HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Ennis Sisters are a Canadian musical family group from St. John's,
Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
.


Biography

The Ennis Sisters, Maureen, Karen and Teresa, started playing music at a young age, encouraged by their father John and their mother Ceilie. The trio released their first album, ''Red is the Rose'', on June 25, 1997. The album sold 15,000 copies within 18 months of release, and has gone on to sell more than 40,000 units. By the end of the year, the album was named Best Folk Album by the Music Industry Association of Newfoundland & Labrador (MIA). The following year, they received Female Artists of the Year and Group of the Year awards from the MIA. The Ennis Sisters released their second album, ''Christmas on Ennis Road'', in 1998. The album also landed the girls their own
Christmas special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared in in literature and Christmas music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth of material, with both adaptation ...
on CBC, ''An Ennis Road Christmas''. In 1999,
Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
magazine named the trio one of the Top 100 young Canadians to watch. They returned to the studio to record their third album, ''Three'', in 2000. The same year, they received an
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 ...
(ECMA) award for Album of the Year. The album was also named Album of the Year by the MIA. In the spring of 2000, the group signed with
Natalie MacMaster Natalie MacMaster (born June 13, 1972) is a Canadian fiddler from Troy, Inverness County, Nova Scotia who plays Cape Breton fiddle music. MacMaster has toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana, and Alison Krauss, and has recorded ...
's manager Andre Bourgeois. The group worked with Bourgeois from 2000 until late 2003. At the 2001 ECMA Awards in
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 ...
, held on February 11, the girls were named Roots/Traditional Group of the Year. That same weekend, The Ennis Sisters received a two-album record deal from
Warner Music Canada Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...
. They began recording their major label debut with producer Tim Thorney at Great Big Music Studios. The Ennis Sisters' fourth album, simply titled ''The Ennis Sisters'', was released on October 9, 2001. The first single, "It's Not About You," reached the top 5 on Canadian Country Radio, and the top 10 on Canadian adult contemporary radio. The video was played on both
MuchMoreMusic M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic with ...
and CMT in Canada. In 2002, Maureen won the
Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada 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 ...
(SOCAN) award for top grossing Canadian Country Song of the Year for the album's second single, "I'd Never Walk Away." That same year, the Ennis' won a
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 ...
for Best New Country Artist/Group. They were once again named Group of the Year at the 2002 ECMA Awards. In August 2002, they signed a distribution deal with
Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...
to re-release their latest album in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The album, now titled ''It's Not About You'', was released on April 15, 2003. Meanwhile, they released their fifth album in Canada, ''Can't Be the Same'', on November 18, 2003. That 2003 release went on to win the 2004 ECMA Award for Best Roots/Traditional Group Recording. The Ennis Sisters released the album, ''Be Here for a While'', in 2007. Youngest Ennis sister, Teresa Ennis, plans release of new recording, 'Space',
late in summer 2007. The project is not intended to be a departure from the group but a side project recorded during down time between work with the group.


Discography


Albums


Singles


Music videos


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ennis Sisters, The 1997 establishments in Newfoundland and Labrador Family musical groups Canadian country music groups Canadian folk music groups Canadian pop music groups Musical groups from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Juno Award winners