Connors was married to Lena in 1973 in a televised wedding.

Stompin' Tom's hockey song got his name in the newspapers recently.

If you cup your hand to your ear right now, it's possible you might hear a rhythmic pounding sound. Perhaps ... could it be ... yes, it's a cowboy boot on plywood.

Stompin' Tom Connors is back.

Not that his loyal army of fans - and there are many from Vancouver to St. John's - ever let Connors' star fade. Ever since his act of stomping the heel of his cowboy boot on a piece of plywood became part of his public persona, Stompin' Tom has been an important part of the Canadian mosaic. But now, at age 72, Connors' career is enjoying a revival.

Connors is making almost daily headlines these days. When the CBC announced in late spring that it wouldn't pay for future rights to the Hockey Night In Canada theme song, Tom Connors Jr. said his father's famous tribute to hockey, The Hockey Song - also known as The Good Old Hockey Game, played nightly at arenas across North America - is available to replace it.

"If they ever want to use The Hockey Song, it's a good song, whether or not Tom sings it or not," said Tom Connors Jr. Stompin' Tom did sing for the CBC, as he performed coast to coast during the opening of the NHL Hockey Awards show June 12.

That's not all. He's got a new album due out later this year. Then there is the stage play, The Ballad of Stompin' Tom, that is attracting audiences this spring and summer in Ontario and PEI.

And Connors is even getting his own postage stamp - due out next year.

Don't ever think for a moment that Stompin' Tom is getting a big head over his recent revival. True to his down-home style, he says, "This isn't bad for a guy who still has cow manure on his boots."

Connors' character is no act. He is 100-per-cent genuine, just like the hundreds of tunes he has penned over his lifetime.

It seems everything Connors touches turns to gold these days, and why not? Through his talents, he has become a beloved Canadian legend, ranked in 2004 beside Tommy Douglas, Wayne Gretzky and Sir John A. Macdonald. Connors is modest when asked about the stamp Canada Post will issue as part of its Canadian Recording Artists series next year.

"Anyone else who gets a stamp, it's usually university people and all the mucky-mucks," says Connors. "I'm kind of overwhelmed. I'm usually the blue-collar worker's singer in this country, so this really is a surprise to me."

In November 2004, when the CBC announced its Greatest Canadian voting, Stompin' Tom was named the 13th Greatest Canadian of all time, topping famous folks like Shania Twain, Bobby Orr and even Pierre Berton. It could be argued, Connors is to Canadian music what Berton was to Canadian literature - singing the praises of Canada from coast to coast.

Connors was named the 5th Greatest Living Canadian, and topped the list as Greatest Performing Arts Canadian, Greatest Popular Music Canadian and number-one Atlantic Canadian of all time.

"Naturally, I was flabbergasted," says Connors, still writing songs for a new album to be released in late 2008 from his rural home near Georgetown, Ont., "and I think now the stamp is going to do wonders for the little guy in this country. Nothing ever happens for the little guy."

Yet, lots is happening these days for Connors. If you can't catch the man himself in concert, try The Ballad of Stompin' Tom: A Tribute to The Man of the Land. Featuring favourite tunes including Bud the Spud, Tillsonburg, Sudbury Saturday Night and The Hockey Song, the play is winning strong reviews, even from Connors himself.

"I'm my own worst critic, but I'm really impressed by the job they've done," says Connors. "I mean, I had no training in writing songs, and I had no training in writing my book. But a guy has to get his feet wet."

Before The Fame, the best-selling autobiography written by Stompin' Tom, acted as the catalyst for the new musical. The book's second volume, The Connors Tone, was released in late spring. Connors' complete songbook, 250 Songs By Stompin' Tom, including lyrics, chords and illustrations from the last 50 years, is now available. He has written several children's books, too.

"I get an awful lot of letters from students and teachers, and they really seem interested in what has been written about our country," says Connors. "My song, Name The Capitals, I'm told, is used to help little kids in Grade 2 and 3 name the capitals of Canada."

The play, which Tom Jr. says he hopes becomes a road show in 2009, was staged at Ontario's Drayton Festival Theatre in May, and played in Penetanguishene, Ont. in June. The production from scriptwriter David Scott, featuring J.D. Nicholsen as Connors, plays at the MacKenzie Theatre in Charlottetown July 3 to Sept. 30.

Life has been quite a journey for Charles Thomas Connors, born to the teenaged Isabel Connors on Feb. 9, 1936 in Saint John, NB. A very young Connors lived hand-to-mouth with his mother until he was seized by Children's Aid Society and later adopted by a family in Skinners Pond, P.E.I.

At age 15, Connors left his adoptive family to hitchhike across Canada. Over the next 13 years he wrote songs about his travels and encounters, taking part-time jobs along the way. His stopover in Timmins, Ont., where Connors worked in a gold mine, saw him offered a one-year contract to perform at the Maple Leaf Hotel. He recorded eight songs, and was on his way to cult status that eventually turned to mainstream stardom.

It wasn't until July 1, 1967 that Connors received the nickname, Stompin' Tom. Boyd MacDonald, a waiter at the King George Tavern in Peterborough, introduced Tom as Stompin' Tom Connors. Connors had carried plywood to his shows to keep a tempo for his guitar in noisy bars.

The radio hits and awards came regularly, but after a decade in the spotlight, in 1978, he returned all six of his Juno Awards and retired for 12 years. Connors was frustrated over what he saw as "turncoat Canadians" conducting business in the U.S. but winning Juno Awards in Canada. Connors labelled the artists "border jumpers."

"It was a gutsy move back then," says Connors, who has received a couple of honourary degrees and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1996. "But I was called a 'fool' at the time. I don't care one way or the other."

Connors has been married to his wife, Lena, since 1973. Theirs was the first-ever Canadian televised marriage, airing on the Elwood Glover Show on CBC. Tom Jr. is their only child. They both have children from previous relationships.

Asked how he would like to be remembered when he retires for good, Connors pondered, then said, "I suppose as a guy who thought enough of his country to use his talent for the good of the country."

You can bet your boots that's a sure thing.