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Description found in Archives
Title
Arrangement structure
Bilingual equivalent
Date(s)
1971-2003
Place of creation
No place, unknown, or undetermined
Extent
237 photographs : 220 prints; 11 slides; 6 negatives
300 audio reels.
54 audio cassettes.
17 audio discs.
200 videocassettes.
30 video reels.
6 film reels.
28 computer disks.
18 computer cartridges.
Language of material
English
Scope and content
Fonds consists of records documenting the life and career of Raffi as a musician. Included are: fan mail and general correspondence; contracts; financial documents; reports; agendas; schedules; itineraries; programmes; promotional material; performance sheets; backstage passes; tickets; guest lists; invitation cards; manuscripts and annotated copies of musical works; lyrics; artwork and proofs for Raffi albums; certificates; notebooks; brochures; periodicals; press releases; newsletters; press clippings; photographs of Raffi and fans; sound and video recordings and films of works composed, arranged, and performed by Raffi, as well as interviews and news reports.
Conditions of access
from 34 to 36
from 38 to 40
from 42 to 43
37
41
from 1 to 4
1
from 1 to 3
from 16 to 21
from 32 to 37
from 58 to 86
311
from 313 to 344
from 340 to 404
from 391 to 430
from 1 to 8
from 2 to 4
2
from 36 to 37
from 86 to 96
from 147 to 152
from 198 to 227
from 363 to 377
from 719 to 834
from 1568 to 1577
from 1568C.2 to 1575C.2
from 1840 to 1854
from 3375 to 3383
from 4596 to 4685
from 4687 to 4727
from 6424 to 6480
from 1 to 33
from 1 to 18
from 1 to 3
from 1 to 2
from 1 to 9
from 11 to 229
from 10/X1 to 10/X2
Finding aid
Multiple media Provisional description 90 (Electronic)
http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000002091.pdf
Creator / Provenance
Biography / Administrative history
Born in 1948 as Raffi Cavoukian in Cairo, Egypt, to parents of Armenian origin, Raffi and his family came to Canada in 1958. A guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, Raffi became active in the Toronto folk music scene in the early 1970s, and began performing for audiences of children in 1974. Raffi's first commercial recording was the adult-oriented Good Luck Boy (1975), which was followed the next year by the first of his many recordings intended for children, Singable Songs for the Very Young. Performing initially in schools and libraries in the province of Ontario, by the late 1970s Raffi's performances usually took place in concert halls. Since 1979 Raffi has focussed on children's music, and his career took on an international dimension with his first performances in the USA in 1981 and 1982. By the mid 1980s he was a leading children's performer in that country as well as in Canada. Raffi's recordings (albums and concert videos) have sold over 14 million copies in North America. From 1989 to 1994 Raffi devoted himself to environmental activism, and during this period his career in music was in inactive. An advocate and pioneer in the area of children's rights and well-being, Raffi has developed a philosophy known as child honouring, an approach which he applies to his music, his involvement in the music industry, and his other pursuits. He has eschewed commercial sponsorship, and has promoted the position that children's lives should be commercial-free. In addition to songbooks and picture books based on his songs (with sales of over 3 million copies), Raffi's print publications include his autobiography, The Life of a Children's Troubadour (1999), and with Sharna Olfman he is co-editor of Child Honouring: How to Turn This World Around (2006). He is the president of his own recording company, Troubadour Music, which has issued recordings by Raffi himself and by other artists. His honours and awards include the Order of Canada (1983), the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS; 1990), an environmentalism award from the United Nations (1992), a Special Achievement Award from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN; 2000), the Order of British Columbia (2001), honorary degrees, and many music industry awards.
Additional information
Source
Private
MIKAN no.
3677837
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