The Wilkinsons were a Canadian

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, ...

trio from

Belleville, Ontario Belleville is a city in Ontario, Canada situated on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, located at the mouth of the Moira River and on the Bay of Quinte. Belleville is between Ottawa and Toronto, along the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. Its populat ...

. Founded in 1997, the group consisted of lead singer Amanda Wilkinson, her brother Tyler Wilkinson, and their father, Steve Wilkinson. The Wilkinsons achieved success late in 1998 with the hit single " 26 Cents", a Number One on the Canadian country music charts and Top 5 hit on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. It was followed by " Fly (The Angel Song)", also a No. 1 in Canada. A second album, '' Here and Now'', produced the group's last American top 40 hit in "Jimmy's Got a Girlfriend". Afterward, the trio recorded three more albums, one of which was not released, and a Greatest Hits package.

History

Beginnings

Steve Wilkinson was born on August 18, 1955, in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Before the country trio was formed, he was struggling financially after he lost his job at a nuclear power plant due to downsizing. He took menial jobs in order to provide for his family, but his real passion was music. They signed to Giant Records in 1998.

Breakthrough

The Wilkinsons' first album, '' Nothing But Love'', reached No. 16 on the '' Billboard'' Top Country Albums charts in 1998. The trio was nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award and Vocal Group of the Year and for Single of the Year by the

Academy of Country Music Awards The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academ ...

. Their second album, '' Here and Now'', won the

Canadian Country Music Association The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a gr ...

award for Best Album. The band has received nine Canadian Country Music Awards, one Juno Award and two Grammy nominations (both for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group).

Move to BNA Records

In 2001, Giant closed its Nashville division while "I Wanna Be That Girl" was climbing, leading to the band's third Giant album (''Shine'') not being released. Shortly thereafter, the trio was signed to

BNA Records BNA Records, formerly known as BNA Entertainment, was a label group that shared ties with Arista Nashville and RCA Nashville from parent company Sony Music Nashville, which itself is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Based in Nashville, ...

. Weeks before the release of their first single for BNA, the label's president wanted Amanda to record a solo album, which would ultimately disband the trio. The trio eventually left the label and signed with the independent Canadian label Open Road Records for their 2005 album, ''

Highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-acces ...

''.

Solo work

Amanda Wilkinson signed with

Universal South Records Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...

and released her solo debut album, ''Amanda Wilkinson''. Amanda received four nominations at the 2006

Canadian Country Music Awards The Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) was founded in 1976 as the Academy of Country Music Entertainment to organize, promote and develop a Canadian country music industry. The groundwork for the association began on June 3rd, 1973 when a g ...

(Single of the Year, CMT Video of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year). Tyler started the

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band Motion Picture Ending. The band was composed of drummer and long-time friend Justin Devries, bassist Curtis Weekes, guitarist Greg Bolton, with Tyler as lead vocalist and guitarist.

''Greatest Hits… and Then Some''

In 2007, The Wilkinsons won Independent Group of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards. '' Greatest Hits… and Then Some'', a

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

album, was released on October 7, 2008. The first single, "When I'm Old", was released in mid 2008.

Small Town Pistols

In the late 2000s, the Wilkinsons disbanded. Amanda and Tyler founded a new duo called Small Town Pistols in 2012.

Reality television

The Wilkinsons were also the subject of a fictionalized reality television, "reality" television program on the

CMT Canada CMT is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which owns a controlling 90% interest) and Paramount Networks Americas (which owns the remaining 10%), owners of the flagship CMT channe ...

network, ''The Wilkinsons''. The show follows the family as they move back to The Quinte Area,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. In 2006, the show was nominated for Country Music Program or Special of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards.

Discography

* '' Nothing but Love'' (1998) * '' Here and Now'' (2000) * '' Shine'' (2001 - Shelved album) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Home'' (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinsons, The Canadian country music groups Family musical groups Participants in Canadian reality television series Vocal trios Canadian musical trios BNA Records artists Giant Records (Warner) artists Juno Award winners Canadian Country Music Association Rising Star Award winners Canadian Country Music Association Single of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Song of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Group or Duo of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Album of the Year winners Canadian Country Music Association Fans' Choice Award winners