page: L.8

2004–present

Mitchell entered the radio broadcasting industry, becoming an afternoon drivetime host on Toronto

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

radio station Q107 (

CILQ-FM CILQ-FM (107.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, known as ''Q107''. The station broadcasts a mainstream rock format and is owned by Corus Entertainment. CILQ's studios are in the Corus Quay building on Dockside ...

) from April 2004 until August 2015. On November 15, 2004, Mitchell was awarded the National Achievement Award by

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...

at the 2004 SOCAN Awards in Toronto. In 2006, Mitchell provided a guitar solo on the song "Wind It Up" from the

Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their self-titled 1991 cassette becoming the first independent release to be certified gold in Canada. They reach ...

' album ''

Barenaked Ladies Are Me ''Barenaked Ladies Are Me'' is the seventh full-length original-material studio album by Barenaked Ladies. It was their first original-material album since ''Everything to Everyone'' in 2003. It was released in September 2006 internationally. The ...

''. Mitchell opened for

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), a ...

at the Molson Amphitheatre in

on July 16, 2007. His eighth studio album, ''Ain't Life Amazing'', was released on July 17, 2007. Mitchell has been on the same live bill with many acts over the course of his solo career including

Sammy Hagar Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

, and

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

. In January 2016, Mitchell suffered a heart attack, for which he underwent emergency surgery. On May 21, 2020, Mitchell was inducted into the

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (''Panthéon des Auteurs et Compositeurs canadiens'') is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categori ...

, although due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). Most cases over the course of the pandemic have been in Ontario, Que ...

the honour was not formally presented to him until 2021. On Oct 02, 2021, Mitchell performed a sold-out show at the "Sarnia OktBorderFest" in Point Edward, Ontario, followed by the Barenaked Ladies. It is estimated that over 6,000 people were in attendance over the two-night event. Audience members were required to show proof of full vaccination or results of a COVID-19 test. Organizers arranged for a test provider to be set up outside the concert fences for ticket buyers without full vaccinations.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Extended plays

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Guest singles

Juno Awards

Mitchell has been awarded several

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

s for his work: *1983 – Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year *1987 – Album of the Year: ''Shakin' Like A Human Being'' *1990 – Male Vocalist of the Year

Television appearances

*Mitchell made a cameo appearance on the show ''

Twitch City ''Twitch City'' is a Canadian sitcom produced by CBC Television,"Twitch City a weird look at television addiction; Former King of Kensington gets whacked tonight". '' Edmonton Journal'', January 19, 1988. which aired as two short runs in 1998 and ...

''. *In 2005, Mitchell played a taxi driver on the sixth episode of the third season of ''

Puppets Who Kill ''Puppets Who Kill'' is a Canadian television comedy programme produced by PWK Productions and originally broadcast on The Comedy Network. It premiered in Canada in 2002, and in Australia on The Comedy Channel in 2004. It has also been broadcast ...

'', titled "Buttons and the Paternity Suit". *On the sixth episode of the seventh season of the Canadian sitcom ''

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer pa ...

'', Ricky (

Robb Wells Robb is a surname of Scottish people, Scottish origin, formed from a diminution (reduction) of the name Robert. Robert was a popular name, especially after its use by three Scots Kings in the fourteenth century. Rob is first recorded as a surname ...

) plays one of Mitchell's songs, "Go For Soda", on 8 track, while exclaiming "Bubbles, while you rock a piss, I'll rock some Mitchell." *Mitchell appeared in a skit on the Canadian show ''

'', teaching senior citizens how to tune the electric guitar. *"Go For a Soda" was in Season 2, Episode 5:Buddies, on ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...

Family

Kim Mitchell has two sons, Josh and Jesse. Jesse works for his father as a drum tech and road manager.

In popular culture

He was the subject of Rush song, " I Think I'm Going Bald".

References

External links

*
Kim Mitchell – The lovelorn troubadour

"Kim Mitchell"
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Kim 1952 births Anthem Records artists Canadian rock guitarists Canadian rock singers Canadian male singers Canadian record producers Canadian radio personalities Canadian singer-songwriters Juno Award for Album of the Year winners Lead guitarists Living people Max Webster members Musicians from Ontario People from Sarnia Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners Canadian male guitarists Bronze Records artists