Alannah Myles | OohYeah

Alannah MylesAlannah was born and grew up in Toronto listening to Canadian FM radio stations around the late 60's, early 70's that introduced her to more eclectic styles of music. She spent her formative years growing up between Buckhorn, Ontario where, from an early age she learned to ride horses and later competed as an equestrian in the Ontario's A Circuit, qualifying in her last junior year with her horse 'Special Delivery' for Canada's prestigious Royal Winter Fair prior to studying to become a graphic artist before deciding music would become her calling. A lucrative television commercial acting &modelling income paid for early demo tapes as she pursued Canadian record labels for a deal but things were very different in the 1980's and her international TV prevented her from being regarded by the Canadian music industry as a "real" recording artist so she independently financed a three song master with the help of FACTOR and collaborator Christopher Ward who in the beginning helped manage her career in Canada to what seemed like overnight international success.The ‘Alannah Myles’ first self titled album released in Canada in the spring of 1989 produced four Top 40 hits, “Love Is”, “Black Velvet”, “Lover of Mine”, and “Still Got This Thing”. Released internationally in 1990, Atlantic records finally hit pay dirt with her number one international smash, “Black Velvet”, winning a Grammy award for best female rock performance, along with several Canadian Juno Awards, a Diamond award for sales in excess of one million in Canada – the only artist who still retains this status for a debut record. After it’s first year of release Black Velvet received the ASCAP award for over one million radio plays and the ASCAP ‘Millionaire Award’ in 2005 for over 4 million radio plays. SOCAN in Canada awarded the songs, “Black Velvet” and “Lover Of Mine” each with an award for over 100,000 plays in Canada in 2005 with her #1 hit ‘Song Instead Of A Kiss” to follow.Her follow-up multi-platinum album, Rockinghorse (1992) received a Grammy nomination and three Canadian Juno Awards. After the sale of over eight million records, she concluded her alliance with Atlantic and signed on with Miles Copeland’s Ark 21 Records to release her fourth record Arrival (1997), which had the top 40, hit Bad 4 You. ‘The Very Best Of Alannah Myles (1999) was released on WMC and internationally on Ark 21/EMI, and re-released as ‘Myles & More’ (2000) containing hits from all four albums.Funds from an out of court settlement with a national Canadian publication afforded Alannah the luxury of spending the time required to record, executive produce and co-write 9 of the 11 tracks for 'Black Velvet' leased to an indie label in Canada which has since 2013 been terminated. The album includes a contemporary remake of her classic hit, co-produced with Torontonian Mike Borkosky and Veronica Ferraro from France, mixed by renown producer Terry Brown.The lease for Alannah's independently owned 2009 CD, 'Black Velvet' was terminated on Sept 1, 2013, repackaged, retitled '85bpm' with added tracks including an original re-record of Black Velvet. Returned master recordings of her 1997 'A Rival' CD are now distributed by tunecore.com re-released to all online digital stores with future remix plans in celebration of her 25th Anniversary.Plans to tour Europe beginning with classically orchestrated concerts backed by conductor Friedemann Riehle for the Prague Philgarmonic Orchestra beginning fall of 2015 are underway. Expect to hear more music and news in her upcoming 25th Anniversary of 'Alannah Myles'.