When she took off, and she really took off from Expo ’86, the band was large and the productions were huge and layered. It was a change for her-that ended up being a smaller band than she was accustomed to. It was something that was born out of trust and Rita liking what we were doing. One of the things I respect about her most of all is the fact that she pretty much left it to us, let us do our own thing with her music, which was amazing. Pianist Kim Dunn, who played in MacNeil’s band from 1999 until her death in 2013, on how the singer turned shyness into strength and endeared audiences to an unlikely superstar: An East Coast legend, MacNeil was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1992, and received the Order of Nova Scotia in 2005.
#RITA MACNEIL SINGER TV#
I never heard a song quite like it.” She went on to become a fixture on the Canadian music scene, releasing 24 albums between 19, appearing on her own TV show, Rita and Friends, and picking up three JUNO awards along the way.
When Globe and Mail writer Rod Mickleburgh saw her on Canada Day, 1986, performing “Working Man,” he was forever changed: “There probably wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” he said. Her ability to connect emotionally through song made her beloved by audiences. Despite suffering from chronic stage fright, MacNeil became a fixture in the public mind after a six-week run of shows at Expo ’86 garnered increasingly strong reviews. She’d carry that mode of expression with her-along with tales of the working class-throughout the rest of her career. Born and raised in Cape Breton, MacNeil was a gifted singer from early on, moving to Toronto at 17 where she was inspired by the women’s movement to sing protest songs at folk clubs. Cape Breton’s “first lady of song” may best be remembered for a singing voice that could shake the rafters, but it was her soft-spoken nature and determination to overcome paralyzing shyness that endeared her to legions of fans.
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