Stompin’ Tom Connors - My Stompin’ Grounds
I was watching a 1960s black and white documentary film on the tobacco fields of Tillsonburg a few days before I bought this album at a local Goodwill store. Every year vagabonds and migrant workers flocked to Tillsonburg, Ontario to make good money (up to $14 per day) processing tobacco. This is the subject matter that made the songs of Stompin’ Tom so popular and the reason why he still has a large following in all age groups - he is Canadiana at its best. My Stompin’ Grounds was Tom’s 7th album (1971), and was the debut for his newly formed “Boot” label (BOS-7103). You can listen to the song “Tillsonburg” in the player below:
Track Listing:
1) My Stompin Grounds
2) The Bridge Came Tumblin’ Down
3) Snowmobile Song
4) “Wop” May
5) Cross Canada
6) Tillsonburg
7) Tribute to Wilf Carter
8) Song of the Irish Moss
9) Song of the Peddler
10) Bonnie Belinda
11) Name The Capital
12) Song of the Cohoe
He was born Charles Thomas Connors (known as Tommy Messer) in Saint John, New Brunswick to the teenaged Isabel Connors and her boyfriend Thomas Sullivan. He spent a short time living with his mother in a low-security women’s penitentiary before he was seized by Children’s Aid Society and was later adopted by the Aylward family in Skinners Pond, Prince Edward Island.
At the age of 15 he left his adoptive family to hitchhike across Canada, a journey that consumed the next 13 years of his life as he traveled between various part-time jobs while writing songs on his guitar. At his last stop in Timmins, Ontario, he worked in one of the local gold mines and was offered a year-long contract to sing on stage at the Maple Leaf Hotel, which earned him the attention of the local CKGB radio station.
Connors’ habit of stomping the heel of his left boot to keep rhythm earned him the nickname “that stompin’ guy”, or “Stomper”. It wasn’t until Canada’s 100th birthday, July 1, 1967, that the name Stompin’ Tom Connors was first used, when Boyd MacDonald, a waiter at the King George Tavern in Peterborough, Ontario introduced Tom on stage. Based on an enthused audience reaction to it, Tom had it officially registered in Ontario as Stompin’ Tom Ltd. the following week. Various stories have circulated about the origin of the foot stomping, but it’s generally accepted that he did this to keep a strong tempo for his guitar playing - especially in the noisy bars and beer joints where he frequently performed. After numerous complaints about damaged stage floors, Tom began to carry a piece of plywood that he stomped even more vigorously than before. The “stompin’ ” board has since become one of his trademarks. After stomping a hole in the wood, he would pick it up and show it to the audience (accompanied by a joke about the quality of the local lumber) before calling for a new one. It was reported that when asked about his “stompin’ board”, Tom replied, “it’s just a stage I’m going through”. Stompin’ Tom periodically auctions off his “stompin’ boards” for charity with the latest board selling for over $14,000.00.
As the 1970s progressed, he retired to his farm in Norval, near Georgetown, Ontario, to protest the lack of support given to Canadian stories by the policies of the Federal government, particularly the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). He also boycotted the Juno Awards in protest of the qualification guidelines set by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) for possible nominees who were being consistently nominated and awarded outside of their musical genre. He strongly opposed artists who conducted most of their business in the United States being nominated for Juno’s in Canada. Connors, who referred to these particular artists as “turncoat Canadians”, felt that in view of the fact that they had chosen to live and work in the U.S., it was only fair that they competed with Americans for Grammy Awards, and left the Juno competition to those who lived and conducted business in Canada.
His protest caught national attention when he sent back his six Junos accompanied by a letter to the board of Directors:
“Gentlemen: I am returning herewith the six Juno awards that I once felt honored to have received and which, I am no longer proud to have in my possession. As far as I am concerned you can give them to the border jumpers who didn’t receive an award this year and maybe you can have them presented by Charley Pride. I feel that the Junos should be for people who are living in Canada, whose main base of business operations is in Canada, who are working toward the recognition of Canadian talent in this country and who are trying to further the export of such talent from this country to the world with a view to proudly showing off what this country can contribute to the world market. Until the academy appears to comply more closely with aspirations of this kind, I will no longer stand for any nominations, nor will I accept any award given. Yours very truly, Stompin’ Tom Connors.
He remained in retirement for 12 years before persistent love from young roots revivalists drew him back into the studio and on to the stage. To this day, Stompin’ Tom’s performances remain popular, and he remains one of Canada’s more prolific recording artists. His songs often pay tribute to Canadian newsmakers or personalities, and can be topical, referring to news events of the day.