In fact, his first musical compositions in English imitated play-by-play commentary broadcast during Hockey Night in Canada games, and often featured the Toronto Maple Leafs, his favorite team at the time.
While he never joined a team himself, Raffi has been a committed fan of the sport, and has cheered on the Vancouver Canucks since moving to British Columbia in He also released a song that was inspired by his great love for the game and his appreciation for the on-the-ground hockey supporters that make the NHL possible. He told the Canucks' NHL website :. Raffi explained in his autobiography that his first name is a tribute to Hakob Melik Hakobian pen name: Raffi , a renowned 19th-century Armenian poet and writer [ PDF ].
She went to her father for a heart-to-heart chat and said that much as she loved him dearly, she was not so fond of his name … Asadour brushed the matter aside with a colorful Turkish expletive, saying his name was of little concern to him and she was free to choose another … [and] the way was clear for [my mother] Lucie to name me after one of the most celebrated Armenian writers and one of her favorite authors.
During the year he eventually made it big, Raffi was supplementing his income with musical visits to elementary school classrooms through a program sponsored by the Mariposa Folk Fest.
But that changed one day when the singer suddenly connected with students on another level—one that would guide his career and philanthropy for the rest of his life. You go with the repertoire. Growing up, I never knew that Raffi turned down celebrity endorsements, TV shows, and specials and refused to make merchandise, but it makes sense given how I think about him: My memories are limited to his voice through the record player and the album covers I stared at.
He was older than me, but I guess not as advanced, or just not into it. He went home, and then I listened to Raffi and felt very grown-up in my lust and my sorrow. I will always remember that. His songs went so deep. Raffi made us all feel so free and honored and respected.
So whatever thoughts and feelings we had, the songs held us in their palm all the while. It felt safe to grow, to become. It was the right soundtrack to my first sexual thoughts. You know, those sorts of romantic connections? Raffi grew quiet. When you work hard to achieve success, you tell yourself that you deserve it all. I got to taste the power that comes with money and privilege.
Finally, after much therapy and soul-searching, he left his marriage Deb continued to work with the label for a while before leaving it and moved to Vancouver. Released in , it was a commercial flop, with didactic lyrics:. Lawrence River. I had done so much [singing for children] already. Some time away was needed for developing my child-honoring philosophy, and sharing that with the world. All that I do comes from a love of life, and the purpose of respecting earth and child.
I mean, my constituency — the average age was 3 and a half. This year, Raffi returns to the stage to promote two albums for children: Love Bug , released in after a decadelong dry spell, and Owl Singalong. He published the anthology Child Honouring, with a foreword by the Dalai Lama, and wrote a book for parents about social media called Lightweb Darkweb.
He took to Twitter. I just wanted to do it. His newest records will please old-guard Raffi fans. Many of the songs are composed by him.
Come on, this is the biggest mystery of all. So, hello! I asked whether this moment felt like a second flowering, and in a self-mocking way, he first puffed out his chest and agreed it did. Can we call it a resurgence? Yeah, it feels like it. You feel that you want to make the most of your years. Near the end of lunch, we talked about the fact that Raffi never had children — he and Deb never had the urge to.
Because with children, their rights are their needs, and their needs are their rights. I learned email at I learned to tweet at Raffi has not disclosed his educational background. Raffi was once a married man to Deborah Pike, although they later separated for reasons which have not been disclosed up to now.
Raffi leaves a lonely life as he has no children of his own to share his success with. Although he always has children around him whom he entertains. After his break up, he seems not to have remarried unmarried, and if he has a wife, he has managed to keep this information away from the public. His height is 1. Raffi started his career by working in a coffee house at the University of Toronto. He loved playing guitar, and when he had visited a guitar store, he met David Wilcox and John Lacey, who were both musicians who agreed to teach Raffi to perfect his guitar playing.
He worked in various other coffee houses, and in , he started becoming famous. His invitation to sing at Toronto Public School was his success to start entertaining children. These themes can also be seen in his writings and lectures. He released a song in , Wave Democracy, which was a dedication to Bernie Sanders , who was running for the US presidency. This led him to receive an award. In , his Center for child honoring founded the Red Hood Project, which aimed to protect children from bullying and exploitation.
This happened after a teenage, Amanda Todd received some online bullying which led to her suicide in Raffi has received a lot of achievement from his career as a children entertainer. He has also received other recognitions such as a doctor of music and letters from various Universities.
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