John Mann (born September 18, 1962) is a Canadian rock musician and actor. He is best known as the frontman of the folk rock band Spirit of the West.

Biographie

Mann is married to actress and playwright Jill Daum. The couple have two children, son Harlan and daughter Hattie. Their children use the combined surname Daumann. Harlan Daumann is also a musician, whose song "By Tomorrow" was recorded by Mann on his solo album December Looms.

Prior to marrying Daum, he was romantically linked with Jean Smith of the band Mecca Normal, who was revealed in the 2001 book Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995 as the inspiration behind one of Spirit of the West's best-known hit singles, "Political".

In 2009 Mann was diagnosed with colorectal cancer which he overcame in 2010, and by 2011 he had made a full recovery.

In September 2014, Mann announced that he had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Mann said he had noted memory issues during his acting performances as far back as 2001 and he later experienced issues with remembering lyrics and guitar chords during his musical performances. He had noted also his issues with dementia while being treated for cancer, but his doctors considered the problems to be related to the stress and strain of battling cancer. In an official statement posted to Spirit of the West's official website, Daum stated: "Although we may never know what triggered John's condition, it seems safe to conclude that his battle with cancer in 2010 was a contributor."

Mann plans to continue touring and performing with Spirit of the West as long as he remains able to do so.