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 ...
singer-songwriter, whose humorous and satirical songs on political and social topics were a regular feature on
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
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.
Background
Originally from
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
,
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
, White was educated at
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
. She began her career as a journalist in Charlottetown and Halifax, occasionally performing her comedic songs at coffeehouse nights, and began pursuing music and theatre more actively after moving to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
in 1970.
Career
In Toronto she performed in a theatrical production of ''
Under Milk Wood
''Under Milk Wood'' is a 1954 radio drama by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, commissioned by the BBC and later adapted for the stage. A film version, ''Under Milk Wood'' directed by Andrew Sinclair, was released in 1972, and another adaptation of ...
'', originated the role of
Ophelia
Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...
in Cliff Jones's musical '' Rockabye Hamlet'' (originally known as ''Kronborg: 1582''), and was a co-creator and star of the musical revues ''Hey Seester, You Want My Sailor?'' and ''Ice Folly''. Beginning in 1976 she was a regular contributor of comedic songs to CBC Radio's ''Sunday Morning'', frequently appearing on the program until she was dropped as part of a revamp of the program's format in 1994.
In 1978 she released ''Civil Service Songwriter'', her debut album as a recording artist. She has since released numerous other albums, blending both her comedic songs and forays into more serious songwriting.
She created a number of works with comedian
Gay Claitman Gay Claitman is a Canadian sketch comedian and writer, who won two ACTRA Awards for Radio Variety Performance and Radio Variety Writing at the 8th ACTRA Awards in 1979 for her work with Nancy White and Robert Cameron on the radio play ''Lies My Mot ...
, including the radio play ''Lies My Mother Told Me'', the short run comedy series ''Gee, That's a Cute Dress Marjene'', and the stage comedy revue ''Little Pink Lies''. She won two
ACTRA Award
The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.
North Bay Nugget
The ''North Bay Nugget'' is a newspaper published in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The paper is currently owned by Postmedia.
The paper was launched in 1907 as the ''Cobalt Nugget'', during the silver boom at Cobalt, Ontario. It was acquired by bus ...
'', April 5, 1979.
Following her departure from ''Sunday Morning'' in 1994, she was an occasional contributor to CBC's weekend pop culture magazine ''
Definitely Not the Opera
''Definitely Not the Opera'' (or simply ''DNTO'') was a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture and storytelling, that aired on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons from 1994 until 2016. The show's running time varied ove ...
'' and the
CTV Television Network
The CTV Television Network, commonly known as CTV, is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. Launched in 1961 and acquired by BCE Inc. in 2000, CTV is Canada's largest privately owned television network and is now a divis ...
's newsmagazine series '' W5'', and performed on tour with the political comedy duo
Double Exposure
In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...
.
She was one of the writers, with Bob Johnston and Jeff Hochhauser, of the musical '' Anne & Gilbert'', based on the
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. She ...
books ''
Anne of Avonlea
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
'' and ''
Anne of the Island
''Anne of the Island'' is the third book in the ''Anne of Green Gables'' series, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery about Anne Shirley.
''Anne Of the Island'' is the third book of the eight-book sequels written by L. M. Montgomery, about Anne Shirley ...
''.
Personal life
She was formerly married to the composer and keyboardist Doug Wilde. Their daughters, Suzy and Maddy Wilde, are also singers, Suzy in the glam folk band StoneFox and in Flashlight Radio (with Ben Whitely), and Maddy in the indie rock band
Spiral Beach
Spiral Beach was a Canadian indie rock band, formed in Toronto, active from 2003 to 2009. The group consisted of vocalist and guitarist Airick Woodhead, vocalist and keyboardist Maddy Wilde, bassist Dorian Wolf and drummer Daniel Woodhead.
Histo ...
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'', September 19, 2012.
Discography
Albums
* ''Civil Service Songwriter'' (1978)
* ''Sort of Political''
* ''What Should I Wear to the Revolution'' (1982)
* ''Unexpected'' (1983)
* ''The Sunday Morning Tapes'' (1984)
* ''Unimpeachable'' (1987)
* ''Bimbolandia'' (1988)
* ''Momnipotent: Songs for Weary Parents'' (1990, Mouton)
* ''Pumping Irony'' (1993, CBC/Mouton)
* ''Homely for the Holidays'' (1994)
* ''Songs of the Spanish Civil War'' (1994)
* ''Gaelic Envy and Other Torch Songs'' (1998, Borealis)
* ''Unexpected'' (CD re-release 2001, Borealis)
* ''Stickers on Fruit'' (2002, Borealis)