Maui, Hawaii, December 2012 - Photo: Monty Sheldan
Hi there! Here's my (auto) biography.
I was born in 1950 in Vancouver, British Columbia. I love to sing. I began singing professionally at the age of 12. My band, Trooper, is now referred to as legendary and has performed in nearly every city, town and village in Canada. I also love to perform. I’ve written or co-written well over 200 songs – 100 of which have been recorded and released, a dozen of which have topped the charts. I’ve received multiple awards for most of those hits and – my favourite among the others – a West Coast Juno for “Best Male Vocalist”.
Trooper has released 11 albums, been awarded 5 gold and 11 platinum plaques comprising millions of sales in Canada, enjoyed a dozen top-ten hits, sold-out coliseums across the country, and been honoured with numerous awards and accolades including a Juno Award (Canada’s Grammy) for ‘Band of the Year’. In 2023, we were inducted into both ‘The Canadian Music Hall Of Fame’ and ‘Canada’s Walk of Fame’. In 2024 we were inducted into ‘The British Columbia Entertainment Hall Of Fame’.
The Vancouver Sun called Trooper: “Canadian rock heroes of the first order … the best performing band in Canada.” The Globe and Mail dubbed them “honest-to-God Canadian rock legends.” and Joel Rubinoff, of The Record, wrote: “What becomes more apparent with each passing year, is that this frolicking, rollicking showcase for McGuire’s soaring pop melodies and whimsical wordplay is arguably one of the biggest Canadian bands of all time.” Canadian icon Rick Mercer has written; “My Canada includes Ra McGuire as the the poet Laureate of rock ’n’ roll,” and has called our song ‘Raise a Little Hell’ “Canada’s second national anthem.”
For years, I co-managed Trooper and its national touring company, and remain the president of Great Pacific Records and P.O.P. Publishing. I’m under contract as an artist or songwriter with Universal Music, BMG Music, Warner Music, and Sony/ATV Publishing, and am an active member of SOCAN, ACTRA, AVLA and The American Federation of Musicians Local 145.
My first book, "Here For A Good Time: On the road with Trooper – Canada's legendary rock band" was published in 2006 and is, essentially, the first three years of ramcguire.com from back in the day. It was described by Jim Barber of Music Life Magazine as “a witty, sometimes sad, but always honest appraisal of not only what is going on in McGuire’s life, but in his head, his heart and his spirit." William McGuirk of Durham News called it "… a brilliant read with the necessary elements of a good story intact."
In 2012, I was honoured to receive SOCAN’s ‘National Achievement Award’ along with my songwriting partner Brian Smith. We also received three SOCAN ‘Classic Awards’ that year for “Raise A Little Hell”, “General Hand Grenade”, and “Janine”. “We’re Here For a Good Time”, “Santa Maria”, “Pretty Lady” and “Two for the Show” had previously received this award.
An unintended side-career as a political shit-disturber resulted in my wife Debbie and I spearheading a campaign that resulted in Surrey’s first Fine Arts school, and an unsuccessful two-year effort to convince White Rock city hall to limit building heights in our hometown.
In April 2012, Debbie and I received the World Harmony Run’s Torchbearer Award for our “collaborative commitment to inspire cultural harmony and community spirit through music, and championing the importance of fine arts in education”.
Also that year, ‘The Ra and Deborah McGuire Collection’ was installed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa, Ontario. A collection of Trooper memorabilia is housed across the river at the Gatineau Preservation Centre as part of Library and Archives Canada’s permanent collection.
In 2019 I finished the first draft of my second book. It’s tentatively titled ‘Buddy Fucking Forever’, but I expect to see some pushback on that title.
On November 8th, 2021, my partner, Brian Smith, and I retired.
Here’s the post from the Trooper Facebook page:
ARRIVE. RAISE A LITTLE HELL. LEAVE.
“We have some news. Ra and Smitty are officially retiring. They've already been unofficially retired for a year and a half, so they've just decided to continue not working, since they've realized that they're getting pretty good at it. They are both healthy and happy, they've just decided that this is the best time to step back from the road and enjoy the life that this unplanned time-off has dropped them into. It's been a difficult decision and today marks a bittersweet and emotional turning point in their lives. They send their love to all their fans, friends, and everyone with whom they've shared the joyous, rockin', love-filled cross-Canada party that is Trooper. They will sorely miss you all.”
Guitarist Steve Crane and singer David Steele replaced us and Trooper continues to sell out shows across the country.
On March 13th, 2023, Trooper was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. It’s a great honour to be included there with many Canadian music heroes and old friends.
On September 28th, 2023, Trooper was inducted into Canada’s Walk Of Fame. Another great honour, and a humbling privilege to be included in group of “extraordinary Canadian achievers” that includes outstanding Canadians like Wayne Gretzky, Dr. David Suzuki, Terry Fox, Michael J. Fox, Alexander Graham Bell, Gordie Howe, Margaret Atwood and Rick Mercer.