Last Biography Update on January 13, 2008 .

John Morris ~ Raylene ~ Jimmy ~ Cookie ~ Heather

The Rankins all play music...all twelve of them.  But the five the world knows as The Rankin Family have been playing together since the late 1980s.  In just a few years they have taken their unique Celtic-influenced music to the top of the Canadian charts and around the world.  And their fans have contributed to sales of more than one million records in Canada and made them one of Canada's most successful groups.  They have been nominated for and won more East Coast Music Awards than anyone else in the awards' ten year history.  Many musicians would readily attribute the recent explosion of East Coast music to this amazing family group from Inverness County, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

Whether you recognize them as John Morris, Jimmy, Cookie, Heather, and Raylene, or The Rankin Family, or simply as The Rankins, you can't deny knowing them for paving a Celtic highway, down which many have traveled.

The Rankins come from a large family of 12 children.  John Morris is the musical center of the group playing piano and fiddle.  Jimmy is an amazing vocalist and plays the acoustic guitar.  He is also the writer of most of their original material.  All three sisters (Raylene, "Cookie" Carol Jean, and Heather) are vocalists and like to break away every now and then at a live performance and do a step or two.  All three also contribute as songwriters for the group.  Growing up in Mabou, Cape Breton, they all started out singing and stepdancing.  Having ambitious parents, their talents grew to great heights, picking up by ear much of what they learned.  With instruments including guitar, bass, piano, synthesizer, violin, mandolin and percussion, the Rankin Family produce a blend of traditional and contemporary music that is dominated by the sweet vocals of the family sisters.

In 1989, the five siblings decided to take things further and turned a hobby into a career.  They borrowed money from their older sister and began recording their first album.  Driving across Nova Scotia approaching gas stations, roadside restaurants, and stores with their cassettes, they began to sell their self-titled debut.

In the autumn of 1990, they released their second independent recording, Fare Thee Well Love.  Touring extensively and promoting the album, things transpired to a much larger level in May of 1992.  Signing on with Capitol/EMI Music Canada took The Rankin Family to a national audience, having EMI re-release Fare Thee Well Love; the album has since gone multi-platinum.  The title track was later picked up for a Disney movie in the US (Into The West).

That summer the singers performed on Parliament Hill in Ottawa for Queen Elizabeth II as part of the 125th Anniversary celebrations of Canada Day.

Slightly over a year after the re-release of Fare Thee Well Love, North Country was recorded and released (1993) and became another multi-platinum success.

North Country's terrain covers the sweetly flowing pop of "North Country" and "Borders and Time", the Irish jig "Christy Campbell Medley" and a wealth of traditional Gaelic arrangements, most vividly represented by "Leis An Lurgainn."  Keeping Gaelic traditions alive and fresh is the heart of the band.  It is the essence of Rankin music; that and the close harmonies.

"People ask me why we do so many different (musical) styles," says Jimmy.  "My answer is that growing up we always had a band together.  We used to play on the weekends and dancehalls and taverns, and we used to play traditional fiddle music for square dancing.  We also played what we called "round-dance" music, which ranged from waltzes to rock 'n roll - anything people would dance to.  That's carried over to what we do now and what we write about."

Awards soon became plentiful, having the Rankins pick up four Junos in 1994.  East Coast Music Awards are not hard to come by for these five talents either; awards that in 1996 totaled more than any other artist.

All five have graduated from Nova Scotia-based post-secondary institutions.  Jimmy has a fine arts degree from Nova Scotia's College of Art and Design in Halifax.  St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish has three Rankins has alumni: John Morris graduated in 1980, Raylene in 1982 and Cookie in 1987.  Cookie continued on to Acadia University in Wolfville, where she, along with Heather, was granted a Bachelor of Arts degree.  Raylene followed up her BA with a law degree from Dalhousie in Halifax.  All of the Rankins were recently awarded honorary music doctorates from Acadia University.

In 1995, Grey Dusk of Eve (a limited edition EP) was marketed and quickly earned gold certification with sales in excess of 50,000 copies.  It features five songs, one of which, titled "Sir James Baird," appears on the benefit album In Between Dances.

Also that year Endless Seasons was released.  It is a collection of original Rankin Family songs and borrowed greats from some of the best Celtic songwriters.  The Rankin Family are continually evolving their music style, and sought out a change in sound for Endless Seasons.  The result is one of a more acoustic nature, with a focus on piano and guitar; a sound much like you hear at one of their live performances.

"After the last album, we decided we really wanted to go for a change," says Raylene Rankin. "We put the feelers out for different producers, looking for someone who had an affinity for what we do. We wanted somebody who would insist we take a looser approach.

Their search ended with John Jennings, the production whiz behind the chart-topping success of American singer/songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter. Jennings co-produced Endless Seasons with The Rankin Family.

"Mary Chapin also came from a folk background," notes Raylene, who was impressed by the flawless production and vitality on Carpenter's albums. "John had nurtured her through her period of doing strictly folk and into contemporary (music). So we thought it might work for us."

With the release of Endless Seasons, The Rankin Family continues to evolve from a fiddle-based traditional band that wore its Celtic roots firmly on its sleeve, to maturing artists whose appeal step dances across musical borders. The self-titled The Rankin Family debut (1989) had just three original songs and the rest were traditional Scottish tunes. On Endless Seasons, the tide has reversed.

From the heart-wrenching ballad "Your Boat's Lost at Sea" to the kick-up-your-heels revelry of "You Feel the Same Way Too", the album is a shimmering collection of Rankin Family originals and borrowed gems from the cream of Celtic songwriters.

"Sometimes it's good just to get new blood in there, to get a different perspective," says Raylene. "we're happy with the earlier records, but the change was good. And believe me, it's hard for us because whenever change is concerned - we're very hard on ourselves.

Endless Seasons was recorded at Sound Emporium in Nashville and at Bias Studio in Springfield, Virginia in a half dozen short sessions. The Nashville- based Jennings has used both studios working with other artists, including Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Beausoleil and Janis Ian.

Jennings laid-back style behind the console brings a homey warmth to Endless Seasons. The new album is the most relaxed and mature sounding of the Rankins' five recordings.

"That's a reflection of where we are as artists," says Cookie Rankin. "We wanted a more organic sound, more acoustic... it's less glued together, more natural, more live.

"One of the big changes from North Country is that there is very little synthesizer," adds John Morris. "And there's not as many ballads. The record is more piano and guitar oriented."

Jennings not only co-produced but adds some hot guitar and Hammond organ to the session. Willie Weeks (Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, George Harrison) plays bass on several cuts and studio ace Sam Bush (Emmylou Harris, New Grass Revival) adds mandolin and mandocello. Even Mary Chapin-Carpenter contributes some rhythm guitar playing on the title track.

Like their previous albums, the Cape Breton group maintain a winning mix of traditional Celtic tunes and contemporary originals. Jimmy, John Morris and Cookie Rankin all contribute strong new tunes.

"The nucleus of our material is always Jimmy and the traditional tunes," says Raylene, though the album features a song from Cookie ("The River") and a pair from John Morris ("Blue Eyed Suzie", Eyes of Margaret").

Jimmy Rankin, recognized as one of this country's finest songwriters, contributes four new songs to the album, including the first single, "You Feel the Same Way Too", and the poignant "Your Boat's Lost at Sea".

The latter tune was written last summer near the remote Mabou Coal Mines in northern Cape Breton. Moved by a tragic story of two brothers going down on a sinking fishing boat, Jimmy penned the tune in an old house overlooking the cold Atlantic Ocean. Endless Seasons also includes the traditional Irish folk song "As I Roved Out", borrowed from Liam Clancy and the powerful Christy More classic "Natives", written by Paul Doran. "Padstow", another traditional folk tune, comes from the Steeleye Span songbook. And there's a new Gaelic medley ("̉rganaich An ̉r-Fhuilt Bhuidhe/Am Bràighe"), arranged from tunes the Rankin Family learned around Cape Breton's musically-fertile Inverness County.

In choosing a name for the album, the band was encouraged to pick a title that wasn't the name of a song. "But," says Raylene, "it just seemed that there was so much reference to the seasons, to the times of year, to nature, to water and the weather... it seemed that Endless Seasons worked best, it encompassed the whole theme of the album. It's been a very enjoyable process. This time everybody had a lot of input and we had a lot of tunes to choose from. It was a conscious effort on our part to make this a more upbeat album, and have fun with it. I hope that comes across. That people enjoy it for its energy and life."

The 1996 Juno Awards saw The Rankin Family gain two more nominations and gave them the chance to perform live for a nation-wide audience.  Then in May 1996, they took advantage of the opportunity to showcase on international television for viewers of Good Morning America.  The show was shot live from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and also featured Ashley MacIsaac and his band The Kitchen Devils.

Tours and live shows are something the siblings seem to do continuously.  Performances have taken them through Canada, the United States and overseas.  Be it a large venue in Nashville, or a local ceilidh in West Mabou, The Rankin Family are sure to keep you entertained.  In the event you can't catch The Rankin Family live, they have released Collection, which sums up their greatest hits and a few new mixes and live tracks of those hits.  And hey, technology crept its way in too.  With an added CD-ROM application, you can watch live clips of the band and learn a lot of interesting facts as well.

In 1997, Heather, Cookie and Raylene recorded a Christmas album "Do You Hear" which remains one of the best selling Christmas recordings in Canada.  The sisters also did a symphony tour across Canada in support of this release, playing to sold out crowds!

May of 1998 saw release of Uprooted, the Rankins' seventh album and their first U.S. release in three years. Produced by three-time Grammy award winner George Massenburg and recorded primarily in Nashville, this new album shows the band's continual exploration of new musical ideas, from spoken-word parts ("Weddings, Wakes and Funerals") to country rave-ups ("Movin' On").

Uprooted is an album whose eclectic mix of songs runs the gamut of human emotion, predicament and musical genres. 'We shied away from the typical Rankin sound and instead tried to explore new ways of presenting ourselves,' says Cookie. 'Maybe You're Right' paints ethereal harmonies across a solid canvas of pop grooves. The new country sound of 'Movin On' is imbued with the spirit of a drifter, while evoking images of life on the road. The timeless 'Farewell to Lochaber' is a soulful tribute to The Rankins ancestral Scottish roots. In 'Weddings, Wakes and Funerals', funky street beats and the poetry of spoken word meet dance hall inspired themes. The caustic lyrics to 'Long Way to Go' are jam packed with talk-to-the-hand attitude.

Although certainly a departure from The Rankins previous works, Uprooted's moments of edge and grit are as much a part of the band's musical sensibilities as are Gaelic ballads and dance hall beats.

According to Raylene, 'The concept behind the traditional material on Uprooted is that we're taking certain aspects of roots music and developing them, moving them away from their actual roots and re-creating them as our own.'

In keeping with the band's continuing evolution, The Rankins wanted to adopt an entirely new approach to recording Uprooted. For this reason, the band recruited two-time Grammy Award winner and producer George Massenburg, best-known for having worked renowned artists James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat and Earth,Wind & Fire.

'George captures aspects of our music that we had sought for years, the quality of the album's musicianship, the instrumental arrangements, our vocal stylings,' says Cookie.

Primarily recorded in Nashville, Uprooted also reflects The Rankins desire to not only test the waters vocally, but instrumentally as well.

'There are more organic arrangements on this album than in the past, more up-tempo material, and more acoustic percussion, as well as a string orchestra, all of which demonstrate how willing we are to experiment,' says John Morris whose in-studio piano and fiddle arrangements have always captured the energy of The Rankins' live performance.

Regardless of the new developments in The Rankins recording techniques and instrumental arrangements, there is no mistaking Uprooted's creators. Fans can expect the same reverence for tradition, musical sophistication and commitment to intelligent lyrics that have always permeated The Rankins' music. It's just that, with the release of Uprooted, The Rankins break ground on previously uncharted territory.

The album was dedicated to band mother Kathleen 'Kaye' Rankin, who died in December 1997 from breast cancer.

After months of speculation, the Rankins issued the following press release on September 17, 1999:

After a critically acclaimed ten year musical career highlighted by album sales in excess of two million units, international touring, and numerous hit singles, the multiple Juno-award winning band, The Rankins, will cease to record and perform as a group in order to pursue independent careers and interests.

Cookie Rankin will pursue various songwriting and recording projects while sister Heather will focus on a career in acting (She appears in "The Hanging Garden");   Jimmy Rankin, a prolific songwriter, will begin work on a solo record; John Morris Rankin plans to freelance as a multi-instrumentalist and composer.

The group will perform all scheduled engagements in September and October, including a benefit for Restoration House at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario on October 21st, and call it a wrap in early November.  In late November and December, Heather, Cookie, and Raylene (who left the band last year), will embark on a Christmas Symphony tour in various Canadian cities.

The Rankins extend sincere thanks to their many fans, families, band, and crew, and members of the industry who have been most supportive of their career.

Further tragedy followed for the family in January 2000 when John Morris Rankin was killed in a car accident in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

On a happier note, 2001 saw the release of Jimmy Rankin's debut solo release, Song Dog, with the first single "Followed Her Around" receiving extensive airplay on radio stations across Canada and the video seen nationwide on CMT and MuchMoreMusic.  Jimmy performed in Ontario and the Maritimes in the Fall of 2001 and Western Canada will get to see Jimmy live in early 2002.

The crystalline vocals, exquisite musicianship and rousing versatility of The Rankins are destined to tap into the burgeoning resurgence of roots-influenced pop music.  Always growing, always changing, the Rankins continue to amaze their fans and win over new admirers with their unique brand of Canadian roots music.

Biography Credits:

The East Coast Ceilidh by John R. Zinck
Rock, Rhythm and Reels by Lee Fleming
Various Media & Record Label Press Releases

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