Canada lost an iconic member of its folk music scene earlier this year. Singer-songwriter David Wiffen passed away following a short illness in May Court Hospice in Ottawa on April 5 at the age of 84.
David built a reputation as “one of Canada’s finest songwriters in contemporary folk music,” according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.
He was a handsome and sensitive man with a powerful stage presence. He was as equally admired for his hauntingly beautiful baritone voice as he was for his songwriting prowess and instrumental talents (acoustic guitar and piano). His emotive music combined elements of folk and blues with themes of love and loss and often resonated on an emotional level with listeners.
Although David published and recorded fewer than 50 songs and released only half a dozen albums, he is well respected by countless musicians and beloved by fans around the world. His music simply exemplified quality over quantity. The tunes “Driving Wheel” and “It Happens More Often than Not” have become cover
standards, while “Skybound Station,” “Coast to Coast Fever,” “One Step” and “Climb the Stairs” are among his most popular compositions.
David’s songs were recorded by a diversity of artists including Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, The Byrds, Ian & Sylvia, Jerry Jeff Walker, Eric Andersen, Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, Tom Rush, and the Cowboy Junkies.
Early years
David was born in Redhill, Surrey, England and as a young teen sang with a skiffle group in Kingston upon Thames. He came to Canada at 16 with his parents and brother, Graham. He soon became part of the active coffeehouse scene in Toronto but
returned to England, permanently relocating in Canada a few years later.
MacPhee.
In the early 1960s, David managed The Depression Coffee House in Calgary and also lived in Vancouver, where he recorded his first solo album, David Wiffen at the Bunkhouse Coffeehouse. This album included covers of folk and blues songs, both
traditional and contemporary. It also featured David’s original bluesy ballad, “Slice of Life”.
The album was initially meant to feature several musicians, but a snowstorm prevented them from participating in the recording session. So David got the entire album. How Canadian can you get for a first break? Only 100 copies of David Wiffen at the
Bunkhouse Coffeehouse were pressed and it was sought after by collectors later in his career. Luckily the album was re-released on CD in 2021.
Paying his dues
David found further success and the company of musical friends in Ottawa, where he lived from the late 60s onwards. In 1965 he joined the celebrated Ottawa group The Children. The band was put together at the suggestion of music empresario Harvey
Glatt. It included the talented lineup of William Hawkins, Bruce Cockburn, Sneezy Waters and Richard Patterson. Although The Children did not release any albums, all the members became important in the Canadian folk scene.
David was also part of the folk-rock group 3’s A Crowd from 1967 to 1969. He performed with the band for multiple shows at Expo 67 in Montreal and recorded an album with them (Christopher’s Movie Matinee) that was co-produced by Cass Elliot. David also co-hosted a CJOH TV variety show in Ottawa with Ann Mortifee.
3’s a Crowd was started by Donna Warner and singer-guitarists Brent Titcomb and Trevor Veitch in Vancouver in 1964. Some members of later incarnations included David on guitar and vocals, bass guitarists Ken Koblun and Dennis Pendrith, drummer
Richard Patterson, singer Colleen Peterson and singer-songwriters Bruce Cockburn and Sandy Crawley.
In the 1970s, David released two solo albums that yielded national hits and garnered critical acclaim. These included David Wiffen and his most popular recording, the Juno-nominated Coast to Coast Fever.
Personal problems, including alcoholism accompanied by career disappointments, complicated life for David, although he eventually overcame these challenges. In 1974 he was a patient in psychiatric hospitals in Ottawa and Brockville, Ont. and was
diagnosed as bipolar. Life became easier for him after he received appropriate treatment.
Late career
David did not perform during most of the 1980s and was injured while working as a bus driver for people with disabilities. He married his wife Joanne in Ottawa in the late 1980s. In 1993, he helped to ensure the success of the opening year of the Ottawa
Folk Festival where he was an enthusiastically received headliner. In 1995, he returned to large crowds at the same festival and for a joyful reunion of The Children in 1997.
South of Somewhere, an album combining his most popular songs and new material, was produced by Ottawa musician Phillip Victor Bova in 1999. David’s album Songs from the Lost and Found contained tracks recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, and was released in 2015. His final album, Timeless Songs: Unreleased Stage & Studio Recordings 1974/93, came out in 2024. These last two albums contained material from master tapes found in the belongings of Wiffen’s friend and bandmate Richard
Patterson, who died in 2011.
David’s last major media interview was an online episode of the Paul Leslie Hour in 2022, in which he reflected on his early life, career and musical influences.
Tributes
Singer-songwriter Lynn Miles was thrilled when David recorded her song “Crazy Me” early in her career. She had this to say about him during a tribute on CKCU-FM’s folk radio show Canadian Spaces shortly after he died: “I just think David was a gift to us.
He was a gift to our town. He was a gift to our music scene, and he was a gift to the music in the world. So many people recorded his songs and he really had a voice that was so incredibly unique and beautiful that I don’t think it could be copied.”
Lynn participated in a sold-out musical tribute to David led by Tom Wilson at Hugh’s Room in Toronto in 2014. The celebration also featured Murray McLauchlan and the Cowboy Junkies among others.
Another tribute was yet to come. Ottawa singer-songwriters Ray Harris and Chris White organized Wiffenfest, a heartfelt musical tribute held at CityFolk Festival on Sept. 14, 2019. The city proclaimed David Wiffen Day, and he was presented with the Helen Verger Award to recognize his significant contributions to folk music in Canada. David and his wife, Joanne, and his brother Graham and his wife were proud members in the audience that evening.
Ray Harris was a longtime fan of David’s and considered him someone who helped to cement Ottawa’s reputation as an important musical centre. Ray and Chris were joined by Tom Wilson, Lynn Miles, Sneezy Waters, Neville Wells, Julie Corrigan, Sandy Crawley, Frank Koller and Don Marcotte to showcase David’s impressive catalogue of songs.
Former bandmate Bruce Cockburn, who co-produced David’s Coast to Coast Fever album, recalled him as someone with a golden voice.
“He walked a hard road and can now be at peace. Hats off and glasses raised to an old comrade!”
You can find David Wiffen’s music on Spotify.
