Shirley Rose Eikhard (7 November 1955 – 15 December 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter. Although moderately successful in Canada as a performer in her own right, she had her greatest Canadian and international success as a songwriter for other artists, most notably as the writer of

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated ...

's 1991 hit " Something to Talk About".David Friend
"Canadian songwriter Shirley Eikhard, who penned ‘Something to Talk About,’ dies at 67"
''

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 ...

'', December 15, 2022.

Early life

Eikhard was born in

Sackville, New Brunswick Sackville is a town in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It is home to Mount Allison University, a primarily undergraduate liberal arts university. Historically based on agriculture, shipbuilding, and manufacturing, the economy is now driven ...

.Cheryl Gillard
"Shirley Eikhard"
''

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 ...

'', September 4, 2013. Her mother, June Eikhard (born Marguerite Cameron in Moncton) began her musical career with her husband, Eikhard's late father, bassist Cecil Eikhard, in the 1950s when both parents were members of a small local band, the Tantramar Ramblers. Her mother, June, released her debut album, ''Canada's First Lady of the Fiddle'', in 1959, and was the first woman to participate in the Canadian Open Old Time Fiddlers' Contest. The family relocated to

Oshawa, Ontario Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

, when Eikhard was in her early teens. She was given her first guitar at age 11, and at age 12 she first performed on stage at a fiddling festival in

Cobourg, Ontario Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It i ...

Career

At age 13, following her debut performance in Cobourg, Eikhard successfully auditioned for the Songwriter's Workshop at the 1969

Mariposa Folk Festival Mariposa Folk Festival is a Canadian music festival founded in 1961 in Orillia, Ontario. It was held in Orillia for three years before being banned because of disturbances by festival-goers. After being held in various places in Ontario for a f ...

where she played alongside

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 ...

Ian & Sylvia Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959 (full-time in 1961), married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975. Hi ...

, and

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, po ...

. Two years later, when she was 15, her song " It Takes Time" was recorded by

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

and became a hit in Canada. The song was also recorded by

Kim Carnes Kim Carnes (; born July 20, 1945) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began her career as a songwriter in the 1960s, writing for other artists while performing in local clubs and working as a sess ...

for her 1971 album ''

Rest on Me ''Rest on Me'' is the first studio album by Kim Carnes. It was released in 1971 (see 1971 in music) on Amos Records and reissued on A&M Records in the late 1970s. The album (minus the opening song) was also released on CD on many European budget ...

''. In 1972, Earl Ball of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

was alerted to her growing reputation and signed her to the label. She released her first album, ''Shirley Eikhard'', which was moderately successful and won Eikhard two

Juno Awards 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 ...

for Country Female Artist of the Year at both the

Juno Awards of 1973 The Juno Awards of 1973, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 12 March 1973 in Toronto at a ceremony at the Inn on the Park's Centennial ballroom. Approximately 1500 people attended this event wh ...

and the

Juno Awards of 1974 The Juno Awards of 1974, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 25 March 1974 in Toronto at a ceremony at the Inn on the Park's Centennial ballroom hosted by George Wilson of CFRB radio's ''Starlig ...

. After a three-year career break, she returned to recording and released three albums for

Attic Records Attic Records was a Canadian independent record label,Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham (born October 3, 1949) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the lead guitarist and male lead vocalist of the band Fleetwood Mac from 1975 to 1987 and 1997 to 2018. In addition to his tenure with Fl ...

’s "Don’t Let Me Down" and

Christine McVie Christine Anne McVie (; née Perfect; 12 July 1943 – 30 November 2022) was an English musician and songwriter. She was best known as keyboardist and one of the vocalists of the band Fleetwood Mac. McVie was a member of several bands, nota ...

’s " Say You Love Me". "Say You Love Me" was released as a single several weeks in advance of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

in early June 1976. Eikhard took the song into the Canadian top 40, peaking at No. 34; Fleetwood Mac's version, released only a few weeks later, peaked at No. 29 in September. In 1981,

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

recorded Eikhard's "Good News", later also releasing a version of Eikhard’s "Maybe Tonight". Through the 1980s, she battled both stage fright and throat problems, and was advised by her doctor that she should stop performing in clubs due to an allergy to

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

smoke.Peter Feniak, "Attempting a comeback to Talk About". ''

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 ...

'', August 5, 1995. Following her 1987 album ''Taking Charge'' for

WEA Records Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

, a period which she would later describe as the nadir of her life, her prominence in the music industry had significantly declined, and she had started to pursue background extra work in film and television to support herself. By 1989, however, the tide began to turn for her as a songwriter again, with singers such as

Rita Coolidge Rita Coolidge (born May 1, 1945) is an American recording artist. During the 1970s and 1980s, her songs were on '' Billboard'' magazine's pop, country, adult contemporary, and jazz charts, and she won two Grammy Awards with fellow musician and t ...

and

Alannah Myles Alannah Myles (née Byles; born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for the song " Black Velvet". The song was a top-ten hit in Canada; it was also a number one hit on the US ''Billboar ...

recording Eikhard songs. Anne Murray had wanted to record Eikhard's "Something to Talk About" in 1985, but the song was rejected by her producers; despite the song not being on Murray's album, it was still titled '' Something to Talk About''. In 1991,

recorded the song and released it as the lead-off single for her album '' Luck of the Draw''. The biggest chart hit for both Eikhard and Raitt, the song had significant airplay throughout the 1990s. The song earned Raitt a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1991, with the album earning Raitt a second Grammy that year. In Canada, "Something to Talk About" earned Eikhard a Juno nomination as Songwriter of the Year at the

Juno Awards of 1992 The Juno Awards of 1992, representing Canadian music industry achievements of the previous year, were awarded on 29 March 1992 in Toronto at a ceremony in the O'Keefe Centre. Rick Moranis was the host for the ceremonies, which were broadcast on C ...

, and later a SOCAN Classics award. Although she toured earlier in her career, Eikhard later refrained from exhaustive touring. She performed at selected events and occasional club dates, often with her brother, the late Brent Eikhard. In the early 1990s, she performed with

Gwen Swick Gwen may refer to: * Gwen (given name), including a list of people with the name * ''Gwen, or the Book of Sand'', a 1985 animated film * Gwen (film), a 2018 horror film * Tropical Storm Gwen, several storms with the name Acronyms * AN/URC-117 Grou ...

and Cherie Camp in the trio The Three Marias; her songs were also recorded by artists such as Quartette ("It's Just a Little Rain") and

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

("Born with the Hunger"). She sang the theme song to the movie ''

The Passion of Ayn Rand ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'' is a biography of Ayn Rand by writer and lecturer Barbara Branden, a former friend and business associate. Published by Doubleday in 1986, it was the first full-length biography of Rand and the basis for the 1999 f ...

'', "Love Is, Love Is Not". "Lovers Forever", a song she originally wrote with Cher for the 1994 film ''

Interview with the Vampire ''Interview with the Vampire'' is a gothic horror and vampire novel by American author Anne Rice, published in 1976. It was her debut novel. Based on a short story Rice wrote around 1968, the novel centers on vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac ...

'', is featured on Cher's 2013 studio album ''

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''. In 1995, she recorded a new album, ''If I Had My Way'', co-produced with her long-standing keyboard player

Evelyne Datl Evelyne Datl is a Canadian musician, record producer, and composer of music for film and television. Datl has played piano/ keyboards in live performance and on recordings of many award-winning Canadian artists, notably Shirley Eikhard, Alannah M ...

. She also contributed the theme song to a new Warner Brothers film, '' Something to Talk About''. In the late 1990s she started to record and perform

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

, releasing the albums ''The Jazz Sessions'' (1996) and ''Going Home'' (1998),John Goddard, "TV special has Eikhard singing". ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...

'', September 12, 1998. headlining her own concert special in 1998 as an episode of

Bravo! CTV Drama Channel (formerly known as Bravo) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel was founded as the Canadian version of the U.S. channel Bravo (which is now owned by NBCUniversal) on January 1, 1995 b ...

's ''Live at the Rehearsal Hall''. In 2020, Eikhard was inducted into the

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (''Panthéon des Auteurs et Compositeurs canadiens'') is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categori ...

for "Something to Talk About". Eikhard released her final album, ''On My Way to You'' in October 2021. It featured the song "Anything Is Possible", about her recent diagnosis with cancer.

Personal life

Eikhard's partner, Lola Catherine Osborne, died in 2021. Eikhard lived in Harriston, Ontario. Eikhard died of cancer in

Orangeville, Ontario Orangeville (Canada 2016 Census 28,900) is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County. History The first patent of land was issued to Ezekiel Benson, a land surveyor, on August 7, 1820. That was followed by land ...

on 15 December 2022, at the age of 67.

Awards and recognition

*1973: winner, Juno Award for Best Country Female Artist *1974: winner, Juno Award for Best Country Female Artist *1992: nominee,

Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year The Juno Award for "Songwriter of the Year" has been awarded since 1971, as recognition each year for the best songwriter in Canada. It was also known as the Juno Award for "Composer of the Year" from 1975 to 1990. Formerly presented for a single ...

*2020: inducted, Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Shirley Eikhard official site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eikhard, Shirley 1955 births 2022 deaths Attic Records (Canada) artists Canadian women country singers Canadian country singer-songwriters Juno Award winners Musicians from Sackville, New Brunswick Musicians from Oshawa Writers from New Brunswick Writers from Ontario 20th-century Canadian women singers 20th-century Canadian writers 21st-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian writers LGBT singers from Canada Canadian women pop singers Canadian women jazz singers