Information/Write-up
Released in 1977, this single is a hometown tribute to Flin Flon, Manitoba’s most famous son, NHL legend Bob Clarke. Performed by local band Blue Monday and written by Wayne Deans, ‘The Bobby Clarke Way’ reflects community pride in Clarke’s rise from northern Manitoba minor hockey and the Flin Flon Bombers to the highest levels of professional hockey.
The song and accompanying sleeve notes focus on Clarke’s early development in Flin Flon, his minor league years, and his emergence as a star with the Philadelphia Flyers, where he became team captain and one of the defining players of the franchise’s most successful era. The record presents Clarke not just as a celebrity athlete, but as a family man and hometown figure whose success remained closely tied to his northern roots.
Clarke’s reputation for toughness and competitiveness — qualities forged in northern junior hockey — forms part of the song’s subtext, reflecting the style of play and personal drive that carried him from a remote mining town to NHL stardom. While later moments such as his infamous slash on Valeri Kharlamov during the 1972 Summit Series became part of his broader public image, the song itself is primarily concerned with celebrating Clarke’s formative years, professional achievements, and his symbolic importance to Flin Flon.
-Robert Williston
Songwriting
‘The Bobby Clarke Way’ written by Wayne Deans (CAPAC)
‘Rock in Your Chair’ written by Blue Monday (CAPAC)
Production
Recorded at KOLOSSAL STUDIOS Winnipeg, Canada
Mastered at JAMF Toronto, Ontario
Liner notes
The Bobby Clarke song came about in order to pay tribute to a young guy who had enough desire to tough it out and make a success of the thing he liked to do best, play hockey. There are no statistics listed only words that tell about his life from early till now. Bob was born and raised in Flin Flon, played hockey in the minor leagues and for the Bombers. He is presently captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, has a beautiful wife Sandy and three children and the song inside this folder tells the rest.
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