With his older brother Donnie ("Mr. Downchild") Walsh, Richard "Hock" Walsh co-founded the
Downchild Blues Band in 1969, in
Toronto. At the time, Downchild, as it later came to be known, was one of very few Canadian bands devoted to playing and developing
blues music in Canada. Both Donnie and Hock Walsh were greatly popularized by comedian
Dan Aykroyd, who developed the
Blues Brothers based on what he had seen in the Walsh brothers. Aykroyd modeled
Elwood Blues on Donnie Walsh, while
John Belushi's
Jake Blues character was modeled on Hock Walsh and
Curtis Salgado. In their first album as the Blues Brothers,
Briefcase Full of Blues (1978), Aykroyd and Belushi featured three well-known Downchild songs closely associated with Hock Walsh's vocal style: "I've Got Everything I Need (Almost)", written by Donnie Walsh, "Shotgun Blues", co-written by Donnie and Hock Walsh, and "Flip, Flop and Fly", co-written and originally popularized by
Big Joe Turner. All three songs were contained in Downchild's second album,
Straight Up (1973). "Flip, Flop and Fly" was Downchild's only hit single, and became the
signature song of Hock Walsh. Despite being a co-founder of Downchild and closely identified with the band's sound, Hock Walsh would leave, rejoin and be replaced as lead singer in the band on several occasions. He was first fired from the band in 1974, shortly before work began on the band's third album,
Dancin'. Hock rejoined the band in 1977 and 1985. He was fired by his brother Donnie for a final time in 1990. The last time the Donnie and Hock Walsh saw each other was eighteen months before the death of Hock Walsh, when Hock jammed with Downchild at an
Etobicoke club. When asked whether this involved a reconciliation between the brothers, letting bygones be bygones, Donnie Walsh replied, "There are no bygones. We just don't have anything in common, really." His last recordings were three tracks on
4 Blues, the 1998 debut album of Toronto's Dave Glover, aka Big Daddy G. He was survived by his son. On February 6, 2000, a benefit concert in tribute to Hock Walsh was held in Toronto, with proceeds to provide educational support for Hock's son. Among those appearing at the benefit were Big Daddy G,
Gordie Johnson of
Big Sugar, the Downchild Blues Band and former Downchild vocalist
Tony Flaim. The evening ended with a group rendition of Hock's signature song, "Flip, Flop and Fly". ==Tributes==