Rita MacNeil

Rita MacNeil, CM, ONS (May 28, 1944 – April 16, 2013) was a Canadian country and folk singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray the following year, although she had hits on the country charts throughout her career. In the United Kingdom, MacNeil's song "Working Man" was a No. 11 hit in 1990.^[1]

In 1990, she was the bestselling country artist in Canada, outselling even Garth Brooks and Clint Black. She was also the only female singer ever to have three separate albums chart in the same year in Australia.

Personal life

MacNeil had a daughter, Laura Lewis,^[2] and a son, Wade Langham.

Career

A native of Big Pond, Cape Breton County, MacNeil first performed on stage in 1971, and recorded her first album, Born a Woman, in 1975. She performed at folk festivals throughout the 1970s and 1980s, culminating in her major label debut and pop breakthrough in 1987.

MacNeil hosted a CBC Television variety show, Rita and Friends, from 1994 to 1997. The show won a Gemini Award in 1996. She also ran a tea room in her hometown of Big Pond,^[2] which has become one of Cape Breton Island's most popular tourist attractions.

She was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1992 and was awarded the Order of Nova Scotia in 2005.^[3]

She was featured in a Season 4 episode of Trailer Park Boys, wherein she and her band were forced to harvest marijuana at gunpoint.

Research done by historians Steve Hewitt and Christabelle Sethna on documents from the now-defunct Royal Canadian Mounted Police Security Service have revealed accounts of the force having spied on feminists, including MacNeil, during the 1970s.^[4]

MacNeil wrote her memoirs On a Personal Note with Anne Simpson in 1998, which was published by Key Porter Books.

Flying On Her Own, a play based on MacNeil's life and featuring many of her songs, premiered at Live Bait Theatre in Sackville, NB in 2000. Written by Canadian playwright Charlie Rhindress, it was subsequently produced by Neptune Theatre in Halifax, NS in 2002 and published by Playwrights Canada Press in 2008.

Death

MacNeil died April 16, 2013, from complications of surgery after a recurrent infection.^[5][6][2] Early reports from the Globe and Mail that MacNeil contracted an infection while in the hospital were not correct, and the newspaper later reprinted an article of correction.^[7]

Discography

Albums

Singles

International singles

References

Further reading

• MacNeil, Rita.; Simpson, Anne (1998). On a Personal Note. Key Porter Books. ISBN 978-1-55263-002-0. 

External links

• Rita MacNeil's home page
• Rita MacNeil at the Internet Movie Database