Rita MacNeil inducted to Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
Late singer was two-time winner of Fans' Choice Award
Rita MacNeil, the beloved Cape Breton singer who died in April, will be posthumously inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame this fall.
MacNeil, known for songs such as Working Man and Flying on Your Own, entertained audiences for more than 30 years and was the best-selling Canadian country artist of 1990 with the release of the album Rita.
Her reputation was bolstered with her CBC-TV variety series Rita and Friends, which ran from 1994 to 1997 and featured many Canadian traditional and country artists.
MacNeil earned three Juno Awards and won Fans’ Choice twice at the Canadian Country Music Association Awards.
Born in Big Pond, N.S., she was called Cape Breton's first lady of song. Her death in April prompted a collective outpouring of remembrance.
Honour set for Country Music Week
She’ll be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame during Country Music Week, which takes place Sept. 5-8 in Edmonton, ahead of the CCMA Awards ceremony.
"Both my sister Laura and myself are incredibly touched that our mother, Rita MacNeil, has been bestowed this honour by the Canadian Country Music Association," her son, Wade Langham, said in a press statement.
"Indeed, she would have been most proud to be inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. She truly lived to perform and share her music; that it touched so many people is a gift we can all cherish."
Calgary-based record executive Ed Harris will also be inducted for his 35 years as an industry builder. Currently president of High Note Marketing, which he founded in 1999, he has been a consultant to the Calgary Stampede and worked with Canadian artists such as Gord Bamford, Chris Cummings, Gil Grand and Aaron Pritchett.