The Grapes of Wrath are a platinum-selling

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band. Formed in 1983, they enjoyed their greatest commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group split in 1992, with Kane going solo while Jones and the Hoopers continued to record as

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

. Vocalists Tom Hooper and Kevin Kane briefly reunited as the Grapes of Wrath for one album in 2000. With the return of Chris Hooper for a festival appearance in 2010, the three founding members were back together and have continued to perform and record since. ''Singles'', a greatest hits collection featuring two new recordings, was released in October 2012 by

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

in Canada. The band's most recent studio album, ''

High Road High Road or The High Road may refer to: Film and television * ''High Road'' (film), a 2012 comedy by Matt Walsh * The Lady of Scandal, a 1930 American pre-Code film, also known as The High Road * The High Road (1915 film), a lost silent film ...

'', was issued in 2013, with a compilation album of sessions recorded for CBC’s “Brave New Waves” following in 2017.

Biography

The Grapes of Wrath were formed in

Kelowna Kelowna ( ) is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. It serves as the head office of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. The name Kelowna derives from the Okanagan word ''ki� ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, in 1983 by Chris Hooper,

Tom Hooper Thomas George Hooper (born 5 October 1972)''Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005''. 5d: 2485. is a British-Australian filmmaker. Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short, ...

and Kevin Kane. All three had been members of the short-lived punk rock band Kill Pigs."B.C. group raring to go again". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', June 28, 1992. They came up with the new band name after looking at a movie guide—nobody in the band had seen the movie or read the book. In 1984, they signed to

Nettwerk Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing. Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...

, and released a self-titled EP that year. The following year, their debut album ''September Bowl of Green'' was released."Kelowna-bred Grapes branches east". ''

'', November 9, 1987. ''Treehouse'' (1987), produced by

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 ...

, was the band's Canadian breakthrough, yielding the hit single "Peace of Mind". Their 1989 album, ''Now and Again'', produced by

Anton Fier Anton Fier (June 20, 1956 – September 14, 2022) was an American drummer, producer, composer, and bandleader. Family Fier, known as Tony, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Ruthe Marie Fier and Anton J. Fier Jr., a former Marine and electrician. ...

, was the band's most successful. During the demoing process for the album, the band officially added their touring keyboard player, Vincent Jones, to the and as a full member. The band's tour to support this album was also notable for its opening act, a then-emerging singer/songwriter named

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan Order of Canada, OC Order of British Columbia, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing ( ...

. Produced by John Leckie and mixed by Leckie and engineer Gareth Cousins, ''These Days'', released in 1991, found the band experimenting with a harder rock sound, and spawned the band's highest-charting singles, "I Am Here" and "You May Be Right". It received the 1992 CASBY Award for Favourite Album, and "I Am Here" won the CASBY for Best Song. ''These Days'' was, however, to be the band's last new album for almost a decade."Ginger out of Grapes: Band didn't break up, it grew up". ''The Province'', October 27, 1993. Kane then split from the other members of the band, who continued to perform and record together as

. In 1999, Kane and Tom Hooper, the Grapes' principal songwriters, decided to work together again, and in 2000 released ''Field Trip'' under the Grapes of Wrath name. Neither Chris Hooper nor Vincent Jones took part in the reunion. In 2009, Kane and Hooper decided to play together again as an acoustic duo."Grapes of Wrath duo reunites, plays Surrey". ''Surrey Leader'', September 7, 2009. Several concerts were scheduled in Western Canada. On July 18, 2010, the three original members performed together at the Surrey Fusion Festival in Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey,

. It was the first time the original trio had played together since 1992. The trio of Hooper/Kane/Hooper continued to tour regularly thereafter, and the Grapes of Wrath announced that they were beginning work on a new album. Two newly recorded tracks from these sessions were issued on the band's 2012 compilation ''Singles'' (EMI)."Grapes of Wrath savouring sweet reunion: After nasty split and two decades apart, B.C. band is enjoying easy return". ''

'', October 7, 2012. To mark this release, the band was joined by guests Sam Roberts (singer-songwriter), Sam Roberts, Whitehorse (band), Whitehorse, Ron Sexsmith, Hayden (musician), Hayden, Great Lake Swimmers and other notable Canadian musicians at Toronto's Mod Club Theatre, Mod Club. The band's latest studio album ''High Road'' was released in March 2013 through Aporia Records."Grapes of Wrath take the High Road". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 30, 2013. The band continues to tour and play live dates. Kevin Kane joined The Northern Pikes in 2019, and plays and records in that band, while continuing to play live festival dates with The Grapes of Wrath.

Discography

Singles

Albums

Compilations

*''Seems Like Fate 1984–1992'' (1994) *''Singles (The Grapes of Wrath album), Singles'' (2012)

References

External links

The Grapes of Wrath
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grapes of Wrath, The Musical groups established in 1983 Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Canadian alternative rock groups Canadian folk rock groups 1983 establishments in British Columbia 1992 disestablishments in British Columbia 2009 establishments in British Columbia Musical groups from Kelowna