Laura Vinson (born May 23, 1947) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

folk and country singer-songwriter.Laura Vinson
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

'', July 29, 2007. Prominent in the 1970s and 1980s as a mainstream country performer, in recent years she has concentrated primarily on recording and performing

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

and

Métis The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...

music.

Biography

She is of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

and

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

descent. Vinson was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

and raised in Brule. She is a direct descendant of

Tête Jaune Pierre Bostonais or Pierre Hastination (died 1828), better known as Tête Jaune, was an Iroquois (Haudenosaunee)-Métis trapper, fur trader, and explorer who worked for the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company during the 18th and 19th centuri ...

, a fur trader who played a prominent role in the early development of the Canadian West. She began her music career performing folk music with Bob Ruzicka and rock music with the band Bitter Suite, before turning to country music in 1973 with the band Red Wyng. She released a number of albums on

R. Harlan Smith Robert Harlan Smith (born November 6, 1939 in Central Butte, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian country music singer, record producer and record label executive.Royalty Records Royalty Records is a Canadian country music record label and distributor established in 1974."Surprise music industry award leaves Smith speechless". '' Edmonton Journal'', October 5, 2004. Royalty artists * Roy Acuff * After Tuesday * Colin ...

, and scored hit singles with songs such as "Sweet Mountain Music", "Sun Always Shines", "Mes amis O Canada", "Crazy Heart" and "In My Dreams". In 1989, she performed on ''Indian Time'', a television special devoted to

indigenous music of Canada Indigenous music of Canada encompasses a wide variety of musical genres created by Indigenous peoples in Canada, Aboriginal Canadians. Before European settlers came to what is now Canada, the region was occupied by many First Nations in Canada, Fi ...

. Afterward, she began concentrating more strongly on music that reflected her indigenous heritage, releasing several further albums of First Nations and Métis music independently with the band Free Spirit.

Awards and honours

She was a two-time

Juno Award The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...

nominee for Most Promising Female Vocalist at the

Juno Awards of 1980 The Juno Awards of 1980, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 2 April 1980 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by Burton Cummings at the Harbour Castle Hilton.Krewen (2010), p. 38. CBC Television b ...

and the

Juno Awards of 1981 The Juno Awards of 1981, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 5 February 1981 in Toronto at a ceremony hosted by multiple co-presenters at the O'Keefe Centre. The first co-hosts were Andrea Marti ...

,"Vinson going to Junos 'for fun'". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 28, 1981. and a four-time Juno nominee for Country Female Vocalist of the Year at the Juno Awards of 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1985."Hart challenges Adams in Juno race". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', November 4, 1985.

Discography

*''First Flight'' (1978) *''High Fashion Queen'' (1980) *''Hootch, Heartache and Hallelujah'' (1981) *''Adios Mexico'' (1984) *''Many Moons Ago'' (1986) *''The Spirit Sings'' (1989) *''Rise Like a Phoenix'' (1991) *''Voices on the Wind'' (1995) *''Point of the Arrow'' (1999) *''It Reminds Me'' (2000) *''Mossbag Lullaby'' (2006) *''Warrior'' (2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vinson, Laura 1947 births Living people Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian women singer-songwriters Canadian women country singers Musicians from Edmonton Métis musicians Canadian Métis people 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers