Matt Minglewood

Matt Minglewood
Birth name Roy Alexander Batherson
Born January 31, 1947 (1947-01-31) (age 65)
Origin Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Genres Country
Blues
Folk
Roots
Rock
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Years active 1966–present
Labels Savannah Records
Website www.mattminglewood.com

Matt Minglewood (born Roy Alexander Batherson, 31 January 1947 in Moncton, New Brunswick) is a Canadian musician whose style can be described as a blend of country, blues, folk, roots and rock.

Contents

[hide]

Career

Minglewood was raised in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, later moving to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia where he currently resides. He is well known for his ballads, many of which are autobiographical (such as "Me and the Boys" and "Long Way From Texas"). Many of his songs deal with feelings of passion, frustrations, hope, loneliness, love, disappointment and regret as well as his love of the Maritime Provinces.

Minglewood joined his first band, the Rockin’ Saints’, when he was in his late teens, playing local high school dances, and even tavern gigs before he was old enough to get into bars. He played organ and rhythm guitar.

When he was in his early twenties he was part of a band called "Sam Moon, Matt Minglewood & the Universal Power". The group was formed in 1969 with Sam Moon [1] and Minglewood sharing vocal duties. The band performed regularly in the Halifax Dartmouth metro area and was a staple at the local high schools in the twin cities.

Minglewood briefly sang lead vocals and played guitar for Peppertree, then formed Cold Duck, Moon - Minglewood, and then in 1974, this band later became The Minglewood Band. They recorded their first album with Solar Records in 1975, it is known as The Red Album. Soon after the album was released they signed a record deal with RCA Records. The group received a 1980 Juno Award nomination for the Most Promising Group of the Year.

During 1984—1985, Minglewood took a sabbatical. When he returned, he launched as Matt Minglewood. In the mid 1980s to early 1990s he was also part of an annual seasonal group called the Cape Breton Summertime Revue, consisting of about 12 members performing musical and comedy skits throughout the evening. This group, performing for all ages throughout the Maritimes brought a new generation of fans on board for Minglewood and inspired many young people into music before they were even teenagers.

Minglewood and his band have also toured to Iraq and other war-torn countries worldwide several times annually in the last decade to play for the Canadian, American and European troops, "It was a huge eye opener for me, and also the most rewarding experience in my life. It was pretty scary over there, I had to put on a bullet proof vest getting off the plane and briefed on survival on the bases. It was an honour to play for them. I'd go back in a heartbeat."

Over his career he has won and been nominated for numerous East Coast Music Awards, Canadian Country Music Awards and Juno Awards.

Discography[2]

Albums

Year Album
1986 Me and the Boys
1988 The Promise
1999 Drivin' Wheel
2003 Live at Last
2005 The Story

Singles

Year Single Chart Positions Album
CAN Country CAN
1985 "Livin' Outside of the Law" 41 Me and the Boys
"Me and the Boys" 94
1986 "Georgia on a Fast Train" 24 singles only
1987 "Cajun Stars" 34
1988 "You Win Again" 30 The Promise

References

  1. ^ Crowe, Peter. "Sam Moon". Nova Scotia Classic Rock. http://nsclassicrock.8m.com/sammoon.html/. Retrieved March 19, 2010. 
  2. ^ See NS Classic Rock Discography - Matt Minglewood; www.chebucto.ns.ca.

External links