Canadian singer Rita MacNeil dies at age 68
Posted April 17, 2013 8:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canadian singer Rita MacNeil, known as Cape Breton’s first lady of song, has died. She was 68.
According to a statement on the singer’s website, MacNeil passed away Tuesday night from complications following surgery.
MacNeil was born on May 28, 1944, in Big Pond — a community in Cape Breton, N.S. — and grew up with three brothers and four sisters.
Although she was a shy child and had stage fright, MacNeil moved to Toronto in 1962, at the age of 17, to pursue her music career performing in small clubs.
She was married and had two children, but later divorced her husband and moved back to Big Pond, when she was in her early 20s.
She recorded her first album in 1975, but her big break came in her 40s after she performed at the Expo 86 in Vancouver.
McNeil’s blend of folk and country, and her story about the hardships of everyday people, helped her become a Canadian favourite around the world.
She recorded more than 24 albums, with hits that included “Working Man,” “Flying on Your Own,” “Reason to Believe,” “I’ll Accept The Rose Tonight” and “Home I’ll Be.”
MacNeil won the first of three Junos in 1987 at the age of 42 as most promising female vocalist.
She also won numerous East Coast Music Awards, Country Music Awards, and a Gemini for her CBC variety show “Rita & Friends” that ran from 1994 to 1997.
She was a member of the Order of Canada, and was awarded the Order of Nova Scotia.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of a dear sweet woman and a gifted singer-songwriter who represented women and her beloved Nova Scotia so eloquently in her songs,” singer Anne Murray said in a statement.
“I have lost a good friend,” Country music legend Tommy Hunter said of MacNeil.
-With reports from The Canadian Press
