New book explores lives of Nova Scotia musicians

A Nova Scotia author is chronicling the lives and careers of six local musicians in a new book.

Charlie Rhindress’s book “Nova Scotia’s Stars of Song” examines the works of Anne Murray, Portia White, Carroll Baker, Rita MacNeil, Holly Cole and Sarah McLachlan.

“I do have stories basically from how they started in Nova Scotia, how Nova Scotia impacted their careers and then what they went on to do,” Rhindress told CTV News Atlantic’s Katie Kelly. “I grew up in the late 70s and early 80s, and it just seemed like two of the biggest female stars in Canada were both from Nova Scotia.

“This was before Shania Twain or Alanis Morissette or Celine Dion. Carol and Anne ruled the airwaves.”

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As part of his research, Rhindress explored old interviews, looked up newspaper articles, listened to a lot of music and in some cases interviewed the artists themselves.

“I knew Rita MacNeil because she worked on the play about her life with me back in 2000,” he said. “I feel so lucky. I got to sit in the Tea Room with Rita MacNeil reviewing my play, which was telling her life story.”

Through his research, Rhindress found a common theme among the artists.

“A number of things came up repeatedly and one of them was they all felt like an outsider and the music is something that made them feel like they belonged,” he said. “Sarah McLachlan had a fairly rough childhood and her teen years were hard and she’s sneak away to the gym and play piano at lunchtime. Rita McNeil got picked on because of her cleft palate and so she’d sneak into the woods and sing to the trees.

“Even Anne Murray said it helped her self-esteem.”

Rhindress hopes the book inspires readers to revisit these musicians or even listen to them for the first time.

“I’m hoping that people will read these stories, learn something new, be inspired by them and maybe go back to the music,” he said.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.