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Stompin' Tom Connors' Existence

Bruce Bennett, Getty

Stompin' Tom embodies old-school rural Canada in a very literal way. Born in 1936 New Brunswick to a nomadic and unmarried teen mom who was later sent to prison, he was raised by farming foster parents in the postage-stamp town of Skinner's Pond, P.E.I. Leaving home as a teen, he spent 13 years hitchhiking across Canada, working odd jobs and writing songs. This resulted is a songbook of regionally inspired numbers like "Sudbury Saturday Night," "Margo's Cargo" and "The Hockey Song" that have since become an indelible part of Canadian lore.