|
|
The Rankin Sisters (2002)
 Cookie, Heather and Raylene Rankin banded together in 1997 to record a traditional Christmas Album, and The Rankin Sisters were born. The three sisters, who started to sing Gaelic songs before they started school, are all accomplished soloists. They also step dance, and play any number of back-up percussion instruments. Their years with Canadian Celtic folk super group The Rankin Family aptly demonstrated their talent, but it wasn't until they released Do You Hear...Christmas with The Rankin Sisters that they truly exhibited their full potential. Getting together to record something different than what they were attuned to with the Rankins' sound, they decided to put together an album for Christmas, consisting of some original material but mostly renditions of Yuletide traditional classics. The album took off and was featured on many Christmas charts later that year. Touring in support of the album, the Rankin Sisters gathered many accolades from critics and fans alike - and large crowds - wherever they performed. This also included their December 1999 CBC-TV holiday special, "A Rankin Christmas Cabaret," for which the sisters were joined by special guests including Natalie MacMaster, brother John Morris Rankin, Colin James and the Little Big Band, Amy Sky, Marc Jordan and others. In 1999, the sisters also appeared on Carly Simon's new album The Bedroom Tapes. Though the sisters haven't worked on any other album since Do You Hear, they often get together to tour, especially around the Christmas season. In the meantime, they all keep busy with their solo projects. Heather Rankin has pursued a career in acting, and appeared in the 1997 Canadian film The Hanging Garden. She has also appeared in theatre productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Piper. Raylene continues to perform with orchestras around Canada. Cookie married Nashville studio legend George Massenburg, whom she met when he produced the Rankins' album Uprooted.
http://www.rankinsisters.com
|
|
|
|