RITA MACNEIL FULL

In 1981, she issued “Part of the Mystery,” a record financed by family and friends. She returned to Big Pond, N.S., in 1976 and continued writing.

She had two children during that time as well - Laura and Wade - though she would eventually divorce their father. “All of those songs would have been sung at rallies, demonstrations or meetings that we attended,” MacNeil said. MacNeil has said these meetings gave her strength and pushed forth her songwriting - in fact, after one get-together, she was inspired to write her first song.īy 1975, she was ready to independently release her first album, “Born a Woman.” “What’s radical about equal pay for equal work? And trying to empower women to reach the potential that they have?” “If you wanted to see a bunch of women sitting around talking about issues and going on demonstrations that are peaceful and non-violent, then so be it, but I don’t think there was a reason to do that,” MacNeil said in 2008.

She began attending meetings in Toronto in the early ’70s that she found out - years later - were being monitored by the RCMP. While struggling to make ends meet, she found comfort in the fledgling women’s movement. Meanwhile, she turned heads with appearances at Toronto’s famed Riverboat folk club and performances at the Mariposa folk festival, but wasn’t earning enough to pay the rent. Once there, she endured a succession of low-paying jobs, including a retail gig at Eaton’s and a stint as a cleaning woman. She relocated to Toronto at age 17 in 1962. She fell in love with singing by the age of six, despite her shy disposition and a cleft palate that eventually required surgery. I have lost a good friend.”īorn in Big Pond, N.S., in 1944, MacNeil grew up with three brothers and four sisters. It was evident that she touched them all from the many letters and comments we received after that show. Rita could convey that kind of warmth and sincerity through her songs to the people in the studio audience and to the viewers at home. When she sang ‘Working Man’ there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. ”Coming from a coal mining area she had a soft spot in her heart for those miners. “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.Ĭountry music legend Tommy Hunter said his ”one vivid memory” of MacNeil was when she was a guest on his show. Yet she was a renowned live performer who sold out gigs around the world. She was painfully shy and admitted to battling self-confidence issues, largely stemming from her weight.

RITA MACNEIL FULL

Her spotless, astonishingly full voice carried a light Celtic lilt that only sweetened her dulcet tones, but she was a versatile singer who could coax grittier notes from her voice as well. She was 68.Īlways seeming an unlikely star, MacNeil worked tirelessly over decades to gradually become a beloved fixture in Canadian culture, with her greatest success coming only after she was in her 40s.

TORONTO – Rita MacNeil, a singer-songwriter from small-town Canada whose powerful voice explored genres from country, to folk, to gospel, died Tuesday night following complications from surgery.

Rita macneil