Rita MacNeil’s “Flying On Your Own” has been treated to a cover by Jenn Grant–the third in Grant collection of self-producer covers of Canadian classics–marking both the anniversary of MacNeil’s passing and the announcement that MacNeil is being celebrated as the latest inductee to the Canadian Songwriters Hall.
Grant describes the cover as a heartfelt ode, relating the song to her own childhood experience of witnessing her mother venture off into a new life with a move to Nova Scotia to study nursing.
“There was no one she knew waiting for her there. But a determined energy to ‘fly on her own.’ I have found, as we all do I think, that it takes a while before you see your parents as real ‘people’. I am about the same age as she was then, when she summoned the courage to just keep going,” says Grant.
“There were also some musical tapes that were played so often around that time that the song titles would wear themselves right off the cassette. She loved Rita MacNeil. Who wouldn’t? What a spirit. What a fighter. Besides making a name for herself as the top-selling country artist in Canada that year – from Big Pond, Cape Breton to Toronto, then to Ottawa, on her own- with her kids after leaving her husband and following her dream.
“From feeling like she had no voice, to becoming the voice for women, in a time of roaring independence. Rita was sweet, seemingly soft-spoken until you heard her sing. Until her voice would shake the ground. I would not be where I am today without women like Rita, and my mother, who taught me that the power of strength to rise up and be strong is within us all. This recording and video are a tribute to them, and to any human who has felt the fight and is still fighting.”
“Flying On Your Own,” the single, as well as her 1986 debut album with Virgin Records of the same name, was MacNeil’s first major commercial success. The album went double-platinum and won MacNeil her first JUNO Award in 1987 as Most Promising Female Vocalist.
“Through her lyrics and songwriting, Rita allowed us into her heart and soul,” said Vanessa Thomas, Executive Director of the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“The love between songwriter and audience was mutual. Rita didn’t sing to people, she sang for people; and her audiences, in return, gave her strength to overcome her shyness and stage anxiety. There are few artists who have such an intimate and authentic connection with their fans, and that bond lives on through her songs.”
Over the course of her lifetime, MacNeil was honoured with SOCAN’s National Achievement Award in 2019, 11 East Coast Music Awards, and an ECMA Lifetime Achievement Award. She was also named to the Order of Canada and the Order of Nova Scotia and was inducted posthumously to the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
MacNeil is once again being celebrated with a permanent place in the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame at the National Music Centre in Calgary and will be the subject of a special tribute at the 2021 East Coast Music Award in MacNeil’s hometown of Sydney, Nova Scotia. The induction presentation on May 6th will include a musical tribute performed by a cast of former bandmates, friends and more.