Sherry Kean released one of the great Canadian pop albums of the ’80s. Then she disappeared.
I first heard Sherry Kean‘s 1984 People Talk album at the University of Winnipeg radio station.
The station was in the basement and was broadcast only within the university. The single “I Want You Back” might have been on the station’s playlist, or I might have put the record on out of curiosity.
Anyway, I loved it—still do. Kean has a very distinct delivery, and hits some pretty impressive notes. And the songs are great. Not just “I Want You Back” but the title track, “Would You Miss Me,” and “Universe of Two” are all super-catchy and fun, out Lauper-ing Cyndi Lauper.
According to the bio material I’ve come across, she was born Sherry Huffman and was originally the lead vocalist for a Toronto band called The Sharks, along with David Baxter, Bazil Donovan and Cleave Anderson.
The band released only one single before Kean left to pursue a solo career. Baxter joined Kean’s solo band, while Donovan and Anderson went on to join Blue Rodeo.
Sherry Kean goes solo
Kean signed to Capitol-EMI, and in 1983 released the EP Mixed Emotions. The single ‘I Want You Back’ followed in early 1984 and charted. Her full-length album debut, People Talk came out later that year. She even won Most Promising Female Vocalist at the 1984 Juno Awards, and was also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year 1984 UKnow Awards.
Here’s some footage of Kean at a gala in Toronto for UKnows. Held at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, it hosted members of the Spoons and Men Without Hats, Nash the Slash, Paul Humphries of Blue Peter, and other luminaries of the Canadian music scene (and—Billy Idol?!).
In 1987 she released a country album Maverick Heart, which earned her another Juno nom, this time for Country Female Vocalist of the Year. She also changed her hairstyle from the Louise Brooks-inspired ingenue bowl-cut of People Talk to that of big-haired country gal.
Following the release of that album though she seems to have retired from the Canadian music scene. According to Wiki, she became a tour guide at the McCulloch Heritage Centre outside of Halifax.
And that’s it. I’ve been unable to cover much more biographical detail. Shortly after I wrote this post, I tried to contact her through the Heritage Centre to no avail. (At least, that’s how I remember it. I’m adding this last para a couple of years later, in 2022.) It’s a shame. I’d like to know more, and People Talk is a record that definitely deserves a second life.
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McCulloch Heritage Museum is in Pictou, Nova Scotia, about 145 km away from Halifax.
Thanks Charlene, I'll make the change.
I wish that she had stayed on longer. I quite liked the two albums I bought way back when. I wasn't so enamored with her C&W work, but that's just a personal thing.
I was listening to Rough Trade this evening. Seems as though Carol Pope is still chugging along. If she can survive, Sherry K could have plugged along as well.
Terribly late with this reply, sorry! Maybe Sherry just got burned out from the industry. I tried to find her but hit a dead-end if I recall...
I have her People Talk album on vinyl. I like it and would love to know more about her but no any info. Mysterious.
She just played a show at Cameron House with Bazill and Cleave.
I met Sherry in 2010 or 2011. I was jamming with a guy named Jack Huffman who told me his sister had won a Juno award when she was younger.. Having met so many bullshitters working in the music business, I was skeptical. Sherry eventually moved to be close to her brother. Once we got talking, I knew who she was, I just didn't know her real last name. She would come to the open mic I hosted and sing with her brother and sister-in-law (who were very talented). She would perform a sultry version of Springsteen's "Tough Than The Rest." She still had it. We talked about writing together, but her life seemed quite complicated at the time. Eventually she moved with her brother and sister-in-law down east. That's the last I ever heard of her. She was sweet.