James Kevin Rankin (born May 28, 1964) is a Canadian
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
and
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
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* Folk taxonomy
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* Folk Plus or Fol ...
artist. A member of
The Rankin Family
The Rankin Family (originally known as The Rankins) are a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four Society of Composers, Author ...
, Rankin has also released seven solo albums: ''
Song Dog'' (2001), ''
Handmade'' (2003), ''
Edge of Day
''Edge of Day'' is the third album by Jimmy Rankin, released on May 8, 2007 (see 2007 in music).
Track listing
# "Stranded" (Jimmy Rankin) – 3:38
# "Slipping Away" (Rankin) – 3:48
# "Got to Leave Louisiana" (Rankin, Gordie Sampson) – 3:31
...
'' (2007), ''
Forget About the World
"Forget About the World" is a song by English singer Gabrielle. It was written by Gabrielle along with Ben Barson, Andy Dean, and Ben Wolff for her self-titled second album (1996). "Forget About the World" did not perform as well as its predece ...
'' (2011), ''Tinsel Town'' (2012), ''
Back Road Paradise
''Back Road Paradise'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian folk music artist Jimmy Rankin. It was released on April 1, 2014 on Rankin's own Song Dog label and distributed by Fontana North. The album is more country music, country than Rankin's p ...
'' (2014) and ''Moving East'' (2018). Rankin's solo and Rankin Family awards include 5 Junos, 27 East Coast Music Awards, 9 SOCAN top radio play Awards, 7 Canadian Country Music Awards, 2 Music NS Awards, and 2 Canadian Radio Music Awards.
Early years
Rankin was born in 1964 in
Mabou, Nova Scotia
Mabou is an unincorporated settlement in the Municipality of the County of Inverness on the west coast of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. The population in 2011 was 1,207 residents. It is the site of The Red Shoe pub, the An Drochaid ...
. He grew up as part of a musical family that would entertain the neighbors every third weekend as part of the local
céilidh. This group became known as
The Rankin Family
The Rankin Family (originally known as The Rankins) are a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four Society of Composers, Author ...
and went on to achieve international success in the 1990s as they brought their well-loved mix of Cape Breton traditional music, roots and pop to the rest of the world.
Musical career
2001–2002: ''Song Dog''
After embarking on a solo career, Rankin released his debut album, ''
Song Dog'' in August 2001.
"CD Reviews: The Beta Band, Default, Toploader and many more"
''Chart Attack'', July 17, 2001 Three singles were released from the album, "Followed Her Around", "Midnight Angel", and "Wasted". "Followed Her Around" was named the "Single of the Year" award at the SOCAN
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...
Awards in 2002. The song also was named "Single of the Year" and "Video of the Year" from the East Coast Music Association
The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mus ...
. ''Song Dog'' was named "Album of the Year" at the Canadian Country Music Awards and at the East Coast Music Awards. In 2003, "Midnight Angel" was named "Single of the Year" and Rankin was named SOCAN
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...
Songwriter of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards.
2003–2004: ''Handmade''
'' Handmade'' was released in September 2003 and produced three singles, "Morning Bound Train", "Butterfly", and "California Dreamer". It was named "Album of the Year" and "Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year" at the East Coast Music Awards in 2003. "Morning Bound Train" was named "Single of the Year" and Rankin was named SOCAN Songwriter of the Year at the ECMA's. "Butterfly" was named "Single of the Year" and "Video of the Year" at the ECMA's in 2005. Rankin also received SOCAN Songwriter of the Year for the song.
2006–2007: ''Edge of Day''
After a brief hiatus, ''Edge of Day
''Edge of Day'' is the third album by Jimmy Rankin, released on May 8, 2007 (see 2007 in music).
Track listing
# "Stranded" (Jimmy Rankin) – 3:38
# "Slipping Away" (Rankin) – 3:48
# "Got to Leave Louisiana" (Rankin, Gordie Sampson) – 3:31
...
'' was released in May 2007 and produced three singles, "Slipping Away", "Got to Leave Louisiana", and "Still Lovers Now". In 2008, Rankin was named Songwriter of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards for the song, "First Time in a Long Time" with Deric Ruttan
Deric J. Ruttan (born January 27, 1972) is a Canadian country music singer, songwriter and record producer from Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada. A Nashville, Tennessee resident, he has released four studio albums and has written or co-written more ...
. At the East Coast Music Awards, ''Edge of Day'' was named Country Recording of the Year, FACTOR Recording of the Year and Konica Minolta Male Solo Recording of the Year. He was also awarded SOCAN Songwriter of the Year for the song, "Slipping Away".
2011–2012: ''Forget About the World''
''Forget About the World
"Forget About the World" is a song by English singer Gabrielle. It was written by Gabrielle along with Ben Barson, Andy Dean, and Ben Wolff for her self-titled second album (1996). "Forget About the World" did not perform as well as its predece ...
'' was released in April 2011 and has released three singles, "Here in My Heart", "I'm Just Saying" and "The Hurtin' Part". ''Forget About the World'' was nominated fore Juno for Country Recording of the Year and a record breaking 8 ECMAs including: Recording of the Year, Entertainer of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year, Country Album of the Year, Video of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. In September 2011, Rankin won a CCMA for "Roots Artist of the Year" and in November 2011 he won the Music Nova Scotia "SOCAN Songwriter of the Year" Award as well as a SOCAN top radio play award for his song "Up All Night". The accolades continued in December with Rankin's fans naming him one of CBC Radio's Top 50 Artists of 2011. Rankin's song "Here in My Heart" was named the number one Canadian Country song of 2011 by Top Country. Rankin won "Roots Artist of the Year" for the second year in a row in September 2012.
2012–2013: ''Tinsel Town''
The Christmas themed album ''Tinsel Town'' was released on November 6, 2012. Rankin embarked on Cross-Canada tours in support of the effort in November and December 2012 and 2013. The album, produced by Bill Bell (Jason Mraz, Tom Cochrane), contains four original songs: "Tinseltown", "December", "Boogie Woogie Christmas" and "Don't Wanna Say Goodbye to Christmas". The CD package has a unique feature that allows it to be sent in the mail as a Christmas card.
2014–present: ''Back Road Paradise'' and ''Moving East''
Rankin released his sixth full-length album, ''Back Road Paradise
''Back Road Paradise'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian folk music artist Jimmy Rankin. It was released on April 1, 2014 on Rankin's own Song Dog label and distributed by Fontana North. The album is more country music, country than Rankin's p ...
'', produced by Bill Bell, on April 1, 2014. ''Back Road Paradise'' features 12 brand-new Rankin compositions, including lead-off single "Cool Car" and duets with Grammy winner and bluegrass icon Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...
, as well as Blue Rodeo
Blue Rodeo is a Canadian country rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, a ...
’s Jim Cuddy
James Gordon Cuddy, (born December 2, 1955) is a Canadian singer-songwriter primarily associated with the band Blue Rodeo.
Early life and education
Cuddy was born in Toronto, Ontario. His Mother Jean Cuddy was an English teacher at Monarch Pa ...
. After living and working in Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
for seven years, Rankin returned to his home province of Nova Scotia. His latest album, ''Moving East'', was produced by Joel Plaskett
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of genres ...
and was issued in September 2018. It is his first album for True North Records
True North Records is a Canadian independent record label.
History
True North Records was founded in Mississauga, Ontario in 1969 by Bernie Finkelstein. By 1971, True North was producing albums for various Canadian musicians, including Bruce Coc ...
.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Other charted songs
Music videos
Awards and nominations
References
External links
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, Jimmy
1964 births
Canadian country singer-songwriters
Canadian folk singer-songwriters
Canadian male singer-songwriters
Living people
Musicians from Nova Scotia
People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia