Canadian author, musician, screenwriter and filmmaker Paul Quarrington has died of lung cancer at age 56.
Quarrington passed away on Thursday morning (Jan. 21) at his home in Toronto, and his friends and family were with him at the time.
Rather than dwell on the sadness of this great artist's passing, we here at CHARTattack prefer to celebrate what made Quarrington great.
Here are 10 reasons why Paul Quarrington was cool:
1. Quarrington was the modern equivalent of a renaissance man (minus the scientific achievements, of course), writing music, novels, plays and screenplays. Most people have one career, but Quarrington seemed to have several.
2. Quarrington began his career in music, and had a #1 Canadian hit with "Baby And The Blues." He wrote the song, which was released in 1980, with Martin Worthy, who was later a member of the Porkbelly Futures with Quarrington.
3. Quarrington's perhaps best-known in rock circles for his acclaimed 1989 Whale Music novel. The book is about Desmond Howl, a reclusive ex-rocker who hasn't been able to get over the death of his brother. Quarrington based Howl's character on Brian Wilson. Whale Music won the Governor General's Literary Award For English Language Fiction in 1989.
4. Whale Music was adapted into a movie in 1994, with a screenplay written by Quarrington. It received a Genie Award nomination. Whale Music's soundtrack was written by the Rheostatics. That album was ranked fifth on CHART magazine's list of the best Canadian albums of all time poll in 1996, fourth in 2000 and tenth in 2005.
5. Worthy and Quarrington originally formed Porkbelly Futures as a Paul Butterfield blues tribute band in Chicago, but later crossed over to roots, country, folk and R&B styles. Porkbelly Futures' Way Past Midnight debut album spent six months on the Billboard roots and blues chart.
6. Quarrington wrote nine novels in addition to Whale Music. He won the Stephen Leacock Award for humour for King Leary. That novel also won the 2008 CBC Canada Reads competition, which saw former Rheostatics member Dave Bidini pushing for it. Quarrington's The Ravine and Galveston novels were also finalists for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, which honours Canadian fiction.
7. Quarrington's screenplay for 1991's Perfectly Normal won a Genie Award, and Quarrington was nominated for Gemini Award for his writing on CTV's Due South in 1998.
8. Quarrington was also a non-fiction writer, penning books about sports, travel and, of course, music.
9. He was honoured by the Writers' Trust Of Canada last year, who awarded him the Matt Cohen Prize for a lifetime contribution to Canadian literature.
10. Quarrington prompted the Rheostatics to reunite for a one-off gig last year at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre. The artist was honoured at the International Festival Of Authors at the event, where the Rheostatics were the special musical guests.
Quarrington passed away on Thursday morning (Jan. 21) at his home in Toronto, and his friends and family were with him at the time.
Rather than dwell on the sadness of this great artist's passing, we here at CHARTattack prefer to celebrate what made Quarrington great.
Here are 10 reasons why Paul Quarrington was cool:
1. Quarrington was the modern equivalent of a renaissance man (minus the scientific achievements, of course), writing music, novels, plays and screenplays. Most people have one career, but Quarrington seemed to have several.
2. Quarrington began his career in music, and had a #1 Canadian hit with "Baby And The Blues." He wrote the song, which was released in 1980, with Martin Worthy, who was later a member of the Porkbelly Futures with Quarrington.
3. Quarrington's perhaps best-known in rock circles for his acclaimed 1989 Whale Music novel. The book is about Desmond Howl, a reclusive ex-rocker who hasn't been able to get over the death of his brother. Quarrington based Howl's character on Brian Wilson. Whale Music won the Governor General's Literary Award For English Language Fiction in 1989.
4. Whale Music was adapted into a movie in 1994, with a screenplay written by Quarrington. It received a Genie Award nomination. Whale Music's soundtrack was written by the Rheostatics. That album was ranked fifth on CHART magazine's list of the best Canadian albums of all time poll in 1996, fourth in 2000 and tenth in 2005.
5. Worthy and Quarrington originally formed Porkbelly Futures as a Paul Butterfield blues tribute band in Chicago, but later crossed over to roots, country, folk and R&B styles. Porkbelly Futures' Way Past Midnight debut album spent six months on the Billboard roots and blues chart.
6. Quarrington wrote nine novels in addition to Whale Music. He won the Stephen Leacock Award for humour for King Leary. That novel also won the 2008 CBC Canada Reads competition, which saw former Rheostatics member Dave Bidini pushing for it. Quarrington's The Ravine and Galveston novels were also finalists for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, which honours Canadian fiction.
7. Quarrington's screenplay for 1991's Perfectly Normal won a Genie Award, and Quarrington was nominated for Gemini Award for his writing on CTV's Due South in 1998.
8. Quarrington was also a non-fiction writer, penning books about sports, travel and, of course, music.
9. He was honoured by the Writers' Trust Of Canada last year, who awarded him the Matt Cohen Prize for a lifetime contribution to Canadian literature.
10. Quarrington prompted the Rheostatics to reunite for a one-off gig last year at Toronto's Harbourfront Centre. The artist was honoured at the International Festival Of Authors at the event, where the Rheostatics were the special musical guests.
