With his band McKenna Mendelson Mainline and in his solo career, he wrote songs that were political and playful at the same time, and he produced colourful artworks with strong messages
It surprised no one who knew him that Mendelson Joe would choose to die entirely on his own terms.
Commercial success eluded Mr. Joe, although the output and value of his artwork picked up after he left Toronto in 2000 and settled in Emsdale, Ont., near his beloved Algonquin Park. “Joe was his own worst enemy,” noted writer David Hayes, a bassist on some of Mr. Joe’s recordings. “He just wouldn’t play the game.”
After graduating from Richmond Hill High School, Mr. Joe, by then standing over six feet tall and weighing 225 pounds, enrolled at the University of Toronto and pursued football and music while earning his Bachelor of Arts degree. Before long, he was performing in Yorkville coffeehouses, singing folk and blues solo and performing in the Old Upper Canada Ragtime Mama Jugband. He met and married Lea, nicknamed Flea, in 1966 and earned money making leather belts and vests for the Mr.
Painting kept the heartbroken Mr. Joe sane. From a crowded storefront studio on Ossington Avenue, he painted constantly while continuing to write and record music. Laurie Brown had not yet embarked on her broadcasting career when she answered Mr. Joe’s long-running classified ad that read: “Nude female models wanted. No hanky panky.”
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