Megon McDonough (formerly Megan McDonough) is an American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

singer-songwriter and actress, from

Crystal Lake, Illinois Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County in the U.S. state of Illinois. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is 45 miles northwest of Chicago. The population is 40,269 as of the 2020 Census, a 1.2% decrease from 201 ...

. After her early solo recording career brought national attention, she became a founding member of Four Bitchin' Babes, performing and recording with them from 1990 to 2001 and then resuming her solo work. McDonough wrote her first song at age 11 and had her first record deal by the time she was 14, securing the deal after winning a local "Big Break" talent contest sponsored by local radio station WLS. The label was

Wooden Nickel In the United States, a wooden nickel is a wooden token coin, usually issued by a merchant or bank as a promotion, sometimes redeemable for a specific item such as a drink. Scrip and tokens have often been issued locally in times of severe econ ...

, and she released four albums between 1972 and 1974. By age 17, she was the opening act for

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

. She also opened for acts such as

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominate ...

and

Harry Chapin Harold Forster Chapin (; December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and hunger activist best known for his folk rock and pop rock songs. He achieved worldwide success in the 1970s. Chapin, a Grammy ...

. McDonough played

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

in the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

''Always...Patsy Cline''. She wrote and performed a one-woman cabaret show, ''An Interesting Bunch of Gals'', in which she pays tribute to eight artists who influenced her, including

Édith Piaf Édith Piaf (, , ; born Édith Giovanna Gassion, ; December 19, 1915– October 10, 1963) was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars. Pia ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

, and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

. In 1993, McDonough also played the singing voice for actress

Jennie Garth Jennifer Eve Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Taylor throughout the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and Val Tyler on the sitcom '' What I Like About You'' (2002–06). In 2012, she starre ...

during the performance of the song ''Timeless Love'' in the made-for-TV movie Danielle Steel's Star.

Discography

Her first name was spelled "Megan" on her earlier albums, changing to "Megon" with ''Day by Day''. * ''In the Megan Manner'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1972 Wooden Nickel album # WNS-1004) * ''Megan Music'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1972 Wooden Nickel album # WNS-1007) * ''Keepsake'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1973 Wooden Nickel album # BWL1-0145) * ''Sketches'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1974 Wooden Nickel album # BWL1-0499) * ''If I Could Only Reach You'' (unknown release year – privately released songs from late 1970s pop-country era while playing college campuses and Chicago clubs) * ''Day by Day (1989)'' * ''American Girl (1990)'' * ''Blue Star Highway (1993)'' * ''My One and Only Love (1996)'' * ''4+1 (2002)'' * ''The Patsy Project (2002)'' (with Don Stiernberg) * ''Spirits in the Material World (2006)''

References

External links

* * AllMusic.com discography, including hotlinks to Charles Donovan's reviews of the early Wooden Nickel label albums
Wooden Nickel album Discography, including some obscure album producer details
American women singers American folk musicians Singers from Chicago 1950s births Living people Four Bitchin' Babes members Singer-songwriters from Illinois {{US-singer-songwriter-stub