Shirley Matthews (October 8th,1942 – January 8th, 2013) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

pop singer. Matthews sang in a church choir and at high school dances prior to embarking on a career in music. She worked in a

Bell Telephone The Bell System was a system of telecommunication companies, led by the Bell Telephone Company and later by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), that dominated the telephone services industry in North America for over 100 years f ...

office while singing nights at the Club Bluenote in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. in the Canadian Pop Music Encyclopedia Her debut single, "Big Town Boy", was a major hit in Canada in 1964, selling over a million copies. She won the RPM Gold Leaf Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1964. Later singles failed to duplicate "Big Town Boy"'s success. "Big Town Boy" debuted on 1050 CHUM in Toronto on 2 December 1963, the same day as

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' "

She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 23 August 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom c ...

". In 1967, she married, taking the name Shirley Vedder, and quit the music industry, eventually becoming the president of a chain of tennis, squash and fitness clubs in Toronto and Markham, Mayfair Clubs. On January 8, 2013, Matthews died in Toronto, Ontario.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Shirley 1942 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Black Canadian women singers 20th-century Canadian women singers Canadian women pop singers People from Essex County, Ontario