Following an unforgettable premiere screening for an enthusiastic audience at the Canadian Music Centre in Toronto on Friday September 19, 2025, it gives us great joy to share the release of The Piece Atop His Pate.
This animated short is inspired by Jocelyn Morlock’s humorous song “Bobby Hull” (from her cycle Perruqueries), with words by Bill Richardson. It’s a playful reimagining of one of hockey’s quirkiest moments, blending art music, late 1970s CBC broadcast nostalgia, and Hanna-Barbera–style animation. Listeners may even catch an unmistakable nod to The Hockey Theme by Dolores Claman, the soundtrack of Saturday night hockey for generations of Canadians.
Created in collaboration with OCAD University’s Department of Experimental Animation, The Piece Atop His Pate continues CASP’s exploration of how music and visual storytelling can intersect, following the success of The Wild Goose (2024).
🏒 Music performed by: Keith Lam, baritone Steven Philcox, piano (CASP Co-Artistic Director)
🏒 Animation by: OCAD University students in the Dept. of Experimental Animation:
Jae Despi, Maya Harding, Raghad Daghestani, Angela Lin, Ben Fieldhouse,Dong Zhou, Jeffrey Mark, Stella Yang, Sabrina Novak, Letitia Chui, Lisa Lai, Jessica Lin, Kato McKiernan, David Okoli, Seun Ogbara, Menita Sriharsha, Cherrie Tam, Andria Truong, Twig Whale, Aklesiya Yared, and Nalan Yildar
🏒 Recorded and Mixed by: Dennis Patterson at Imagine Sound Studios and Big Smoke Audio
🏒 Produced / Supervised by: Lawrence Wiliford (CASP Co-Artistic Director) and Philippe Blanchard
You can learn more about the process of creating The Piece Atop His Pate by watching the OCAD University Field Placement Narrative Podcast episode featuring the student animation creative team below.
MORE ABOUT THE SONG AND ANIMATED SHORT:
In 1978, during a WHA game between the Winnipeg Jets and Birmingham Bulls, a scuffle on the ice led to Bobby Hull’s toupee being knocked loose. Hull returned to the game wearing a helmet, and the incident quickly became hockey lore. In reality, it was Dave Hanson — not Steve Durbano, as was widely reported at the time — who inadvertently knocked Hull’s hairpiece off. Morlock and Richardson take playful liberties with the details, turning the episode into a humorous and musically inventive art song.
Visually, the animation draws on the look and feel of late-1970s CBC hockey broadcasts, referencing the analog-style graphics and rotoscope treatments of the era. The design also tips its hat to Hanna-Barbera animation and to the Pete the Puck interstitial cartoons that often appeared during hockey broadcasts in North America. Together, these influences create a nostalgic, tongue-in-cheek visual world that amplifies the humour and charm of the song.
The Piece Atop His Pate expands CASP’s goal of bringing Canadian art song to life in unexpected ways — here blending classical music, hockey history, and animation. You can read more about the project in an interview by Anya Wassenberg at Ludwig-van.com with Lawrence Wiliford and Philippe Blanchard.
This project was developed in memory of Jocelyn Morlock (1969–2023), and was made possible through the financial support of Janet Stubbs.
If you enjoy the film, please consider supporting our work by sharing this short with your friends and / or making a donation to CASP.