Formed in 1966, the group has a mandate to preserve the traditional music and folklore of the CanadianMaritimes and particularly the Cape Breton region. To belong to the singing group, a man must have worked in the mines. The ages of the men range from the late-thirties to the upper seventies. As of 2006, only one member had been with the group since its inception, but other original members had returned after brief times out of the group. In this category are both a mine manager and a former president of District 26 of the United Mine Workers of America. Their repertoire includes traditional songs of Cape Breton, modern, authored songs by Cape Breton songwriters, and songs arising from mining regions throughout the English-speaking world. Their style is decidedly working-class, but this obvious class-consciousness is not overtly political. From the group's inception until his retirement in 2017, the musical director was John C. O'Donnell, Professor Emeritus of music at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. In 1983, O'Donnell's contribution was recognized by the government of Canada, as he was awarded the Order of Canada. In 1993, he was further honoured when he received an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University College of Cape Breton, an honour that was bestowed upon the group as a whole in 2000. O'Donnell died October 25, 2018, age 83. In 1977, the group became the first Canadian musical ensemble to tour the People's Republic of China. In 1999, they went to Kosovo and performed a concert on behalf of the United Nations Children's Fund.
Performances
The Men of the Deeps have toured most of the major cities in North America and have also performed concerts specifically for fellow miners during United Mine Workers of America conventions in Cincinnati and Denver. They have also released several albums on the Apex, Waterloo and Atlantica record labels. The group has appeared on numerous television programs including National Film Board of Canadashort film featuring it in performance and a 2003 documentary, which won a Gemini Award. Dressed in the miners' garb of coveralls and hard hats, they make an impressive impact when they enter a concert hall in total darkness with their helmet lamps providing the only light.
