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{{Short description|Canadian singer}}
{{AFC submission|||u=MakinASarah|ns=118|ts=20170224061657}} <!-- Do not remove this line! -->
{{distinguish|Bob Bossie}}
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{{Excessive citations|date=October 2021}}[[File:Bob Bossin in sun.jpg|thumb|Bob Bossin, 2010, photo by Rick Bockner, used with permission.]]
'''Bob Bossin''' (born 1946) is a Canadian folk singer, writer and activist who co-founded the Canadian folk group [[Stringband]] with [[Marie-Lynn Hammond]]. Bossin is the writer of the songs "[[Dief Will Be the Chief Again]]", "Show Us the Length", "Tugboats", "The Maple Leaf Dog" and "Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)". As well, Bossin wrote and performed two solo musicals, ''Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War'' and ''Davy the Punk''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://davythepunk.com|title=Davy the Punk|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=2013|website=Davy the Punk|access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref> The latter is based on the book ''Davy the Punk'' (The Porcupine's Quill, 2014),<ref name=":14" /> Bossin's memoir of his outlaw father.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Stringband's music is homemade and friendly|last=Flohill|first=Richard|date=March 30, 1974|newspaper=Canadian Composer}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite news|title=Sittin' on a riverboat|last=Penfield|first=Wilder|date=May 30, 1977|newspaper=Toronto Sun}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite news|title=Immortality on vinyl disc for a paltry five-buck bill|last=Scanlon|first=Kevin|date=December 6, 1976|newspaper=Toronto Sun}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite news|title=Stringband in a class of their own|last=Sebchuck|first=Barbar|date=October 24, 1980|newspaper=Halifax Chronicle Herald}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news|title=Bush gains but Bob says don't worry, be happy|last=Wagner|first=Vit|date=November 7, 1988|newspaper=Toronto Star}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite news|title=Friends and fans fund Bossin's return from Island self-exile|date=August 7, 1994|newspaper=Georgia Straight}}</ref><ref name=":11" />


== Early life ==
{{AFC comment|1=Please remove all in line external links Wikipedia doesn't us them [[User:Theroadislong|Theroadislong]] ([[User talk:Theroadislong|talk]]) 13:40, 24 February 2017 (UTC)}}
Bob Bossin grew up in Toronto surrounded by artists, entertainers and writers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |url=http://cfmb.icaap.org/content/29.4/BV29-4art5.pdf|title="That's what folk songs have always done…" an interview with Bob Bossin|date=December 31, 1995|magazine=Canadian Folk Music Bulletin |volume=29 |issue=4 |access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> His mother, Marcia Bossin (née Marcella Louise Levitt, 1912–2006) was a painter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bossin.com/marcia.php|title=Marcia Bossin: Artist, lover, mother and free spirit|last=Bossin|first=Bob|website=www.bossin.com|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/marcia.htm|title=Marcia Bossin: Artist, lover, mother and free spirit|last=Bossin|first=Bob|website=Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> His father, David Bossin (1905–1963), was a booking agent for nightclubs. Two of Bob's uncles were writers: [[Hye Bossin]] was a columnist and editor, and Art Arthur (né Bossin) was a screenwriter. Arthur wrote the 1946 Academy Award-winning documentary, ''[[Seeds of Destiny]]''.


As a boy, Bossin fell in love with the early rock 'n rollers – Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, [[Gene Vincent]] – but by 1958 he had turned his ear to folk music.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=http://stringband.net/someplayedharder.pdf|title="There's some played harder, and there's some played smarter, but nobody played like you": The Life and Times of Stringband |last=Cristall|first=Gary|date=December 31, 2002|website=Stringband |access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> The variety, earthiness and politics of folk songs so captivated Bossin that the genre became his musical home for the next half century.<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|title=Stringband's search for a Canadian style|last=Fetherling|first=Doug|date=June 30, 1976|newspaper=Saturday Night Magazine}}</ref><ref name=":6" />
{{AFC comment|1=Specifically, this needs actual major music reviews and also all additional major independent news; no interviews, press releases, trivial passing mentions or similar as these won't help. [[User:SwisterTwister|<font color="green">'''S'''wister'''T'''wister</font>]] [[User talk:SwisterTwister|<font color="green">talk</font>]] 05:48, 11 January 2017 (UTC)}}


Bossin graduated from the University of Toronto in 1968.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alumni.innis.utoronto.ca/profiles/bob-bossin|title=Innis Alumni and Friends – Bob Bossin|last=University of Toronto|date=January 1, 2017|website=Innis 50|publisher=University of Toronto|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> His university years coincided with the zenith of student and youth activism in Canada: the civil rights movement, opposition to the war in Vietnam, anti-nuclear and disarmament campaigns, and the nascent environment and feminist movements all engaged young people, Bossin among them. He became, and remained, a lifelong activist and social critic.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Canadian Music Series a delightful change of pace|last=Mietkiewctz|first=Henry|date=December 26, 1984|newspaper=Toronto Star}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Bossin looks at the world with good-humoured dismay|last=Parker|first=James|date=August 7, 1990|newspaper=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix}}</ref>
----


Those same years saw a revamping of CBC Radio by young, engaged journalists recruited from the student press, among them Doug Ward, Volkmar Richter, [[Mark Starowicz|Mark Starowitz]], and [[Peter Gzowski]]. When Gzowski became editor of ''Maclean's Magazine'' in 1971, he assigned 25-year-old Bossin a regular column. Bossin would continue to write essays and articles, and produce radio documentaries, for many years. But his main focus was music.
<!-- EDIT BELOW THIS LINE -->= Bob Bossin =
[[File:Bob Bossin in sun.jpg|thumb|Bob at home on Gabriola Island, BC.]]
'''Bob Bossin''' (born 1946) is a Canadian folk singer, writer and activist who co-founded the Canadian folk group [[Stringband]] with [[Marie-Lynn Hammond]]. Several of Bossin’s songs have entered the Canadian folksong canon, among them “[[Dief Will Be the Chief Again]]”, “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wODa-pEMHnc Show Us the Length]”, “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vaw6j11ias8 Tugboats]”, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fwzhKgd55k "The Maple Leaf Dog"] and “[http://www.bossin.com/sulPas.php Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)]”. As well, Bossin wrote and toured two solo musicals, ''Bossin’s Home Remedy for Nuclear War'' and ''[http://www.davythepunk.com/ Davy the Punk]''. The latter is based on the book ''Davy the Punk'' (The Porcupine’s Quill, 2014), Bossin’s memoir of his outlaw father. <ref name=":4" /> <ref name=":5" /> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Stringband's music is homemade and friendly|last=Flohill|first=Richard|date=March 30, 1974|newspaper=Canadian Composer|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=|title=Sittin' on a riverboat|last=Penfield|first=Wilder|date=May 30, 1977|newspaper=Toronto Sun|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=|title=Immortality on vinyl disc for a paltry five-buck bill|last=Scanlon|first=Kevin|date=December 6, 1976|newspaper=Toronto Sun|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=|title=Stringband in a class of their own|last=Sebchuck|first=Barbar|date=October 24, 1980|newspaper=Halifax Chronicle Herald|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":9">{{Cite news|url=|title=Bush gains but Bob says don't worry, be happy|last=Wagner|first=Vit|date=November 7, 1988|newspaper=Toronto Star|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=|title=Friends and fans fund Bossin's return from Island self-exile|last=|first=|date=August 7, 1994|newspaper=Georgia Straight|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":11" />


== '''Early life''' ==
== Stringband 1971–1986 ==
A detailed history of [[Stringband]] can be found through the links section below.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War.jpg|thumb|Prop used in and sold along with Bob's one man show, ''Bossin’s Home Remedy for Nuclear War (guaranteed to prevent nuclear war or your money refunded).'']]
Bob Bossin grew up in Toronto surrounded by artists, entertainers and writers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://cfmb.icaap.org/content/29.4/BV29-4art5.pdf|title=“That’s what folk songs have always done…” an interview with Bob Bossin|last=|first=|date=December 31, 1995|work=Canadian Folk Music Bulletin, Volume 29, number 4|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=http://cfmb.icaap.org/content/29.4/}}</ref>


In 1971 Bossin met Marie-Lynn Hammond, a young, bilingual singer and songwriter. He recruited Jerry Lewycky, a violin student at University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, to accompany them on fiddle. The configuration – guitar, banjo, fiddle and voices – was that of a string band, one of the traditional North American folk music forms.<ref name=":4" />
His mother, Marcia Bossin (nee [http://www.bossin.com/marcia.php Marcella Louise Levitt], 1912-2006) was a painter.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bossin.com/marcia.php|title=Marcia Bossin: Artist, lover, mother and free spirit|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=|website=www.bossin.com|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/marcia.htm|title=Marcia Bossin: Artist, lover, mother and free spirit|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=|website=Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> His father, David Bossin (1905–1963), was a booking agent for nightclubs. Two of Bob’s uncles were writers. Hye Bossin was a columnist and editor, and Art Arthur (né Bossin) was a screen writer. Arthur wrote the 1946 Academy-Award-winning documentary, [[Seeds of Destiny]].


Stringband's first album, on their own Nick Records label, was released in 1973. The timing was propitious: the early 1970s saw a burgeoning of Canadian culture. Young writers like Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje were being published. Cultural institutions like Theatre Passe Muraille, the House of Anansi Press, Attic Records and CBC Radio's This Country in the Morning/ Morningside began. Stringband, with its repertoire of Canadian songs and stories, provided a sound track for this cultural revolution.<ref name=":1" /> "They search relentlessly for a Canadian sound," Canadian poet Doug Fetherling wrote of Stringband in Saturday Night Magazine in 1975. "Not hearing it, they have perhaps invented it."<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=http://rabble.ca/news/old-radical-fights-back|title=An old radical fights back|last=Cameron|first=Silver Donald|date=June 16, 2005|work=rabble.ca|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=rabble.ca; DISQUS}}</ref><ref name=":12" />
Bossin attended North Toronto Collegiate and then Innis College at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1968. He was awarded the University’s Moss Scholarship as the best all-round graduating student'''.'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://alumni.innis.utoronto.ca/profiles/bob-bossin|title=Innis Alumni and Friends - Bob Bossin|last=University of Toronto|first=|date=January 1, 2017|website=Innis 50|publisher=University of Toronto|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>


In 1974 Lewycky left the group and was replaced by fiddler [[Ben Mink]], who would become one of Canada's most respected musicians and music producers. Mink left Stringband in 1976 and jazz violinist Terry King took over on fiddle. King was followed by Zeke Mazurek in 1978 and Calvin Cairns in 1983. Bassist Dennis Nichol joined the group in 1979. Other musicians who played or recorded with Stringband include [[Frank Barth]], [[Doug Bowes]], [[Jane Fair]], [[Daniel Lanois]], [[Kieran Overs]], [[Stan Rogers]], [[Alan Soberman]], [[Chris Whitley|Chris Whitely]] and, for a time replacing Marie-Lynn Hammond, singer-songwriter [[Nanci Ahern]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Between the notes|last=Ross|first=Val|date=January 19, 1977|newspaper=Weekend Magazine}}</ref>
As a boy in 1954, Bossin fell in love with the then new pop-music form, rock ‘n roll. However by 1958, the rough rock ‘n roll of its early practitioners - Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Gene Vincent - had been displaced by the blander offerings of the music industry. Bossin turned his ear and his guitar – a gift from his parents – to folk music.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=http://stringband.net/someplayedharder.pdf|title=There's some played harder, and there's some played smarter, but nobody played like you|last=Cristall|first=Gary|date=December 31, 2002|work=The Life and Times of Stringband|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=http://stringband.net/}}</ref> The variety, earthiness and politics of folk music so captivated Bossin that the genre became his musical home for the next half century. <ref name=":12">{{Cite news|url=|title=Stringband's search for a Canadian style|last=Fetherling|first=Doug|date=June 30, 1976|newspaper=Saturday Night Magazine|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":6" />


Bossin’s high school and university years also coincided with the zenith of student and youth activism in Canada: the civil rights movement, opposition to the war in Vietnam, anti-nuclear and disarmament campaigns, and the nascent environment and feminist movements all engaged young people, including Bossin. He became, and remained, a lifelong activist and social critic'''.'''<ref name=":1" /> <ref name=":12" /> <ref name=":6" /> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Canadian Music Series a delightful change of pace|last=Mietkiewctz|first=Henry|date=December 26, 1984|newspaper=Toronto Star|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Bossin looks at the world with good-humoured dismay|last=Parker|first=James|date=August 7, 1990|newspaper=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>
Stringband recorded nine albums, toured Canada for 15 years, and performed in the U.S., the U.K, the U.S.S.R, France, Mexico and Japan. They gained a loyal, almost fanatical, following. The group disbanded in 1986, but in 2001, former fans donated $25,000 to fund ''The Indispensable Stringband'', a retrospective CD-box set released in 2002.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stringband-emc/|title=Stringband|date=February 7, 2006|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|publisher=Historica Canada|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Dief will be the Chief Again|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=September 18, 1995|newspaper=Vancouver Sun}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=String Fling|last=Chamberlain|first=Adrian|date=November 30, 2003|newspaper=Victoria Times-Colonist}}</ref>


Historian of Canadian folk music, [[Gary Cristall]], summed up Stringband's influence: <blockquote>As they toured, they picked up regional images, stories and songs…. They had a repertoire that combined modernity and tradition, both official languages, family and history, politics and sex, geography and poetry, work and play.</blockquote><blockquote>For Canadian musicians, Stringband's most significant influence came not from their music, but from how they purveyed it. Bob… realized that if you sold your own records, you made a lot more money than if a record company sold them. Others soon realized it too, partly as a result of watching Stringband. Bob perfected things that are now standard in independent music far beyond folk circles.</blockquote><blockquote>…Stringband's core audience was the broad political and cultural left, the folks who built the anti-war movements, the environmental movement, and the women's movement… Stringband played their benefits and articulated their vision of the world. The band, and Bob and Marie-Lynn as individual artists, have never broken faith with these people or their beliefs.<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>
Those same years saw a revamping of CBC Radio by young, engaged journalists recruited from the student press, among them Doug Ward, [[Mark Starowicz|Mark Starowitz]], [[Peter Gzowski]] and Volkmar Richter. Richter taught Bossin the craft of radio-documentary making. Gzowski, at the time editor of the ''Star Weekly'' magazine, published an article by Bossin in 1968. When Gzowski became editor of ''Maclean’s Magazine'' in 1971, he assigned Bossin a regular column. Bossin would continue to write essays and articles, and produce radio programs, for many years. But his main focus was music.


== Songs and solo recordings ==
== '''Stringband 1971–1986''' ==
Stringband recorded many Bossin songs. Among the most popular were "Daddy Was a Ballplayer" (1972), "Dief Will Be the Chief Again" (1974), "Lunenberg Concerto" (1974), "Show Us the Length" (1974), "Tugboats" (1977), "The Casca and the Whitehorse Burned Down" (1978), and "Newfoundlanders" (1978).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bossin.com/about.php#Songs|title=Bob recalls his songs|last=Bossin|first=Bob|website=www.bossin.com|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/boboeuv.htm|title=Bob's Oeuvre|last=Bossin|first=Bob|website=Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=A fulfilling musical feast. Beautiful!|last=Mulholland|first=Dave|date=January 6, 1980|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen}}</ref>
A detailed history of [[Stringband]] can be found [http://stringband.net/someplayedharder.pdf here]'''.'''<ref name=":1" />


Other singers, including [[Pete Seeger]], [[Peggy Seeger]], [[Ian Tyson]] and [[Valdy]] covered Bossin's songs. Despite little air play because of its explicit language, "Show Us the Length" became a favourite folk song among feminists and was performed by both professional and amateur singers as far away from Canada as New Zealand and Japan. In the U.S., Pete Seeger sang the song for years.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Stringband's songs are still (not) in fashion|last=McDonald|first=Verne|date=October 18, 1991|newspaper=Georgia Straight}}</ref>
In 1971 Bossin met Marie-Lynn Hammond, a young, half-French-Canadian singer and song-writer. He recruited Jerry Lewycky, a violin student at University of Toronto’s Faculty of Music, to accompany them on fiddle. The configuration – guitar, banjo, fiddle and voices – was that of a string band, one of the traditional North American folk music forms. <ref name=":4" />


After Stringband disbanded in 1986, Bossin released several solo albums including ''Gabriola V0R1X0'' (1994) and ''The Roses on Annie's Table'' (2005), the latter produced by Vancouver art-rock diva, [[Veda Hille]]. Bossin's songs included "The Secret of Life According to Satchel Paige" (1982), "Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)" (1989), "Ya Wanna Marry Me?" (1991), "Bill Miner" (1993) "Nanaimo" (2001), and "The Roses on Annie's Table" (2005).<ref>{{Cite news|title=Bob Bossin, Gabriola V0R1X0|date=December 30, 1995|newspaper=Canadian Folk Music Bulletin}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite news|title=Folk music returns home|last=Campbell|first=Rod|date=August 4, 1999|newspaper=Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Bob Bossin The Roses on Annie's Table|date=2006|newspaper=Sing Out! v. 50, 1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Wounded strength of Portland songwriter inspires tribute|last=Blake|first=Joseph|date=April 18, 2006|newspaper=Victoria Times-Colonist}}</ref>
Stringband’s first album, on their own Nick Records label, was released in 1973. Bossin’s song “Daddy Was a Ballplayer” was aired frequently on CBC. The timing was propitious: the early 1970s saw a burgeoning of Canadian culture. Young writers like Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje were being published. Cultural institutions like Theatre Passe Muraille, the House of Anansi Press, Attic Records and This Country in the Morning/ Morningside began. Stringband, with its repertoire of Canadian songs and stories, provided a sound track for this cultural revolution.<ref name=":1" /> “They search relentlessly for a Canadian sound,” wrote Canadian poet Doug Fetherling of Stringband in Saturday Night Magazine in 1975. “Not hearing it, they have perhaps invented it.”<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|url=http://rabble.ca/news/old-radical-fights-back|title=An old radical fights back|last=Cameron|first=Silver Donald|date=June 16, 2005|work=rabble.ca|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=rabble.ca; DISQUS}}</ref> <ref name=":12" />


"Bossin's songs were humane, evocative and literate," Gary Cristall writes in ''Some played harder...'' "He would give each song its own singer: an old camp cook reminiscing about the Wobbly who tried to organize cowboys; a tugboat man who, after 35 years on the Strait of Georgia, knew to 'wait and let it come to you.' Bob created Newfoundlanders who were not Canadian by a damn sight; Yukoners who brought lawn chairs and thermoses while the ''Casca'' and the ''Whitehorse'' burned down; and the guy from Saskatchewan hopefully awaiting the second coming of John Diefenbaker. Bob welded together sentiment, history and landscape as few songwriters have done."<ref name=":1" />
In 1974 Lewycky left the group and was replaced by fiddler [[Ben Mink]], who would become one of Canada’s most respected musicians and music producers. Mink left Stringband in 1976 and was replaced by jazz violinist Terry King, who was followed by Zeke Mazurek in 1978 and Calvin Cairns in 1983. Bassist Dennis Nichol joined the group in 1979. Other musicians who played or recorded with Stringband include [[Frank Barth]], [[Doug Bowes]], [[Jane Fair]], [[Daniel Lanois]], [[Kieran Overs]], [[Stan Rogers]], [[Alan Soberman]], [[Chris Whitley|Chris Whitely]] and, for a time replacing Hammond, singer-songwriter [[Nanci Ahern]].<ref name=":1" /> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Between the notes|last=Ross|first=Val|date=January 19, 1977|newspaper=Weekend Magazine|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>


=== Sulphur Passage and Clayoquot ===
In addition to many tours in Canada, Stringband recorded nine albums, performed in the U.S., England, Scotland, France, Mexico, Japan and the Soviet Union, and gained a loyal, almost fanatical following. 15 years after the group disbanded in 1986, former fans donated $25,000 for the creation of ''The Indispensable Stringband'', a retrospective CD-box set released in 2002'''.'''<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stringband-emc/|title=Stringband|last=|first=|date=February 7, 2006|website=The Canadian Encyclopedia|publisher=Historica Canada|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> <ref name=":7" /> <ref name=":8" /> <ref name=":10" /> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Dief will be the Cheif Again|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=September 18, 1995|newspaper=Vancouver Sun|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=String Fling|last=Chamberlain|first=Adrian|date=November 30, 2003|newspaper=Victoria Times-Colonist|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>
From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, the fate of the wilderness of Vancouver Island's Clayoquot Sound was one of Canada's most hard-fought environmental causes. Bossin was involved from the beginning. He wrote songs and articles and produced radio documentaries, including "What Happened at Clayoquot" for CBC Radio's flagship ''Ideas'' program.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bossin.com/sulPas.php|title=How I saved Clayoquot|last=Bossin|first=Bob|website=www.Bossin.com|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/sulpas.htm|title=How I saved Clayoquot|last=Bossin|first=Bob|website=Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> One song, ''Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)'' was made into a music video by documentary director, [[Nettie Wild]]. Sung by a Who's Who of British Columbia folk artists – Bossin, [[Stephen Fearing]], [[Roy Forbes]], [[Veda Hille]], [[Ann Mortifee]], [[Raffi]], Rick Scott, [[Valdy]] and Jennifer West – ''Sulphur Passage'' won a half-dozen awards. The video can be seen through the links section below. ''Sulphur Passage'' became the anthem of the Clayoquot protesters and played a significant role in the preservation of the Clayoquot forest.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Nature made it, Women saved it|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=September 30, 1999|newspaper=Homemaker's Magazine}}</ref><ref name=":13" />
[[File:Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War.jpg|thumb|Bottle of Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War]]


=== ''Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War'' ===
Historian of Canadian folk music, [[Gary Cristall]], summed up Stringband’s influence: <blockquote>“As they toured, they picked up regional images, stories and songs…. They had a repertoire that combined modernity and tradition, both official languages, family and history, politics and sex, geography and poetry, work and play. Stringband took most of the elements of people’s lives and put them into two hour-long sets. </blockquote><blockquote>“For Canadian musicians, Stringband’s most significant influence came not from their music, but from how they purveyed it. Bob… realized that if you sold your own records, you made a lot more money than if a record company sold them. Others soon realized it too, partly as a result of watching Stringband. Bob perfected things that are now standard in independent music far beyond folk circles… For other artists, the combination of independence from the music industry and Stringband’s passionate, original, and uncompromised repertoire was a beacon in the night.</blockquote><blockquote>“Ultimately though, Stringband’s influence on their musical peers is less important than what they left with their audiences… Stringband’s core audience was the broad political and cultural left, the folks who built the anti-war movements, the environmental movement, and the women’s movement… Stringband played their benefits and articulated their vision of the world. The band, and Bob and Marie-Lynn as individual artists, have never broken faith with these people or their beliefs.”<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>
In the 1980s, the advent of a new generation of nuclear weapons – Pershing, Trident and Cruise missiles – re-aroused the nuclear disarmament movement that had begun in the late 1940s. In Vancouver BC, tens of thousands marched in an annual Walk for Peace. The Vancouver East Cultural Centre commissioned Bossin to write a peace-themed show to coincide with the 1986 march. Bossin believed that the arms race would only be stopped by the activism of ordinary citizens, a "home remedy", so he created a musical medicine show, ''Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War''. The show was first directed by Jackie Crosland, and then, in subsequent stagings, by Colin Thomas, Peter Froehlich and Simon Webb. ''Home Remedy'' toured Canada, the U.S., New Zealand and Australia, selling over 9000 bottles of "Dr. Bossin's" potion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19890602&id=Nnc1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=EZcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4127,885129&hl=en|title=Doc's shock cure for nuke madness|last=Johnston|first=Nicholas|date=June 2, 1989|work=The Age|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=Google News}}</ref><ref name=":9" /><ref>{{Cite news|title=Vancouver fringe offers varied fare|last=Stevenson|first=Jane|date=August 9, 1989|newspaper=Edmonton Journal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Can Stringband heal the rifts?|last=Ross|first=Val|date=January 7, 1991|newspaper=Globe and Mail}}</ref>


== '''Songs and solo recordings''' ==
=== Davy the Punk ===
In the 1930s Dave Bossin, Bob's father, was a notable figure in Toronto's gambling underworld. Intrigued by his father's history, Bob collected stories about "Davy the Punk" (Dave Bossin's underworld nickname) and the race-track milieu he inhabited. In 2014, The Porcupine's Quill published ''Davy the Punk: A Story of Bookies, Toronto the Good, the Mob and my'' ''Dad'' to glowing reviews.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://davythepunk.com/quotes.php|title=Praise for Davy the Punk|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=2013|website=Davy the Punk|access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref> Subsequently, the book won the Pinsky-Givon prize for non-fiction and was short-listed for the Vine Prize. It also received a citation from Heritage Toronto. Bossin then based a one-person musical, also called ''Davy the Punk'', on the book. The show toured Canada for several years. A film version is planned.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2014/09/racetrack-man|title=Racetrack Man|last=Fiorito|first=Joe|date=September 30, 2014|website=reviewcanada.ca|publisher=Literary Review of Canada|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/exploring-the-underworld-of-toronto-the-good/article17369448/|title=A kindly gangster in Toronto the Good|last=Wheeler|first=Brad|date=March 7, 2014|work=The Insider|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/a-christmas-concert-michael-s-essay-harold-wanless-mail-about-dying-at-age-75-cat-christmas-documentary-mail-about-refugee-policy-bob-bossin-menorah-s-hidden-history-1.2905337/bob-bossin-on-his-father-s-life-in-the-gambling-underworld-of-the-30-s-and-40-s-1.2905340|title=Bob Bossin on his father's life in the gambling underworld of the 30s and 40s|last=Enright|first=Michael|date=December 14, 2014|website=CBC Radio, The Sunday Edition|access-date=February 23, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/04/26/the-son-of-davy-the-punk-is-back-in-town-fiorito.html|title=The son of Davy the Punk is back in town: Fiorito|last=Fiorito|first=Joe|date=April 26, 2015|newspaper=The Toronto Star|access-date=February 23, 2017|via=TheStar.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cjnews.com/culture/arts/story-davy-punk|title=The story of Davy the Punk|last=Adler|first=Jordan|date=June 2, 2014|newspaper=The Canadian Jewish News|access-date=February 23, 2017|via=cjnews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jewishindependent.ca/a-family-underworld-bossin-and-lansky/|title=A family underworld – Bossin and Lansky|last=Matas|first=Robert|date=May 30, 2014|newspaper=Jewish Independent|access-date=February 23, 2017|via=jewishindependent.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://davythepunk.com/inc/APRED74P24.pdf|title=Davy the Punk by Bob Bossin – A review|newspaper=Down the stretch newspaper|access-date=February 23, 2017|via=downthestretchnewspaper.com}}</ref>
A number of songs written by Bossin and performed by Stringband became popular in folk music circles, among them “Daddy Was a Ballplayer” (1972), “Dief Will Be the Chief Again” (1974), “Lunenberg Concerto” (1974), “Show Us the Length” (1974), “Tugboats” (1977), “The Casca and the Whitehorse Burned Down” (1978), and “Newfoundlanders” (1978).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bossin.com/about.php#Songs|title=Bob recalls his songs|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=|website=www.bossin.com|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/boboeuv.htm|title=Bob's Oeuvre|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=|website=Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> <ref name=":12" /> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=A fulfilling musical feast. Beautiful!|last=Mulholland|first=Dave|date=January 6, 1980|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>


'''<big>Only one bear in a hundred bites but they don't come in order</big>'''
Other singers, including [[Pete Seeger]]''',''' [[Peggy Seeger]], [[Ian Tyson]] and [[Valdy]] covered Bossin’s songs. Choirs performed choral arrangements. Despite little air play because of its explicit language, “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wODa-pEMHnc Show Us the Length]” became a feminist anthem and was performed by both professional and amateur singers as far away from Canada as New Zealand and Japan. In the U.S., Pete Seeger sang the song for years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Stringband's songs are still (not) in fashion|last=McDonald|first=Verne|date=October 18, 1991|newspaper=Georgia Straight|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>


In 2017 Bossin released ''Only one bear in a hundred bites but they don't come in order'', a video on the danger of a catastrophic fire at the terminus of the controversial [[Kinder Morgan]] pipeline. The proposed pipeline would carry tar-sands oil from Northern Alberta to the Port of Vancouver. The project faced vehement opposition by coastal citizens and First Nations. This opposition contributed to the defeat of the British Columbia Provincial Government in 2017. Released during the election campaign, ''Only one bear...'' received 13,000 views on YouTube and over 100,000 views on Facebook. The video was edited and designed by Paul Grignon.<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOyceZiLF-Y|title=Only one bear in a hundred bites, but they don't come in order|date=26 April 2017|website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://commonground.ca/bob-bossin-vs-kinder-morgan/|title=Bob Bossin vs. Kinder Morgan|last=Mason|first=Bruce|date=July 2017|website=Common Ground}}</ref>
After Stringband disbanded in 1986, Bossin released several solo albums including ''Gabriola V0R1X0'' (1994) and ''The Roses on Annie’s Table'' (2005), the latter produced by Vancouver art-rock diva, [[Veda Hille]]. More Bossin songs achieved lasting popularity: “The Secret of Life According to Satchel Paige” (1982), “[http://www.bossin.com/sulPas.php Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)]” (1989), “[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOmYdZMGiMk Ya Wanna Marry Me?]” (1991), “Bill Miner” (1993) “Nanaimo” (2001), and “The Roses on Annie’s Table” (2005)''.''<ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Bob Bossin, Gabriola V0R1X0|last=|first=|date=December 30, 1995|newspaper=Canadian Folk Music Bulletin|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":13">{{Cite news|url=|title=Folk music returns home|last=Campbell|first=Rod|date=August 4, 1999|newspaper=Globe and Mail|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Bob Bossin The Roses on Annie's Table|last=|first=|date=Spring, 2006|newspaper=Sing Out! v. 50, 1|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Wounded strength of Portland songwriter inspires tribute|last=Blake|first=Joseph|date=April 18, 2006|newspaper=Victoria Times-Colonist|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>


== Family life ==
“Bossin’s songs were humane, evocative and literate,” Gary Cristall writes in ''Some played harder...'' “He would give each song its own singer: an old camp cook reminiscing about the Wobbly who tried to organize cowboys; a tugboat man who, after 35 years on the Strait of Georgia, knew to ‘wait and let it come to you.’ Bob created Newfoundlanders who were not Canadian by a damn sight; Yukoners who brought lawn chairs and thermoses while the ''Casca'' and the ''Whitehorse'' burned down; and the guy from Saskatchewan hopefully awaiting the second coming of John Diefenbaker. Bob welded together sentiment, history and landscape as few songwriters have done.”<ref name=":1" />
Bossin lives on [[Gabriola Island]], British Columbia with his wife, fabric artist and illustrator, Sima Elizabeth Shefrin. Shefrin's graphic novella, ''Embroidered Cancer Comic'' (Singing Dragon, London, 2016)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Embroidered Cancer Comic|last=Shefrin|first=Sima Elizabeth|publisher=Singing Dragon – Jessica Kingsley Publishers|year=2016|isbn=978-0-85701-237-1|location=London, England}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27157747-embroidered-cancer-comic|title=Embroidered Cancer Comic|website=goodreads.com|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> is based on their life together after Bossin's 2011 diagnosis with prostate cancer. Shefrin also illustrated Bossin's chap book, ''Latkes'' (Nick Books, 2005).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Latkes|last=Bossin|first=Bob|publisher=Nick Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-88984-369-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=383|title=Bossin, Bob|website=ABC Bookworld|publisher=BC BookWorld|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stitchingforsocialchange.ca/illust.htm|title=Sima Elizabeth Shefrin|last=Shefrin|first=Sima Elizabeth|website=Stitching for Social Change|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> Bossin has two children, Madelyn ("Gee"), born in 1993 and Davy, born in 1999.


== Recordings ==
=== '''''Sulphur Passage'' and Clayoquot''' ===
From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, the fate of the wilderness of Vancouver Island’s Clayoquot Sound was one of Canada’s most hard-fought environmental causes. Bossin was involved in efforts to protect the Clayoquot forest from the beginning. He wrote essays and produced radio documentaries, including “What Happened at Clayoquot” for CBC Radio’s flagship ''Ideas'' program; he contributed an affidavit to the First Nation’s court challenge; and he wrote several songs'''.'''<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bossin.com/sulPas.php|title=How I saved Clayoquot|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=|website=www.Bossin.com|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> <ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/sulpas.htm|title=How I saved Clayoquot|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=|website=Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>

One, ''[http://www.bossin.com/sulPas.php Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)]'' was made into a music video by documentary director, [[Nettie Wild]]. Sung by a Who’s Who of British Columbia folk artists – Bossin, [[Stephen Fearing]], [[Roy Forbes]], [[Veda Hille]], [[Ann Mortifee]], [[Raffi]], Rick Scott, [[Valdy]] and Jennifer West – ''Sulphur Passage'' won a half-dozen awards. The video can be seen [http://www.bossin.com/sulPas.php here] or [http://www3.telus.net/oldfolk/sulpas.htm here]. ''Sulphur Passage'' became the anthem of the Clayoquot protesters and played a significant role in the preservation of the Clayoquot forest. (See “[http://www.bossin.com/sulPas.php How I saved Clayoquot].”)<ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":3" /> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Nature made it, Women saved it|last=Bossin|first=Bob|date=September 30, 1999|newspaper=Homemaker's Magazine|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref name=":13" />

=== '''Bossin’s Home Remedy for Nuclear War''' ===
In the 1980s, the advent of a new generation of nuclear weapons - Pershing, Trident and Cruise missiles – re-aroused the nuclear disarmament movement that had begun in the late 1940s. In Vancouver BC, tens of thousands marched in an annual Walk for Peace. The Vancouver East Cultural Centre commissioned Bossin to write a peace-themed show to coincide with the1986 march. Bossin believed that the arms race would only be stopped by the activism of ordinary citizens, a “home remedy”, so he created a musical medicine show, a sales pitch for ''Bossin’s Home Remedy for Nuclear War (guaranteed to prevent nuclear war or your money refunded).'' The show was first directed by Jackie Crosland, and then, in subsequent stagings, by Colin Thomas, Peter Froehlich and Simon Webb. ''Home Remedy'' toured Canada, the U.S., New Zealand and Australia, selling over 9000 bottles of the Dr. Bossin’s potion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1300&dat=19890602&id=Nnc1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=EZcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4127,885129&hl=en|title=Doc's shock cure for nuke madness|last=Johnston|first=Nicholas|date=June 2, 1989|work=The Age|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=Google News}}</ref> <ref name=":9" /> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Vancouver fringe offers varied fare|last=Stevenson|first=Jane|date=August 9, 1989|newspaper=Edmonton Journal|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=|title=Can Stringband heal the rifts?|last=Ross|first=Val|date=January 7, 1991|newspaper=Globe and Mail|access-date=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=}}</ref>

=== '''Davy the Punk''' ===
In the 1930s Dave Bossin, Bob’s father, was a notable figure in Toronto’s gambling underworld. He was also the subject of two precedent-setting court cases. Intrigued by his father’s history, Bob collected stories about “Davy the Punk” (Dave Bossin’s underworld nickname) and the race-track milieu he inhabited. In 2014, The Porcupine’s Quill published ''Davy the Punk: A Story of Bookies, Toronto the Good, the Mob and my'' ''Dad'' to glowing [http://davythepunk.com/quotes.php reviews]. Subsequently the book won the Pinsky-Givon prize for non-fiction and was short-listed for the Vine Prize. It also received a citation from Heritage Toronto. Bossin then based a one-person musical, also called ''Davy the Punk'', on the book. The show toured Canada for several years. A film version is planned.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2014/09/racetrack-man|title=Racetrack Man|last=Fiorito|first=Joe|date=September 30, 2014|website=reviewcanada.ca|publisher=Literary Review of Canada|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/exploring-the-underworld-of-toronto-the-good/article17369448/|title=A kindly gangster in Toronto the Good|last=Wheeler|first=Brad|date=March 7, 2014|work=The Insider|access-date=January 10, 2017|via=The Globe and Mail}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/a-christmas-concert-michael-s-essay-harold-wanless-mail-about-dying-at-age-75-cat-christmas-documentary-mail-about-refugee-policy-bob-bossin-menorah-s-hidden-history-1.2905337/bob-bossin-on-his-father-s-life-in-the-gambling-underworld-of-the-30-s-and-40-s-1.2905340|title=Bob Bossin on his father's life in the gambling underworld of the 30's and 40's|last=Enright|first=Michael|date=December 14, 2014|website=CBC Radio, The Sunday Edition|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=February 23, 2017}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/04/26/the-son-of-davy-the-punk-is-back-in-town-fiorito.html|title=The son of Davy the Punk is back in town: Fiorito|last=Fiorito|first=Joe|date=April 26, 2015|newspaper=The Toronto Star|access-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=TheStar.com}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cjnews.com/culture/arts/story-davy-punk|title=The story of Davy the Punk|last=Adler|first=Jordan|date=June 2, 2014|newspaper=The Canadian Jewish News|access-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=cjnews.com}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.jewishindependent.ca/a-family-underworld-bossin-and-lansky/|title=A family underworld - Bossin and Lansky|last=Matas|first=Robert|date=May 30, 2014|newspaper=Jewish Independent|access-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=jewishindependent.ca}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite news|url=http://davythepunk.com/inc/APRED74P24.pdf|title=Davy the Punk by Bob Bossin - A review|last=|first=|date=|newspaper=Down the stretch newspaper|access-date=February 23, 2017|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|work=|via=downthestretchnewspaper.com}}</ref>

=== '''Recordings:''' ===
* ''Stringband, Canadian Sunset'', 1973
* ''Stringband, Canadian Sunset'', 1973
* ''Stringband, National Melodies'', 1975
* ''Stringband, National Melodies'', 1975
* ''Stringband, Thanks to the Following'', 1977
* ''Stringband, Thanks to the Following'', 1977

* ''Stringband, The Maple Leaf Dog'', 1978
* ''Stringband, The Maple Leaf Dog'', 1978
* ''Stringband Revisited'', 1978
* ''Stringband Revisited'', 1978
* ''Stringband Live!'', 1980
* ''Stringband Live!'', 1980
* ''Stringband, Across Russia by Stage'', 1983
* ''Stringband, Across Russia by Stage'', 1983
* ''Bossin’s West Coast,'' 1986
* ''Bossin's West Coast,'' 1986
* ''Bossin’s Home Remedy for Nuclear War, 1987''
* ''Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War, 1987''

* ''The Way We Was,'' 1990
* ''The Way We Was,'' 1990
* ''Stringband, The Old Masters'', 1991
* ''Stringband, The Old Masters'', 1991
Line 77: Line 68:
* ''What happened at Clayoquot,'' (recording of CBC Ideas radio documentary)'', 2000''
* ''What happened at Clayoquot,'' (recording of CBC Ideas radio documentary)'', 2000''
* ''The Indispensable Stringband'', 2002
* ''The Indispensable Stringband'', 2002
* ''The Roses on Annie’s Table, 2005''
* ''The Roses on Annie's Table, 2005''


== '''Books''' ==
== Books ==
* ''Settling Clayoquot,'' 1981<ref>{{Cite book|title=Settling Clayoquot|last=Bossin|first=Bob|publisher=Victoria, BC Province of British Columbia, Provincial Archives|year=1981|isbn=0771882734|location=Victoria, BC|pages=76|quote=|via=Sound heritage series no. 33}}</ref>
* ''Settling Clayoquot,'' 1981<ref>{{Cite book|title=Settling Clayoquot|last=Bossin|first=Bob|publisher=Victoria, BC Province of British Columbia, Provincial Archives|year=1981|isbn=0-7718-8273-4|location=Victoria, BC|pages=76|via=Sound heritage series no. 33}}</ref>
* ''Latkes,'' 2007
* ''Latkes,'' 2007
* ''Davy the Punk,'' 2014<ref>{{Cite book|title=Davy the Punk|last=Bossin|first=Bob|publisher=The Porcupine's Quill|year=2014|isbn=0889843694|location=Erin, ON, Canada|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref>
* ''Davy the Punk,'' 2014<ref name=":14">{{Cite book|title=Davy the Punk|last=Bossin|first=Bob|publisher=The Porcupine's Quill|year=2014|isbn=978-0-88984-369-1|location=Erin, ON, Canada}}</ref>


== '''Awards''' ==
== Awards ==


=== '''''Davy the Punk''''' ===
=== ''Davy the Punk'' ===
* Pinsky Given Prize for Non-Fiction, Western Canada Jewish Book Awards, 2016
* Pinsky Given Prize for Non-Fiction, Western Canada Jewish Book Awards, 2016{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
* Shortlisted for Vine Prize for Non-Fiction, Canadian Jewish Book Awards, 2016
* Shortlisted for Vine Prize for Non-Fiction, Canadian Jewish Book Awards, 2016{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
* Honourable Mention, Heritage Toronto Awards, 2015
* Honourable Mention, Heritage Toronto Awards, 2015{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}


=== '''''Sulphur Passage''''' ===
=== ''Sulphur Passage'' ===
* Special Merit Award and Best Music Video, World Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, USA, 1995
* Special Merit Award and Best Music Video, World Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, USA, 1995{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
* Special Merit Award, International Environmental Film Festival, Pretoria, South Africa, 1995
* Special Merit Award, International Environmental Film Festival, Pretoria, South Africa, 1995{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
* Special Recognition Award, NAAEE Film Festival, Cancun, Mexico, 1995
* Special Recognition Award, NAAEE Film Festival, Cancun, Mexico, 1995{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}
* Call to Action Award, Mountain Film Festival, Telluride, USA, 1996
* Call to Action Award, Mountain Film Festival, Telluride, USA, 1996{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}


=== '''''Latkes''''' ===
=== ''Latkes'' ===
* Sheldon Currie Prize for Fiction (2<sup>nd</sup> prize), Antigonish Review, 2007
* Sheldon Currie Prize for Fiction (2nd prize), Antigonish Review, 2007{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}


=== '''''Misc.''''' ===
=== Misc. ===
* Best feature article (nominee), National Magazine Awards, 2007
* Best feature article (nominee), National Magazine Awards, 2007{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}


== '''Family life''' ==
== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}
Bossin lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia with his wife, fabric artist and illustrator, Sima Elizabeth Shefrin. Shefrin’s graphic novella, ''[https://www.facebook.com/Embroidered-Cancer-Comic-944658088957550/?fref=ts) Embroidered Cancer Comic]'' (Singing Dragon, London, 2016)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Embroidered Cancer Comic|last=Shefrin|first=Sima Elizabeth|publisher=Singing Dragon - Jessica Kingsley Publishers|year=2016|isbn=0857012371|location=London, England|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27157747-embroidered-cancer-comic|title=Embroidered Cancer Comic|last=|first=|date=|website=goodreads.com|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref> is based on their life together after Bossin’s 2011 diagnosis with prostate cancer. Shefrin also illustrated Bossin’s chap book, ''Latkes'' (Nick Books, 2005)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Latkes|last=Bossin|first=Bob|publisher=Nick Books|year=2007|isbn=978-0-88984-369-1|location=|pages=|quote=|via=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=383|title=Bossin, Bob|last=|first=|date=|website=ABC Bookworld|publisher=BC BookWorld|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stitchingforsocialchange.ca/illust.htm|title=Sima Elizabeth Shefrin|last=Shefrin|first=Sima Elizabeth|date=|website=Stitching for Social Change|publisher=|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>. Bossin has two children, Madelyn (“Gee”), born in 1993 and Davy, born in 1999.


== Links ==
== External links ==
http://bossin.com
* {{Official website|http://bossin.com}}
* [http://stringband.net/someplayedharder.pdf A detailed history of Stringband]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170406111024/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stringband-emc/index.cfm Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Stringband]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1771117264 CBC Radio, As it Happens, Diefenbaker on Dief Will Be the Chief Again]
* [https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/09/25/toronto_by_book_10_reads_by_authors_who_capture_the_city.html ''Toronto Star'': 10 books that capture Toronto]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170406201116/http://www.vivascene.com/vancouver-folk-music-festival-stringband-concert-review/ Vivascene, Stringband review]


{{authority control}}
http://davythepunk.com


{{DEFAULTSORT:Bossin, Bob}}
Canadian Encyclopedia entry for Stringband: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/stringband-emc/index.cfm
[[Category:Canadian folk singers]]

[[Category:1946 births]]
CBC Radio, The Sunday Edition, Michael Enright interviews Bossin: http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/a-christmas-concert-michael-s-essay-harold-wanless-mail-about-dying-at-age-75-cat-christmas-documentary-mail-about-refugee-policy-bob-bossin-menorah-s-hidden-history-1.2905337/bob-bossin-on-his-father-s-life-in-the-gambling-underworld-of-the-30-s-and-40-s-1.2905340
[[Category:Living people]]

The Toronto Star, Joe Fiorito on Bossin and Davy the Punk: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/04/26/the-son-of-davy-the-punk-is-back-in-town-fiorito.html

Literary Review of Canada, Davy the Punk review: http://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2014/09/racetrack-man/

The Globe and Mail, Davy the Punk feature: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/exploring-the-underworld-of-toronto-the-good/article17369448/

CBC Radio, As it Happens, Diefenbaker on Dief Will Be the Chief: http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1771117264

Canadian Jewish News Davy the Punk review: http://www.cjnews.com/culture/arts/story-davy-punk

Toronto Star: 10 books that capture Toronto:https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/09/25/toronto_by_book_10_reads_by_authors_who_capture_the_city.html

Jewish Post and News, Davy the Punk review: http://davythepunk.com/inc/JPNReview.pdf

The Independent, Davy the Punk review: http://www.jewishindependent.ca/a-family-underworld-bossin-and-lansky/

BC Booklook, Davy the Punk feature: http://bcbooklook.com/2013/12/09/folk-punk/

Porcupine’s Quill blog, Davy the Punk: http://porcupinesquill.ca/blog/?p=2864

Vivascene, Stringband review: http://www.vivascene.com/vancouver-folk-music-festival-stringband-concert-review/

Down the Stretch, Davy the Punk review: http://davythepunk.com/inc/APRED74P24.pdf

== References ==

Latest revision as of 01:05, 22 November 2024

Not to be confused with Bob Bossie.
Bob Bossin, 2010, photo by Rick Bockner, used with permission.

Bob Bossin (born 1946) is a Canadian folk singer, writer and activist who co-founded the Canadian folk group Stringband with Marie-Lynn Hammond. Bossin is the writer of the songs "Dief Will Be the Chief Again", "Show Us the Length", "Tugboats", "The Maple Leaf Dog" and "Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)". As well, Bossin wrote and performed two solo musicals, Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War and Davy the Punk.[1] The latter is based on the book Davy the Punk (The Porcupine's Quill, 2014),[2] Bossin's memoir of his outlaw father.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Early life

[edit]

Bob Bossin grew up in Toronto surrounded by artists, entertainers and writers.[12] His mother, Marcia Bossin (née Marcella Louise Levitt, 1912–2006) was a painter.[13][14] His father, David Bossin (1905–1963), was a booking agent for nightclubs. Two of Bob's uncles were writers: Hye Bossin was a columnist and editor, and Art Arthur (né Bossin) was a screenwriter. Arthur wrote the 1946 Academy Award-winning documentary, Seeds of Destiny.

As a boy, Bossin fell in love with the early rock 'n rollers – Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent – but by 1958 he had turned his ear to folk music.[12][15] The variety, earthiness and politics of folk songs so captivated Bossin that the genre became his musical home for the next half century.[16][6]

Bossin graduated from the University of Toronto in 1968.[17] His university years coincided with the zenith of student and youth activism in Canada: the civil rights movement, opposition to the war in Vietnam, anti-nuclear and disarmament campaigns, and the nascent environment and feminist movements all engaged young people, Bossin among them. He became, and remained, a lifelong activist and social critic.[15][16][6][18][19]

Those same years saw a revamping of CBC Radio by young, engaged journalists recruited from the student press, among them Doug Ward, Volkmar Richter, Mark Starowitz, and Peter Gzowski. When Gzowski became editor of Maclean's Magazine in 1971, he assigned 25-year-old Bossin a regular column. Bossin would continue to write essays and articles, and produce radio documentaries, for many years. But his main focus was music.

Stringband 1971–1986

[edit]

A detailed history of Stringband can be found through the links section below.[15]

In 1971 Bossin met Marie-Lynn Hammond, a young, bilingual singer and songwriter. He recruited Jerry Lewycky, a violin student at University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, to accompany them on fiddle. The configuration – guitar, banjo, fiddle and voices – was that of a string band, one of the traditional North American folk music forms.[3]

Stringband's first album, on their own Nick Records label, was released in 1973. The timing was propitious: the early 1970s saw a burgeoning of Canadian culture. Young writers like Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje were being published. Cultural institutions like Theatre Passe Muraille, the House of Anansi Press, Attic Records and CBC Radio's This Country in the Morning/ Morningside began. Stringband, with its repertoire of Canadian songs and stories, provided a sound track for this cultural revolution.[15] "They search relentlessly for a Canadian sound," Canadian poet Doug Fetherling wrote of Stringband in Saturday Night Magazine in 1975. "Not hearing it, they have perhaps invented it."[11][16]

In 1974 Lewycky left the group and was replaced by fiddler Ben Mink, who would become one of Canada's most respected musicians and music producers. Mink left Stringband in 1976 and jazz violinist Terry King took over on fiddle. King was followed by Zeke Mazurek in 1978 and Calvin Cairns in 1983. Bassist Dennis Nichol joined the group in 1979. Other musicians who played or recorded with Stringband include Frank Barth, Doug Bowes, Jane Fair, Daniel Lanois, Kieran Overs, Stan Rogers, Alan Soberman, Chris Whitely and, for a time replacing Marie-Lynn Hammond, singer-songwriter Nanci Ahern.[15][20]

Stringband recorded nine albums, toured Canada for 15 years, and performed in the U.S., the U.K, the U.S.S.R, France, Mexico and Japan. They gained a loyal, almost fanatical, following. The group disbanded in 1986, but in 2001, former fans donated $25,000 to fund The Indispensable Stringband, a retrospective CD-box set released in 2002.[3][7][8][10][21][22]

Historian of Canadian folk music, Gary Cristall, summed up Stringband's influence:

As they toured, they picked up regional images, stories and songs…. They had a repertoire that combined modernity and tradition, both official languages, family and history, politics and sex, geography and poetry, work and play.

For Canadian musicians, Stringband's most significant influence came not from their music, but from how they purveyed it. Bob… realized that if you sold your own records, you made a lot more money than if a record company sold them. Others soon realized it too, partly as a result of watching Stringband. Bob perfected things that are now standard in independent music far beyond folk circles.

…Stringband's core audience was the broad political and cultural left, the folks who built the anti-war movements, the environmental movement, and the women's movement… Stringband played their benefits and articulated their vision of the world. The band, and Bob and Marie-Lynn as individual artists, have never broken faith with these people or their beliefs.[15]

Songs and solo recordings

[edit]

Stringband recorded many Bossin songs. Among the most popular were "Daddy Was a Ballplayer" (1972), "Dief Will Be the Chief Again" (1974), "Lunenberg Concerto" (1974), "Show Us the Length" (1974), "Tugboats" (1977), "The Casca and the Whitehorse Burned Down" (1978), and "Newfoundlanders" (1978).[23][24][16][25]

Other singers, including Pete Seeger, Peggy Seeger, Ian Tyson and Valdy covered Bossin's songs. Despite little air play because of its explicit language, "Show Us the Length" became a favourite folk song among feminists and was performed by both professional and amateur singers as far away from Canada as New Zealand and Japan. In the U.S., Pete Seeger sang the song for years.[26]

After Stringband disbanded in 1986, Bossin released several solo albums including Gabriola V0R1X0 (1994) and The Roses on Annie's Table (2005), the latter produced by Vancouver art-rock diva, Veda Hille. Bossin's songs included "The Secret of Life According to Satchel Paige" (1982), "Sulphur Passage (No pasaran)" (1989), "Ya Wanna Marry Me?" (1991), "Bill Miner" (1993) "Nanaimo" (2001), and "The Roses on Annie's Table" (2005).[27][28][29][30]

"Bossin's songs were humane, evocative and literate," Gary Cristall writes in Some played harder... "He would give each song its own singer: an old camp cook reminiscing about the Wobbly who tried to organize cowboys; a tugboat man who, after 35 years on the Strait of Georgia, knew to 'wait and let it come to you.' Bob created Newfoundlanders who were not Canadian by a damn sight; Yukoners who brought lawn chairs and thermoses while the Casca and the Whitehorse burned down; and the guy from Saskatchewan hopefully awaiting the second coming of John Diefenbaker. Bob welded together sentiment, history and landscape as few songwriters have done."[15]

Sulphur Passage and Clayoquot

[edit]

From the late 1970s to the late 1990s, the fate of the wilderness of Vancouver Island's Clayoquot Sound was one of Canada's most hard-fought environmental causes. Bossin was involved from the beginning. He wrote songs and articles and produced radio documentaries, including "What Happened at Clayoquot" for CBC Radio's flagship Ideas program.[31][32] One song, Sulphur Passage (No pasaran) was made into a music video by documentary director, Nettie Wild. Sung by a Who's Who of British Columbia folk artists – Bossin, Stephen Fearing, Roy Forbes, Veda Hille, Ann Mortifee, Raffi, Rick Scott, Valdy and Jennifer West – Sulphur Passage won a half-dozen awards. The video can be seen through the links section below. Sulphur Passage became the anthem of the Clayoquot protesters and played a significant role in the preservation of the Clayoquot forest.[31][32][33][28]

Bottle of Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War

Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War

[edit]

In the 1980s, the advent of a new generation of nuclear weapons – Pershing, Trident and Cruise missiles – re-aroused the nuclear disarmament movement that had begun in the late 1940s. In Vancouver BC, tens of thousands marched in an annual Walk for Peace. The Vancouver East Cultural Centre commissioned Bossin to write a peace-themed show to coincide with the 1986 march. Bossin believed that the arms race would only be stopped by the activism of ordinary citizens, a "home remedy", so he created a musical medicine show, Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War. The show was first directed by Jackie Crosland, and then, in subsequent stagings, by Colin Thomas, Peter Froehlich and Simon Webb. Home Remedy toured Canada, the U.S., New Zealand and Australia, selling over 9000 bottles of "Dr. Bossin's" potion.[34][9][35][36]

Davy the Punk

[edit]

In the 1930s Dave Bossin, Bob's father, was a notable figure in Toronto's gambling underworld. Intrigued by his father's history, Bob collected stories about "Davy the Punk" (Dave Bossin's underworld nickname) and the race-track milieu he inhabited. In 2014, The Porcupine's Quill published Davy the Punk: A Story of Bookies, Toronto the Good, the Mob and my Dad to glowing reviews.[37] Subsequently, the book won the Pinsky-Givon prize for non-fiction and was short-listed for the Vine Prize. It also received a citation from Heritage Toronto. Bossin then based a one-person musical, also called Davy the Punk, on the book. The show toured Canada for several years. A film version is planned.[4][38][39][40][41][42][43]

Only one bear in a hundred bites but they don't come in order

In 2017 Bossin released Only one bear in a hundred bites but they don't come in order, a video on the danger of a catastrophic fire at the terminus of the controversial Kinder Morgan pipeline. The proposed pipeline would carry tar-sands oil from Northern Alberta to the Port of Vancouver. The project faced vehement opposition by coastal citizens and First Nations. This opposition contributed to the defeat of the British Columbia Provincial Government in 2017. Released during the election campaign, Only one bear... received 13,000 views on YouTube and over 100,000 views on Facebook. The video was edited and designed by Paul Grignon.[44][45]

Family life

[edit]

Bossin lives on Gabriola Island, British Columbia with his wife, fabric artist and illustrator, Sima Elizabeth Shefrin. Shefrin's graphic novella, Embroidered Cancer Comic (Singing Dragon, London, 2016)[46][47] is based on their life together after Bossin's 2011 diagnosis with prostate cancer. Shefrin also illustrated Bossin's chap book, Latkes (Nick Books, 2005).[48][49][50] Bossin has two children, Madelyn ("Gee"), born in 1993 and Davy, born in 1999.

Recordings

[edit]
  • Stringband, Canadian Sunset, 1973
  • Stringband, National Melodies, 1975
  • Stringband, Thanks to the Following, 1977
  • Stringband, The Maple Leaf Dog, 1978
  • Stringband Revisited, 1978
  • Stringband Live!, 1980
  • Stringband, Across Russia by Stage, 1983
  • Bossin's West Coast, 1986
  • Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War, 1987
  • The Way We Was, 1990
  • Stringband, The Old Masters, 1991
  • GABRIOLA V0R1X0, 1994
  • Sulphur Passage (video), 1994
  • What happened at Clayoquot, (recording of CBC Ideas radio documentary), 2000
  • The Indispensable Stringband, 2002
  • The Roses on Annie's Table, 2005

Books

[edit]
  • Settling Clayoquot, 1981[51]
  • Latkes, 2007
  • Davy the Punk, 2014[2]

Awards

[edit]

Davy the Punk

[edit]
  • Pinsky Given Prize for Non-Fiction, Western Canada Jewish Book Awards, 2016[citation needed]
  • Shortlisted for Vine Prize for Non-Fiction, Canadian Jewish Book Awards, 2016[citation needed]
  • Honourable Mention, Heritage Toronto Awards, 2015[citation needed]

Sulphur Passage

[edit]
  • Special Merit Award and Best Music Video, World Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, USA, 1995[citation needed]
  • Special Merit Award, International Environmental Film Festival, Pretoria, South Africa, 1995[citation needed]
  • Special Recognition Award, NAAEE Film Festival, Cancun, Mexico, 1995[citation needed]
  • Call to Action Award, Mountain Film Festival, Telluride, USA, 1996[citation needed]

Latkes

[edit]
  • Sheldon Currie Prize for Fiction (2nd prize), Antigonish Review, 2007[citation needed]

Misc.

[edit]
  • Best feature article (nominee), National Magazine Awards, 2007[citation needed]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Bossin, Bob (2013). "Davy the Punk". Davy the Punk. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Bossin, Bob (2014). Davy the Punk. Erin, ON, Canada: The Porcupine's Quill. ISBN 978-0-88984-369-1.
  3. ^ a b c "Stringband". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. February 7, 2006. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  4. ^ a b Fiorito, Joe (September 30, 2014). "Racetrack Man". reviewcanada.ca. Literary Review of Canada. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  5. ^ Flohill, Richard (March 30, 1974). "Stringband's music is homemade and friendly". Canadian Composer.
  6. ^ a b c Penfield, Wilder (May 30, 1977). "Sittin' on a riverboat". Toronto Sun.
  7. ^ a b Scanlon, Kevin (December 6, 1976). "Immortality on vinyl disc for a paltry five-buck bill". Toronto Sun.
  8. ^ a b Sebchuck, Barbar (October 24, 1980). "Stringband in a class of their own". Halifax Chronicle Herald.
  9. ^ a b Wagner, Vit (November 7, 1988). "Bush gains but Bob says don't worry, be happy". Toronto Star.
  10. ^ a b "Friends and fans fund Bossin's return from Island self-exile". Georgia Straight. August 7, 1994.
  11. ^ a b Cameron, Silver Donald (June 16, 2005). "An old radical fights back". rabble.ca. Retrieved January 10, 2017 – via rabble.ca; DISQUS.
  12. ^ a b ""That's what folk songs have always done…" an interview with Bob Bossin" (PDF). Canadian Folk Music Bulletin. Vol. 29, no. 4. December 31, 1995. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  13. ^ Bossin, Bob. "Marcia Bossin: Artist, lover, mother and free spirit". www.bossin.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  14. ^ Bossin, Bob. "Marcia Bossin: Artist, lover, mother and free spirit". Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Cristall, Gary (December 31, 2002). ""There's some played harder, and there's some played smarter, but nobody played like you": The Life and Times of Stringband" (PDF). Stringband. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  16. ^ a b c d Fetherling, Doug (June 30, 1976). "Stringband's search for a Canadian style". Saturday Night Magazine.
  17. ^ University of Toronto (January 1, 2017). "Innis Alumni and Friends – Bob Bossin". Innis 50. University of Toronto. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  18. ^ Mietkiewctz, Henry (December 26, 1984). "Canadian Music Series a delightful change of pace". Toronto Star.
  19. ^ Parker, James (August 7, 1990). "Bossin looks at the world with good-humoured dismay". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.
  20. ^ Ross, Val (January 19, 1977). "Between the notes". Weekend Magazine.
  21. ^ Bossin, Bob (September 18, 1995). "Dief will be the Chief Again". Vancouver Sun.
  22. ^ Chamberlain, Adrian (November 30, 2003). "String Fling". Victoria Times-Colonist.
  23. ^ Bossin, Bob. "Bob recalls his songs". www.bossin.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  24. ^ Bossin, Bob. "Bob's Oeuvre". Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  25. ^ Mulholland, Dave (January 6, 1980). "A fulfilling musical feast. Beautiful!". Ottawa Citizen.
  26. ^ McDonald, Verne (October 18, 1991). "Stringband's songs are still (not) in fashion". Georgia Straight.
  27. ^ "Bob Bossin, Gabriola V0R1X0". Canadian Folk Music Bulletin. December 30, 1995.
  28. ^ a b Campbell, Rod (August 4, 1999). "Folk music returns home". Globe and Mail.
  29. ^ "Bob Bossin The Roses on Annie's Table". Sing Out! v. 50, 1. 2006.
  30. ^ Blake, Joseph (April 18, 2006). "Wounded strength of Portland songwriter inspires tribute". Victoria Times-Colonist.
  31. ^ a b Bossin, Bob. "How I saved Clayoquot". www.Bossin.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  32. ^ a b Bossin, Bob. "How I saved Clayoquot". Bob Bossin's Old Folksinger's Homepage. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  33. ^ Bossin, Bob (September 30, 1999). "Nature made it, Women saved it". Homemaker's Magazine.
  34. ^ Johnston, Nicholas (June 2, 1989). "Doc's shock cure for nuke madness". The Age. Retrieved January 10, 2017 – via Google News.
  35. ^ Stevenson, Jane (August 9, 1989). "Vancouver fringe offers varied fare". Edmonton Journal.
  36. ^ Ross, Val (January 7, 1991). "Can Stringband heal the rifts?". Globe and Mail.
  37. ^ Bossin, Bob (2013). "Praise for Davy the Punk". Davy the Punk. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  38. ^ Wheeler, Brad (March 7, 2014). "A kindly gangster in Toronto the Good". The Insider. Retrieved January 10, 2017 – via The Globe and Mail.
  39. ^ Enright, Michael (December 14, 2014). "Bob Bossin on his father's life in the gambling underworld of the 30s and 40s". CBC Radio, The Sunday Edition. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  40. ^ Fiorito, Joe (April 26, 2015). "The son of Davy the Punk is back in town: Fiorito". The Toronto Star. Retrieved February 23, 2017 – via TheStar.com.
  41. ^ Adler, Jordan (June 2, 2014). "The story of Davy the Punk". The Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved February 23, 2017 – via cjnews.com.
  42. ^ Matas, Robert (May 30, 2014). "A family underworld – Bossin and Lansky". Jewish Independent. Retrieved February 23, 2017 – via jewishindependent.ca.
  43. ^ "Davy the Punk by Bob Bossin – A review" (PDF). Down the stretch newspaper. Retrieved February 23, 2017 – via downthestretchnewspaper.com.
  44. ^ "Only one bear in a hundred bites, but they don't come in order". YouTube. 26 April 2017.
  45. ^ Mason, Bruce (July 2017). "Bob Bossin vs. Kinder Morgan". Common Ground.
  46. ^ Shefrin, Sima Elizabeth (2016). Embroidered Cancer Comic. London, England: Singing Dragon – Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-0-85701-237-1.
  47. ^ "Embroidered Cancer Comic". goodreads.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  48. ^ Bossin, Bob (2007). Latkes. Nick Books. ISBN 978-0-88984-369-1.
  49. ^ "Bossin, Bob". ABC Bookworld. BC BookWorld. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  50. ^ Shefrin, Sima Elizabeth. "Sima Elizabeth Shefrin". Stitching for Social Change. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  51. ^ Bossin, Bob (1981). Settling Clayoquot. Victoria, BC: Victoria, BC Province of British Columbia, Provincial Archives. p. 76. ISBN 0-7718-8273-4 – via Sound heritage series no. 33.
[edit]
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