Robbie MacNeill
Robbie MacNeill | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1946/1947 (age 74–75) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Surveyor, guitarist, singer-songwriter |
Robbie MacNeill (age 74–75[1]) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he attended Queen Elizabeth High School.[1] He studied engineering at Dalhousie University for two years, and then went to Toronto to work as a surveyor in 1964.[1]
He is a guitarist and singer-songwriter who performed on CBC's Singalong Jubilee,[2] and worked as musical director on John Allan Cameron's series on CTV.[2] He has also performed at music festivals such as the Home County Folk Festival in London, Ontario[2] the Vancouver Folk Music Festival[3] and the Coffee House at the Coming Home to Brookfield annual celebration, in Brookfield, Nova Scotia.[1] He was also the Music arranger and conductor for the popular group The Privateers, billed as Eastern Canada's Only Professional Fork Chorus, in the late sixties to early 70's.
He was a member of the trio Country Fair (which later became Graham County), with Toronto singer-songwriter Don Graham.[4]
In Anne Murray's autobiography All of Me, she said of MacNeill: "... in addition to being a fine guitar player was a wonderful songwriter. To this day his 'A Million More' is one of my favourite songs." In 1967, the two met as performers on Singalong Jubilee and toured the Maritimes as a duo under her name. Their first show together was at a high school in Nova Scotia. They played weekend shows at small venues such as The Monterey (Halifax, NS), The Prince Edward Lounge (Charlottetown, PEI), Wong's (Antigonish, NS), and the Colonial Inn (Amherst, NS).[5] Anne Murray released singles he wrote, including "Robbie's Song for Jesus"[1] and "A Million More."[6]. She also covered Let Sunshine Have Its Day, Lullaby and Sleep Child.
He often performed live with John Allan Cameron and the Ottawa Citizen wrote that, "Robbie MacNeill opened the second half. He is the essence of the good contemporary folk singer. His voice is clear and distinctive, and his solo guitar is all the accompaniment he needs. He wrote the songs he sang, including Sunshine Love and Evangeline - the beautifully haunting love song he nostalgically wrote for Nova Scotia before moving from Halifax to Toronto two years ago."[7]. Evangeline was also covered by Stan Rogers (From Coffee House to Concert Hall), Raffi (Adult Entertainment) and published in Coast to Coast Fever.[8]
References[]
- ^ a b c d e Carter, Lyle (August 11, 2015). "Talented musician". Truro Daily News.
- ^ a b c A Festival Who's Who: Home County Folk Festival, London, Canada, 1976. London, Ontario: Home County Folk League. 1976.
- ^ "1978 Artists". Vancouver Folk Music Festival. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ Longwell, Karen (October 23, 2011). "Country rock musician set to perform in Port Hope". NorthumberlandNews.com. Metroland Media Group Ltd. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ Murray, Anne; Posner, Michael (2010). All of Me. Toronto: Vintage Canada. pp. 55. ISBN 9780307398451.
- ^ Murray, Anne; Posner, Michael (2010). All of Me. Toronto: Vintage Canada. pp. 181. ISBN 9780307398451.
- ^ "Ottawa Citizen - Google News Archive Search".
- ^ "Coast to coast fever".
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