b. 13 May 1953, Lynn Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Cochrane is one of Canada’s longest-standing and most respected rock songwriters and performers. His debut on Daffodil Records came in 1974 with the album Hang On To Your Resistance, recorded with his own band, named simply Cochrane. From 1980-89 he became the singer for the popular Canadian rock act Red Rider, releasing seven albums including Don’t Fight It (Capitol 1980), As Far As Siam (Capitol 1981), Neruda (Capitol 1983), Breaking Curfew (Capitol 1984), which drew heavily on his abilities as a songwriter. Starting with 1986’s Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, the singer began to receive top billing on the band’s album, but despite steady popularity throughout Canada, Red Rider never made the transition to international fame.
Cochrane’s breakthrough as a solo artist came in 1992 when the single, ‘Life Is A Highway’, became a US Top 10 hit. The accompanying album, Mad Mad World, eventually sold over half a million copies, establishing Cochrane as a major artist outside of Canada. Ragged Ass Road (1995) was co-produced with former Red Rider keyboard player John Webster. A very personal record which detailed the break-up of his marriage, it included another successful radio single, ‘I Wish You Well’. Songs Of A Circling Spirit was a retrospective acoustic concert set drawn from a popular national tour. Cochrane completed his transition from rocker to mature singer-songwriter with the release of 1998’s XRay Sierra.
