Joan Morrissey

Last updated

Joan Morrissey
Joan Morrissey Promo.jpg
Promotional Photo
Background information
Birth nameJoan Learning
Born(1935-01-23)January 23, 1935
Origin Dominion of Newfoundland
DiedJanuary 10, 1978(1978-01-10) (aged 42)
Genres Folk, traditional, country, Irish
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals
Years activeEarly 1960s–1978
Website www.joanmorrissey.com

Joan Morrissey was a Newfoundland-Canadian singer.

Born in St. John's, Newfoundland on January 23, 1935, she was one of ten children. Entering the workforce at only thirteen years of age, she quickly moved up in the music industry of her home province of Newfoundland. Starting in the early 1960s, she began her career as a singer hosting and singing on local radio programs on CJON, VOCM, and CBC Radio.

Contents

Death

Though the events that culminated in her suicide are not certain, Joan had undergone open heart surgery in October 1977 which left scarring on her chest and legs. It was subsequently reported that she had been severely depressed since her operation and took her own life on January 10, 1978, at her home in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland. [1] [2]

Acclaim

With the success of her fourth album, "Home Brew" selling 50,000 copies, and reaching gold status, Joan received honorary awards from the Newfoundland Easter Seals, followed in 1972 by a Juno nomination. As well in the same year she was awarded Newfoundland's Musical Ambassador of Good Will by the Provincial Government. [3] Many her of songs are an homage to Newfoundland lifestyle and are still heard on Canadian radio stations today. Some of her most notable songs include "Thank God We're Surrounded by Water", and "CN Bus". A recently published biography, Yes My Dear..., was nominated for the 2005 Heritage and History Award for Newfoundland and Labrador. [4]

Discography

Footnotes

  1. "Biography". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  2. CBC News
  3. "Biography". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
  4. "Yes My Dear..." Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2010.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chantal Kreviazuk</span> Canadian singer-songwriter (born 1973)

Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk is a Canadian singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist. Born in Winnipeg, she played music from a young age before signing with Columbia Records in the 1990s. Her debut studio album, Under These Rocks and Stones, was first released in Canada in 1996 and saw commercial success before being issued in the United States the following year to critical praise.

Bernice Morgan is a Canadian novelist and short-story writer. Much of her work portrays the history and daily life of Newfoundland. She is best known for her novel "Random Passage" which became a television mini-series on CBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Pratt (painter)</span> Canadian painter (1935–2018)

Mary Frances Pratt, LL. D. D.Litt. was a Canadian painter known for photo-realist still life paintings. Pratt never thought of her work as being focused on one subject matter: her early work is often of domestic scenes, while later work may have a darker undertone, with people as the central subject matter. She painted what appealed to her, being emotionally connected to her subject. Pratt often spoke of conveying the sensuality of light in her paintings, and of the "erotic charge" her chosen subjects possessed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Crosbie</span> Canadian politician (1931–2020)

John Carnell Crosbie, was a Canadian provincial and federal politician who served as the 12th lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Prior to being lieutenant governor, he served as a provincial cabinet minister under Premiers Joey Smallwood and Frank Moores as well as a federal cabinet minister during the Progressive Conservative (PC) governments of Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney. Crosbie held several federal cabinet posts, including minister of finance, minister of justice, minister of transport, minister of international trade, and minister of fisheries and oceans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Doyle</span> Canadian musician and actor

Alan Thomas Doyle is a Canadian musician and actor, best known as the lead singer of the Canadian folk rock band Great Big Sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordon Pinsent</span> Canadian actor and writer (1930–2023)

Gordon Edward Pinsent was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including Away from Her, The Rowdyman, John and the Missus, A Gift to Last, Due South, The Red Green Show, and Quentin Durgens, M.P. He was the voice of Babar the Elephant in television and film from 1989 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allison Crowe</span> Canadian musician

Allison Louise Crowe is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, whose home is Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Siobhán Coady is a Canadian businesswoman and politician who represents the riding of St. John's West in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as a Liberal. Coady previously served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for the riding of St. John's South–Mount Pearl from 2008 to 2011. She served as Minister of Natural Resources in the Ball government. She is currently Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier in the Furey government.

Peg Norman is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, best known for her role in the film My Left Breast, which documented her partner Gerry Rogers' battle with breast cancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alison Pick</span> Canadian writer (born 1975)

Alison Pick is a Canadian writer. She is most noted for her Booker Prize-nominated novel Far to Go, and was a winner of the Bronwen Wallace Memorial Award for most promising writer in Canada under 35.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Hynes</span> Musical artist (1950–2015)

Ron Hynes was a folk singer-songwriter from Newfoundland and Labrador. He was especially known for his composition "Sonny's Dream", which has been recorded worldwide by many artists and was named the 41st greatest Canadian song of all time on the 2005 CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version.

Agnes Walsh is a Canadian poet, playwright, actor and storyteller from Newfoundland and Labrador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hey Rosetta!</span> Rock band

Hey Rosetta! was a Canadian seven-piece indie rock band from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and led by singer/songwriter Tim Baker. The band created a sound by incorporating piano, violin, cello, and brass into the traditional four-piece rock setup. On October 13, 2017, the group announced via a Facebook post that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus.

Gerry Rogers is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and politician. She was leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party from 2018 until 2019. She served in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as NDP MHA for the electoral district of St. John’s Centre from 2011 to 2019. She became the party's leader after winning the April 2018 leadership election. She resigned as party leader prior to the 2019 provincial election and did not seek re-election.

Joan Shea is a former Canadian politician and Cabinet minister in Newfoundland and Labrador. From 2003 to 2014 Shea served as the member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for the district of St. George's-Stephenville East. Shea was the first person holding a BSW to serve in the NL legislature. Shea was also the first woman to serve as Government House Leader in the province's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Foote</span> Canadian politician

Judy May Foote is a Canadian former politician, 14th and current lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is the first woman to hold the position.

Jessica Grant is a Canadian writer, whose debut novel Come, Thou Tortoise won the 2009 Winterset Award and the 2009 Books in Canada First Novel Award and was named as the winner of the 2009 Amazon.ca First Novel Award. The novel was also short-listed for the 2010 CANADIAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION Young Adult Book Award, was long-listed for CBC's Canada Reads 2011 competition.

Margaret Eleanor Anne Hart was a Canadian author who specialized in biographies. She was best known for her Agatha Christie character biographies: The Life and Times of Miss Jane Marple and The Life and Times of Hercule Poirot, and for her role as head of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies from 1976 until her retirement on January 1, 1998. In 2004, Hart was made a Member of the Order of Canada for her "lasting contributions to the cultural life of her province."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kellie Loder</span> Canadian singer-songwriter

Kellie Loder is an independent singer-songwriter from Newfoundland who plays drums, guitar and piano. They have released three albums: The Way in 2009, Imperfections & Directions in 2010 and Benefit of the Doubt in 2018. With a voice that St. John's-based newspaper The Telegram has described as "powerful yet serene and soulful", they received critical recognition from Canada, including a nomination at the Juno Awards.

Mary Barry is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She sings in English, French and German. She was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador and is one of five children to parents Patrick Barry and Teresa Barry. She attended high school at Holy Heart before studying Languages and French Literature at Memorial University. In 1982, she graduated from Vancouver Community College's Jazz and Commercial Music program.