Cowboy Junkies
are a Canadian alternative rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Michael (songwriter, guitarist), Margo (vocalist) and Peter Timmins (drummer), and Alan Anton (bassist).
The Junkies first performed publicly at the Beverley Tavern and other clubs in Toronto's Queen Street West, including The Rivoli. Their 1986 debut album, produced by Canadian producer Peter Moore, was the blues-inspired ''Whites Off Earth Now
|,'' recorded using an ambisonic microphone in the family garage. [1]
The group's fame spread with their second album, The Trinity Session,
recorded in 1987 at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz earned them both critical attention and a cult following. The Los Angeles Times
named the recording as one of the ten best albums of 1988.[
]
The band was nominated for Group of the Year at the Juno Awards in 1990 and 1991. In the early 1990s Margo Timmins was named "one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world" by People Magazine. The group has continued to tour North America, Europe, Japan and Australia with extensive North American and European tours following album releases in 2002 and 2004.[ In 2008, they released Trinity Revisited
in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the original recording of The Trinity Session. [2]
]
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COWBOY JUNKIES TICKETS
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History
The band was formed by three siblings from the Timmins entertainment family. Another sibling,
Cali, rose to fame as an actress on
Ryan's Hope
. (The Timmins siblings are descendants of
Noah Timmins, a mining prospector who founded the
Ontario city of
Timmins.)
Cowboy Junkies formed in
Toronto in 1985. The band's name was chosen randomly as they approached their first gig.
The Trinity Session
was recorded live on a single Calrec stereo microphone at the
Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto by producer
Peter J. Moore. This album also included a
cover of
The Velvet Underground's "
Sweet Jane" based on the
1969 Live
album version rather than the studio version from
Loaded
. The single featured in the films
Natural Born Killers
and
The Good Girl
.
None of the band's subsequent albums have been hits outside of Canada, although the band has maintained a dedicated following and have continued to have chart hits in their native country. Following their 1998 album
Miles from Our Home
, Cowboy Junkies agreed to leave Geffen Records. They have continued to release albums on their own independent label,
Latent Recordings, with distribution through other labels such as Rounder in the USA and Cooking Vinyl in the UK.
In June 2007, Cowboy Junkies performed alongside the
Boston Pops at
Boston Symphony Hall conducted by
Keith Lockhart. The program was titled Edgefest.
In 2007 they released
Trinity Revisited
, a re-recording of the album featuring guest artists
Ryan Adams,
Vic Chesnutt,
Natalie Merchant and Jeff Bird. Both the album and the film
Trinity Revisited
were filmed and produced by Pierre and François Lamoureux. On
9 November 2007,
CBC Television aired
Trinity Revisited: featuring Cowboy Junkies
, which was recorded as the band recorded the new album.
Personnel
Officially, there are four band members, all siblings except Anton, who was a member of Michael Timmins’s two previous bands as well.
- Margo Timmins (vocals)
- Michael Timmins (guitar and chief songwriter)
- Peter Timmins (drums)
- Alan Anton (bass)
Since their second album the band has performed and recorded with
Jeff Bird.
Discography
Albums
Year
| Album
| Chart Positions
| Certifications
|
CAN
| CAN Country
| UK [3]
| US
| CAN
| US
|
1986
| ''Whites Off Earth Now
| ''
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1988
| The Trinity Session
| 28
| 30
|
| 26
| 2× Platinum
| Platinum
|
1990
| The Caution Horses
| 11
|
| 33
| 47
| Platinum
|
|
1992
| Black Eyed Man
| 8
|
| 21
| 76
| Gold
|
|
1993
| Pale Sun Crescent Moon
| 25
|
|
| 114
| Gold
|
|
1995
| 200 More Miles: Live Performances 1985-1994
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1996
| Lay It Down
| 20
|
|
| 55
| Gold
|
|
Studio: Selected Studio Recordings 1986-1995
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1998
| Miles from Our Home
|
|
|
| 98
|
|
|
1999
| Rarities, B Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2000
| Waltz Across America
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2001
| Open
|
|
|
| 107
|
|
|
2002
| BBC Radio One Sessions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Open Road
(CD/DVD)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003
| In the Time Before Llamas
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2004
| One Soul Now
|
|
|
| 127
|
|
|
2005
| Early 21st Century Blues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006
| Long Journey Home (Live)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2007
| At the End of Paths Taken
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trinity Revisited
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009
| Acoustic Junk
(Limited Edition)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Singles
Year
| Single
| Chart positions
| Album
|
CAN
| CAN AC
| CAN Country
| UK
| US Modern Rock
| US Airplay
|
1989
| "Sweet Jane"
| 75
|
|
|
| 5
|
| The Trinity Session
|
"Misguided Angel"
| 24
|
| 39
|
|
|
|
"Blue Moon Revisited"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1990
| "Sun Comes Up, It's Tuesday Morning"
| 22
| 5
| 78
|
| 11
|
| The Caution Horses
|
"'Cause Cheap Is How I Feel"
| 68
| 15
| 30
|
|
|
|
"Rock and Bird"
| 34
| 11
|
|
|
|
| Non-album single; Original version from The Caution Horses
|
1992
| "Southern Rain"
| 20
| 6
|
|
|
|
| Black Eyed Man
|
"A Horse in the Country"
| 52
| 23
|
|
|
|
|
"Murder, Tonight, in the Trailer Park"
|
|
|
|
| 25
|
|
"If You Were the Woman and I Was the Man"
|
| 31
|
|
|
|
|
1993
| "Hard to Explain"
| 22
| 19
|
|
|
|
| Pale Sun Crescent Moon
|
1994
| "Anniversary Song"
| 11
| 3
|
|
| 28
|
|
"Sweet Jane" (live re-recording)
|
|
|
|
| 9
| 52
| Non-album single
|
1996
| "A Common Disaster"A
| 11
| 12
|
|
| 20
| 75
| Lay It Down
|
"Angel Mine"
| 7
| 18
|
|
|
|
|
"Speaking Confidentially"
| 34
|
|
|
|
|
|
1997
| "Come Calling"
| 67
| 35
|
|
|
|
|
1998
| "Miles From Our Home"
| 64
| 28
|
|
|
|
| Miles From Our Home
|
- A"A Common Disaster" also peaked at #11 on the Canadian Rock Singles chart.
Compilations
- It Came from Canada, Vol. 4
, 1988 ("Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis)")
- Pump Up the Volume
, 1990 ("Me and the Devil Blues")
- The Cities' Sampler Vol. 2: Collectibles
, 1990 ("Decoration Day")
- Deadicated
1991 ("To Lay Me Down")
- Born to Choose
, 1993 ("Lost My Driving Wheel")
- Upfront! Canadians Live from Mountain Stage
, 1994 ("Misguided Angel")
- Natural Born Killers
, 1994 ("Sweet Jane")
- Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute to Neil Young
, 1994 ("Tired Eyes")
- Oh What a Feeling: A Vital Collection of Canadian Music
, 1996 ("Misguided Angel")
- The Truth About Cats & Dogs
, 1996 ("Angel Mine")
- Cities' Sampler Vol. 10
, 1998 ("Miles from Our Home")
- Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons
, 1999 ("Ooh Las Vegas")
- 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10
, 2002 ("Something More Besides You")
- WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances
, 2002 ("Thousand Year Prayer")
- Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot
, 2003 ("The Way I Feel")
- This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul
, 2005 ("Run for Your Life")
- Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest
, 2008 ("Sweet Jane")
RCA Records, the band's label from 1988 to 1996, has also released two best-of albums. These were compiled without the band's approval or authorization, and Internet fansites dedicated to the band usually recommend that fans purchase
Waltz Across America
instead:
- Best of the Cowboy Junkies
, 2001
- Cowboy Junkies: The Platinum and Gold Collection
, 2003
Bibliography
XX: Lyrics and Photographs of the Cowboy Junkies, with watercolors by
Enrique Martinez Celaya. 2007. Santa Monica:
Whale & Star.
Reviews/Articles
- by Jason Gonulsen, Glide Magazine
See also
- Canadian rock
- Music of Canada
- :Category:Canadian rock music groups
- List of Canadian musicians
- List of bands from Canada
References
- Encyclopedia of Music in Canada. Cowboy Junkies. Retrieved on: September 23, 2008.
- Cowboy Junkies. Official website. Retrieved on: September 23, 2008.
- The Great Rock Discography