Acclaimed Cape Breton singer Rita MacNeil has died at age 68.
A notice on her website states MacNeil died on April 16 following complications from surgery.
Born in Big Pond, N.S., on Cape Breton Island, MacNeil was one of eight children.
She moved to Toronto at age 17, where she wrote her first song and began singing in folk clubs. MacNeil later moved to Ottawa, where she recorded three albums, but eventually returned to Big Pond, where she formed a trio.
MacNeil was famously shy, but said her parents helped her overcome that trait by constantly reminding her to believe in herself.
"You can be shy," she said. "You can work through all kinds of struggle. But somewhere deep down, you have to have belief or nothing's going to happen."
Turning point
Cape Breton's first lady of song made her mark during a six-week run at Expo '86 in Vancouver. At the time, MacNeil was well-known in her home province but a newcomer to the national stage.
"Word of mouth kind of grew," said Rod Mickleburgh of the Globe and Mail. He said review after review praised her performance, and that summer sparked a love affair between MacNeil and Vancouver.
He finally saw her on Canada Day, 1986, when she performed Working Man with Men of the Deeps.
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