with "Abraham, Martin & John"). A transcript of the commentary was also recorded by Byron MacGregor, news director of Windsor, Ontario, radio station CKLW (AM), and it became an even bigger hit in the U.S., climbing to No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sinclair was said to be annoyed by MacGregor's recording, which was released as a single before Sinclair's authorized version. At the time, CKLW was owned by Toronto media baron John Bassett. In Canada, Sinclair's version peaked at No. 30, topping McGregor's, which missed the top 40, stalling at No. 42. In May 1974, Sinclair told The Globe and Mail that he was "sick of hearing" the recording and embarrassed by some of the inaccuracies it contained, but that he would still write the same editorial over again. In 1981, when Ronald Reagan made his first state visit to Canada, he praised Sinclair as a figure who had given the United States a wonderful and inspiring tribute in one of its darkest hours.The Americans was widely revived on the Internet, radio and newspapers in 2001, following the September 11, 2001, attacks, and again in 2005 in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Some revivals of the message incorrectly state that it was newly written as a direct response to recent crises; in this question of its authorship alone, the address has become a part of urban legend. Final years and death Sinclair was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1979, and added to the Etobicoke Hall of Fame in 1984. Up to the time of his death, he was doing 14 broadcasts a week for CFRB and also appearing on Front Page Challenge. In his final commentary, broadcast on May 15, 1984, he discussed passing his annual driver's test, which was compulsory for drivers over the age of 80. That day, Sinclair—who had had a series of heart attacks dating back to 1970—had a massive attack, going into a coma and suffering irreversible brain damage. He died two days later at age 83 after life support systems were discontinued. He was buried at Park Lawn Cemetery in Toronto. Sinclair's eldest son, Gord Sinclair (1928–2002), was also a successful and respected radio journalist in Montreal, as well as the majority owner of CFOX (AM). Published worksFoot-loose in India: adventures of a news chaser from Khyber's grim gash of death to the tiger jungles of Bengal