Kenny Shields
| Kenny Shields | |
|---|---|
| Born |
October 24, 1947 Nokomis, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Died |
July 21, 2017 (aged 69) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Rock music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Associated acts | |
Kenny Shields was a Canadian musician and the lead singer of rock band Streetheart, known for singing various hits, including “Action,” “Hollywood,” “Look in Your Eyes,” “What Kind of Love Is This,” and a cover of The Rolling Stones classic “Under My Thumb.”
Early life
Shields was born and spent his youth in Nokomis, Sask., a small farming community in Western Canada.[1] He shared an interest in music early in his life which started taking shape around the time he enrolled in an amateur talent show at six years old.[1]
Early career
Shields moved to Saskatoon, Sask. to attend a local university and joined the local band Witness Incorporated. His career quickly took off as the band started touring the country opening for acts like Roy Orbison and Cream. His career was sidetracked in 1970 when he was critically injured in a car accident.[1]
He would return to music in 1975 and move to Winnipeg following the dissolution of Witness Incorporated.[1]
In the years afterwards, he would work with other performers and eventually form the band that would become Streetheart. The band became a success in Canada, frequently playing cities across the country and recording six studio albums and one double-disc live album. Their more popular tour mates would include AC/DC, Styx and Max Webster.
Later career and death
After the original Streetheart lineup dissolved, with two of them leaving to form Loverboy, Shields would continue to tour as the Kenny Shields Band throughout the 1980s.[1] He would reunite with some of the original group in the late 1990s to play festival shows.
In 2017, Shields was forced to back out of the band's 40th anniversary tour when he became disoriented and confused during a Canada Day concert in Sherwood Park, Alta.[1] He had undergone an emergency surgery for a serious heart ailment and the confluence of health problems led to the band cancelling its 40th anniversary tour. They were to play a final farewell concert on August 29, 2017, at the Winnipeg Classic RockFest in Winnipeg, MB.
Shields died at St. Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg after recently undergoing cardiac surgery.[2] Band mate Jeff Neill, via the band's Facebook page, confirmed on July 21, 2017 that Shields died that morning.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Friend, David (July 21, 2017). "Streetheart lead singer Kenny Shields dies". The Globe and Mail/The Canadian Press. Retrieved Aug 6, 2017.
- ↑ "'He was magic': Canadian rock legend Kenny Shields dies". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
- ↑ "Canadian rock ‘n’ roll legend Kenny Shields passes away". Global News. Retrieved 2017-08-06.