Dallas Good, singer and guitarist of Canadian rock/alternative country band the Sadies has died of natural causes at age 48.
The Sadies posted the news on their social media accounts Friday afternoon, saying in a Facebook post that Good died Thursday and had been under doctor’s care for a coronary illness discovered earlier this week.
The band, made up of Good, his singer/guitarist brother Travis Good, bassist Sean Dean and drummer Mike Belitsky, formed in Toronto in 1994 and released their first album “Precious Moments” in 1998.
The band was still actively performing at the time of Good’s death, and had released a new single, “Message to Belial,” in January.
They were among the performers at a virtual edition of Guelph, Ont.’s Hillside Inside festival earlier this month and were listed as performers for Winterruption, a music festival in Edmonton that runs from March 31 to April 3.
The Sadies had postponed December 2021 dates at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern for this April.
“We have no words for the shock we are all feeling,” the band’s Facebook post read Friday. “The stage is dark today with the all too soon passing of one of music’s brightest lights.”
Dallas and Travis Good came from a strong lineage of musicality. Their father Bruce played in the Juno-winning bluegrass outfit the Good Brothers alongside his siblings while mother Margaret has appeared on recordings with both her husband and her sons.
The Sadies’ 2017 album “Northern Passages” was recorded in the Good parent’s basement in Newmarket, Ont.
The band collaborated with many other homegrown acts, including Buffy Sainte-Marie, Blue Rodeo, Neil Young and the Tragically Hip, with whom they toured extensively.
The band teamed up with Hip frontman Gord Downie for their 2014 album “And the Conquering Sun” — an extensive project that took seven years to complete.
Good said in a February 2017 interview that the Sadies had been making plans to record with Downie again two years before he revealed he had terminal brain cancer. Downie died in October 2017.
Canadian bands including Sloan and the Sheepdogs tweeted tributes to Good as word began circulating Friday morning that he had died.
The Sheepdogs said they were “crushed” to hear of Good’s death, calling him an “amazing musician and a great guy.”
“We lost a good one today,” the tweet read.
Sister trio the Garrys, who released an album produced by Good in September, posted a photo of themselves with Good on their Facebook page with a caption saying they were “absolutely gutted.”
“Aside from being extremely talented and timelessly cool, Dallas was also a very kind, gentle, funny and thoughtful person,” they said.
“We are so grateful for the chances we had to share the stage with The Sadies and especially for the time we got to spend in studio with Dallas, hearing amazing stories about Canadian music and swilling endless cups of Red Rose tea.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2024.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)
