Dianne Leigh (born , sometimes spelled as Diane Leigh) 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 ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

performer. She was the first recipient of the Gold Leaf Award (later the

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 ...

s) in 1970. In 1994, music trade publication ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' considered her the ninth top Canadian country artist of the past 30 years based on her standings in the publication's charts. Leigh recorded in the late 1960s for the American label

Chart Records Chart Records was a country music record label of the 1960s, best known for turning Lynn Anderson into a major country star. It was owned by Slim Williamson. The label was founded in 1964. Among the artists who recorded at one time for the la ...

but failed to make the US charts with any single releases. Her Canadian hits "The Wife You Save May Be Your Own" (written by

Liz Anderson Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Pu ...

) and "I'm Gonna Let George Do It" are featured in the 1969 Chart compilation album ''Best of Our Country Girls'' with additional tracks by

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...

, Maxine Brown,

Connie Eaton Connie Eaton (March 1, 1950 – September 30, 1999) was a country music singer. Eaton was a native of Nashville, Tennessee and began her recording career as a teenager in the late 1960s, recording for Chart Records. Chart was the label that est ...

, and

LaWanda Lindsey LaWanda Lindsey (born January 12, 1953) is an American country music singer. Born in Tampa, Florida, United States, she began her career at age 14 and had her first nationally charted record at age 16 with "Partly Bill". She was one of several ...

. In the 1970s, she was a co-host on the

CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero (company), Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Ham ...

series ''The Harry Hibbs Show'' and also recorded for

Ray Griff John Raymond David Griff (April 22, 1940 – March 9, 2016) was a Canadian country music singer and songwriter, born in Vancouver and raised in Toronto. His songwriting credits reached over 2500 songs, many of which were recorded by Nashville's t ...

's Global Television series.

Awards and recognition

* 1965: ''

'' Awards, top country female singer * 1970: Gold Leaf Award, Best Country Female Artist * 1971: nominated,

, Best Country Female Artist * 1974: nominated,

, Best Country Female Artist * 2015:

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame The Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame honours Canadian country music artists, builders or broadcasters, living or deceased. The artifact collection includes extensive biographical information on the inductees. It is located in downtown Merritt, ...

inductee

Singles

References

1940s births Canadian women country singers Canadian women singers Juno Award winners Living people Musicians from Toronto {{Canada-singer-stub