Marie-Lynn Hammond (born August 31, 1948) is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter, broadcaster and playwright. Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada to a Franco-Ontarian mother and an Anglo-Quebecer father, she is fluently bilingual and writes and performs material in both English and French.
She began her career as a founder of the folk music group Stringband, [1] and later pursued a solo career. She was also a host of programming on CBC Radio in the 1980s and 1990s, including Dayshift and Musical Friends . [2] She has also written several plays, including the bilingual musical Beautiful Deeds/De beaux gestes [3] and the drama White Weddings, [4] and was co-writer with Brigitte Berman of the screenplay to the 1994 film The Circle Game .
On August 26, 2006, Hammond was thrown from her horse while horseback riding, and sustained serious injuries. [5] Her friends organized two benefit concerts at Hugh's Room in January 2007 to help raise money for her non-insured health care costs and lost income due to her inability to work. [5] People who appeared at the concerts included Bob Bossin, Stuart McLean, Eve Goldberg, Garnet Rogers, Nancy White, Sylvia Tyson, Don Ross, Rick Salutin, Jian Ghomeshi and Mike Ford. [5] The accident has left her with a visual impairment, but she has otherwise recovered and is working (and riding) again. [6]
Victoria Williams is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in the early 1990s, Williams was the catalyst for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.
Jane Siberry is a Canadian singer-songwriter, known for such hits as "Mimi on the Beach", "I Muse Aloud", "One More Colour" and "Calling All Angels". She performed the theme song to the television series Maniac Mansion. She has released material under the name Issa – an identity which she used formally between 2006 and 2009.
Buffy Sainte-Marie, is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and social activist.
Portia May White was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, White competed in local singing competitions as a teenager and later trained at the Halifax Conservatory of Music. In 1941 and 1944, she made her national and international debuts as a singer, receiving critical acclaim for her performances of both classical European music and African-American spirituals. White later completed tours throughout Europe, the Caribbean, and Central and South America.
Spirit of the West were a Canadian folk rock band from North Vancouver, active from 1983 to 2016. They were popular on the Canadian folk music scene in the 1980s before evolving a blend of hard rock, Britpop, and Celtic folk influences which made them one of Canada's most successful alternative rock acts in the 1990s.
Mary Margaret O'Hara is a Canadian singer-songwriter, actress and composer. She is best known for the album Miss America, released in 1988. She released two albums and an EP under her own name, and remains active as a live performer, as a contributor to compilation albums and as a guest collaborator on other artists' albums.
The Winnipeg Folk Festival is a nonprofit charitable organization with an annual summer folk music festival held in Birds Hill Provincial Park, near Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The festival features a variety of artists and music from around the world and is sure to include a number of local artists.
Kate McGarrigle was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle.
Thomas Lazare Wilson is a Canadian rock musician from Hamilton, Ontario. A veteran of the Canadian music scene, Wilson has been a writer and performer for many years. Wilson's eclectic musical style has ranged from the psychobilly/R&B sounds of the Florida Razors, to the western/roots style of Blackie and the Rodeo Kings and the funk/blues-inspired rock of Junkhouse.
Kashtin were a Canadian folk rock duo in the 1980s and 1990s, one of the most commercially successful and famous musical groups in First Nations history.
Friday Night! with Ralph Benmergui was a Canadian television variety show, which aired on CBC Television from 1992 to 1993. The show initially aired at 10 p.m., following Prime Time News, but was moved to 11 p.m. in January 1993 and aired in the later time slot for the remainder of its run.
John Allan Cameron, was a Canadian folk singer, "The Godfather of Celtic Music" in Canada. Noted for performing traditional music on his twelve string guitar, he released his first album in 1969. He released 10 albums during his lifetime and was featured on national television. He was a recipient of the East Coast Music Award's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Order of Canada, conferred in 2003.
French folklore encompasses the fables, folklore, fairy tales and legends of the French people.
Stringband was a Canadian folk music ensemble, fronted by Bob Bossin and Marie-Lynn Hammond. Founded in 1971, Stringband recorded four studio albums between 1973 and 1978, and was an active touring ensemble through 1986. There have been periodic reunions since then, the most recent occurring in 2013. Passing through Stringband's ranks at various times were Ben Mink, Terry King, Zeke Mazurek, Calvin Cairns, Dennis Nichol, Jerry Lewycky, and Nancy Ahern.
John Wort Hannam is a Canadian folk musician, from Fort Macleod, Alberta. He is known for his story telling through music. Themes which are central to his music include life in Western Canada, and the human experience as seen through the eyes of working folk.
Erynn Marshall is a Canadian old-time fiddler, ethnomusicologist, teacher, and author.
Gregory Raymond Quill was an Australian-born musician, singer-songwriter and journalist. He lived in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and was an entertainment columnist at the Toronto Star newspaper from the mid-1980s until his death in May 2013. In Australia he came to popular fame as a singer-songwriter for the country rock band Country Radio (1970–73). Their biggest hit, "Gypsy Queen", co-written by Quill with bandmate Kerryn Tolhurst, was released in August 1972 and peaked at No. 12 on the Go-Set National Top 40. After getting an arts grant, Quill travelled to Toronto in 1974 and by the mid-1980s had become a journalist with the Toronto Star. By 1983 he was married to Ellen Davidson, a public relations executive. Greg Quill died on 5 May 2013, at the age of 66, from "complications due to pneumonia".
Bob Bossin is a Canadian folk singer, writer and activist who co-founded the Canadian folk group Stringband with Marie-Lynn Hammond. Bossin is the writer of the songs "Dief Will Be the Chief Again", "Show Us the Length", "Tugboats", "The Maple Leaf Dog" and "Sulphur Passage ". As well, Bossin wrote and performed two solo musicals, Bossin's Home Remedy for Nuclear War and Davy the Punk. The latter is based on the book Davy the Punk, Bossin's memoir of his outlaw father.
Robbie MacNeill is a guitarist and singer-songwriter who was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He attended Queen Elizabeth High School and studied engineering at Dalhousie University for two years, before moving to Toronto to work as a surveyor in 1964. In the late sixties and early 70's he arranged, conducted and performed with The Privateers, billed as 'Eastern Canada's Only Professional Fork Chorus'. He went on to work with a number of other artists, and released his own album 'Pieces' in 1984.
The Entertainers was a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio and CBC Stereo from 1971 to 1992. Initially conceived as a magazine-style show on all aspects of popular culture, the show gradually narrowed its focus to concentrate almost entirely on musical culture, showcasing music from many different genres through documentary features on musical history, feature interviews with influential musicians and recordings of live concert performances.