Cindy Church (born 1958)[1][2][3] is a Canadian country and folk artist. Church released three studio albums on Stony Plain Records and was nominated for Best Country Female Vocalist at the Juno Awards in 1995 and 1996. She is also a member of the award-winning group Quartette.

Cindy Church
Born1958 (age 65–66)
OriginBible Hill, Nova Scotia, Canada
GenresCountry, folk
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1987–present
LabelsStony Plain
Websitecindychurch.com

Early life

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Church grew up in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia.[4][5]

Biography

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In 1984, Cindy Church, along with guitarist Nathan Tinkham, joined Ian Tyson's band, the Chinook Arch Riders. Church sang background vocals on three of Tyson's albums.[6] In 1987, Church and Tinkham joined the traditional country music trio Great Western Orchestra founded by Neil Bentley, Dave Hamilton and mandolinist David Wilkie.[7] The group recorded an album for Sony Music Canada and received a 1990 Juno Award nomination for Best Country Group or Duo. Church launched a solo career in 1992 with the release of the single "The Road to Home."[8] Her second single, "A Song for Brent," was recorded in honour of Brent Berezay, who became a paraplegic following a rodeo accident.[9] Proceeds from the song went to the Song for Brent Society.

Church won Female Artist of the Year at the 1993 Alberta Country Music Awards.[10] That same year, she joined singer-songwriters Sylvia Tyson, Caitlin Hanford and Colleen Peterson to form the country and folk music group Quartette.[11][12]

Church was named best country artist at the Alberta Recording Industry Awards in 1994;[13] that year Quartette won the Canadian Country Music Association's award for Vocal Collaboration of the Year. The group received three consecutive Juno Award nominations for Best Country Group or Duo from 1995 to 1997. Peterson was forced to leave the group when she was diagnosed with cancer in 1996. She chose her friend Gwen Swick to fill in for her.

Church issued her debut solo album, Love on the Range, in 1994.[8] Included was the Top 20 single "Rockabilly Heart." She received a nomination from the Canadian Country Music Association for Female Artist of the Year, and was also nominated for Best Country Female Vocalist at the Juno Awards in 1995 and 1996.[8] Her second studio album, Just a Little Rain, was released in 1995.[14]

Church's eponymous third album was released in 1996. The album featured a duet with Ian Tyson on a song written by Tyson, "What Does She See." The collaboration resulted in a 1998 Juno Award nomination for Best Country Group or Duo. Church continues to perform as a member of Quartete, who issued their sixth studio album, Down at the Fair, in 2007. She is also a member of the group Lunch At Allen's and performs in a tribute to Hoagy Carmichael, "The Nearness of You."[15]

During the summer of 2016, Church was performing with singers Marc Jordan, Murray McLauchlan and Ian Thomas in the group Lunch At Allen's, in a number of towns and small cities in Ontario, Canada.[16] She also continued her participation in Quartette with a month-long December tour.[17]

Discography

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Albums

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Year Title
1994 Love on the Range
1995 Just a Little Rain
1996 Cindy Church
2012 Sad Songs Make Me Happy

Singles

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Year Single CAN Country Album
1992 "The Road to Home" Love on the Range
1993 "A Song for Brent" 19 Non-album song
1994 "Rockabilly Heart" 19 Love on the Range
"Love on the Range" 43
"This October Day" 32
1995 "My Wishing Room"
"Still a Fool" 40 Just a Little Rain
"Trying to Rope the Wind" 50
1996 "Never Got Over You" 60
"Sleeping Alone" 68
"Sweet Dreams of You" 72 Cindy Church
1997 "My Baby" 54
"Lover Please" 44
1998 "Wichita"
"Whispering Pines"
"—" denotes the single failed to chart or not released

References

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  1. ^ "Episode 44 Singer, Cindy Church finds creativity and meaning in both music and rug hooking". Great Beauty Everyday, Deanne Fitzpatrick. 22 March 2021
  2. ^ "Episode 77 Iconic Singer/Songwriter, Cindy Church joins us today for a special Christmas Live". Thursday Live, Deanne Fitzpatrick. 23 December 2021
  3. ^ "Cindy Church Interview". Liner Notes: Revealing Chats With Canada's Retro Music Makers, Dan Hare. 15 December 2021
  4. ^ "Airy flat hits right chord with country songstress". Toronto Star, David Hayes. 15 July 2010
  5. ^ "Cindy Church, roots queen, tries out jazz and sadness". Toronto Star, Peter Goddard. 17 October 2012
  6. ^ "CHURCH". 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  7. ^ "GWO". 6 June 2011. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Cindy Church Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  9. ^ [1] [permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "CANOE – JAM! Music – Pop Encyclopedia – Church, Cindy". Jam.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 11 July 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ John Einarson (January 2001). Desperados: The Roots of Country Rock. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 233–. ISBN 978-0-8154-1065-2.
  12. ^ Jason Schneider (15 December 2010). Whispering Pines: The Northern Roots of American Music... from Hank Snow to the Band. ECW Press. pp. 1–. ISBN 978-1-55490-552-2.
  13. ^ "Mercy - Arden collects half a dozen ARIAs". Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, Alberta, 30 May 1994, p. 12
  14. ^ Larry LeBlanc (19 August 1995). Stony Plain's Church revives folk with 'Just a Little Rain'work=Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. pp. 24–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  15. ^ "Quartette - Cindy Church". Quartette.com. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  16. ^ Doolan, Susan (10 June 2016). "Lunch At Allen's brings talented musicians back to Barrie". Barrie Examiner. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
  17. ^ "A Quartette Christmas with Sylvia Tyson and friends". Ottawa Citizen, Lynn Saxberg, 16 December 2016
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