June 18, 2012 - 9:28 PM
WINNIPEG - Manitoba-born singer-songwriter Tom Cochrane has joined KISS frontman Gene Simmons and Band Aid co-founder Bob Geldof on the list of rock stars who have been given a key to the City of Winnipeg.
The 59-year-old musician from Lynn Lake, Man., was honoured by Mayor Sam Katz on Monday afternoon as part of a ceremony to mark a month of awareness about ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the fatal degenerative neurological disease.
Cochrane’s wife, Kathleen, a former St. Vital resident, has organized fundraising concerts on behalf of ALS awareness, research and patient services.
The musician has performed at some of those concerts and also lost his father to Parkinson’s disease, another degenerative neurological illness.
Cochrane said the inconveniences most people experience every day pale in comparison to what people ALS experience.
The disease causes the gradual loss of motor co-ordination and the ability to speak or swallow.
Cochrane is known for a wide range of charitable works, including World Vision and Amnesty International. He said he is happy his musical career allows him to place a spotlight on causes he cares about.
(Winnipeg Free Press)