Alannah Myles facts for kids

Alannah Myles (born December 25, 1958) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is famous for her hit song "Black Velvet". This song was a huge success, reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1990. Alannah Myles has won both a Grammy and a Juno Award for her music.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Alannah Myles was born Alannah Byles on Christmas Day, 1958, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her father, William Douglas Byles, was a well-known person in Canadian broadcasting. Alannah was the second of five children.

She grew up in Ontario and loved music from a young age. She started writing songs when she was about nine years old. By age 12, she was already performing her songs in a festival in Toronto.

Building a Music Career

When Alannah was 18, she began performing her own music in southern Ontario. She met Christopher Ward, a songwriter and recording artist. With his help, she formed her own band. They played rock and blues songs while she worked on her own original music.

At 19, she changed her last name to Myles to start her entertainment career. She used money from TV commercials to make music demos. These demos helped her get a record deal. In 1987, she signed her first contract with Atlantic Records.

Acting and Early Appearances

Before becoming a famous singer, Alannah Myles also acted. She appeared in a TV show called The Kids of Degrassi Street in 1984. She played a singer and a single mom in that episode. In 1989, she was in an episode of War of the Worlds. This was just a few weeks after her first album came out.

The Success of Alannah Myles

In May 1989, Alannah Myles released her first album, titled Alannah Myles. This album was a big hit! It had four songs that made it into the Top 40 charts. These included "Love Is" and "Lover Of Mine."

The most famous song from the album was "Black Velvet". It became a number-one classic rock hit. "Black Velvet" was played on the radio millions of times. In 1991, Alannah Myles won a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance for this song. She also won three Juno Awards. Her first album sold over six million copies around the world. It was the first debut album by a Canadian artist to sell over one million copies in Canada.

Rockinghorse and More Awards

In 1992, Alannah Myles released her second album, Rockinghorse. She was nominated for another Grammy Award for this album. The song "Song Instead Of a Kiss" from this album reached number one on radio stations in many countries.

Other popular songs from Rockinghorse included "Our World, Our Times" and "Sonny, Say You Will." Alannah Myles received several awards for this album. She won another Juno Award and a People's Choice Award.

In 1991, Alannah Myles sang "O Canada" at a Major League Baseball game in Toronto. It was shown on TV across the country.

Later Albums and Independent Work

Alannah Myles released her album A-lan-nah in 1995. After this, she left Atlantic Records. In 1997, she released A Rival with a new record label. This album included the song "Bad 4 You."

After 2001, Alannah Myles kept a lower profile. She still performed in Canada and Europe. In 2001, she sang a duet with Michael Sadler on a song called "Don't Give Up." In 2004, she recorded a cover of "I Can't Stand the Rain" with Jeff Healey on guitar.

In 2005, she participated in a music competition in Sweden called Melodifestivalen. Her song "We Got It All" was part of the competition.

In 2007, Alannah Myles released an EP (a short album) as a tribute to Elvis Presley. It included a new version of "Black Velvet" and two new songs. These songs were later on her fifth studio album.

In April 2008, she released her album Black Velvet. This album had a new recording of her famous song and ten new songs. Alannah Myles helped pay for and produce this album herself. One of the songs, "Trouble," won an award in a songwriting contest. Another song, "Give Me Love," won the USA Songwriting Competition.

In 2013, her Black Velvet album was re-released with a new title, 85bpm. It also included a new song called "Can't Stand the Rain." This version featured a guitar solo by the late Canadian guitarist Jeff Healey. Alannah Myles released this album on her own record label.

Discography

• Alannah Myles (1989)
• Rockinghorse (1992)
• A-lan-nah (1995)
• Arival (1997)
• Black Velvet (2008)
• 85 BPM (2014)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Alannah Myles para niños

• Canadian rock
• List of diamond-certified albums in Canada
• Music of Canada