Amy Sky (born 24 September 1960) is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, theatre actress, and television host. Sky started classical music lessons at the age of five, and plays piano, guitar, cello and recorder. She has a degree from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

in music theory and composition. In 1983, Sky was signed as a staff songwriter to MCA Music Nashville, and subsequently to Warner-Chappell Music in Los Angeles, EMI Music Los Angeles, and Warner-Chappell Music Germany. As a writer she has penned songs for many artists including Diana Ross,

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire ( ; born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music, country singer and actress. Dubbed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Sin ...

, Belinda Carlisle, Aaron Neville, Heart, Cyndi Lauper, Mark Masri, Roch Voisine, and Sheena Easton.

Biography

Music career

In 1992, Sky's song "We Can't Look Back" was featured in the final moments and over the credits of the ''Degrassi'' TV movie '' School's Out''. The song was co-written by

Eddie Schwartz Edward Sydney Schwartz Order of Canada, C.M. (born December 22, 1949) is a Canadian musician who had moderate success as a recording artist in the early 1980s before becoming a successful songwriter and record producer in the late 1980s and the ...

, famous for writing "

Hit Me with Your Best Shot "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" is a song recorded by American rock singer Pat Benatar and written by Eddie Schwartz. In 1980, it was released as the second single from her second album '' Crimes of Passion'', which became her biggest-selling album ...

" and other Top 40 hits. In 1996, Amy Sky released her 2nd breakthrough album ''Cool Rain'' (her first, 1989's ''A Breath of Fresh Air'' was shelved and finally released around 2010) and starred in a Toronto production of the musical '' Blood Brothers'' with

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical-sitcom ''The Partridge Family''. After completing high school, Cassidy purs ...

and Michael Burgess. After being nominated for two

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

s, including best songwriter and best new artist, she released ''Burnt by the Sun'' in 1998, which also earned a nomination for best songwriter. The string of radio hits these albums produced garnered her three

SOCAN The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 175,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collect ...

awards. 2001 saw the release of ''Phenomenal Woman'', which was followed in 2003 by Sky's fourth album, ''With This Kiss'', a romance collection. In 2007, EMI released ''Life Lessons: The Best of Amy Sky''. In 2008, Sky released a holiday album, ''The Lights of December''. Between 2005 and 2012, she focused on her songwriting and producing for other artists. Sky has collaborated with

several times, writing and producing songs for Newton-John's albums ''

The Rumour The Rumour were an English prog rock new wave rock band active in the late 1970s and early 1980s. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records (from 1976 to 1980) were credited to Graham Parker & the Rumour. ...

'' (1988), ''

Stronger Than Before ''Stronger Than Before'' is the twentieth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John. It was first released by ONJ Productions and Hallmark on 29 August 2005 in the United States, where physical copies of the album were sold ex ...

'' (2005), '' Grace and Gratitude'' (2006) and '' Christmas Wish'' (2007). In 2008, Sky executive produced the fund raising album '' A Celebration in Song: Olivia Newton-John and Friends'' that accompanied Newton-John's Great Walk to Beijing. In April, Sky joined Newton-John and dozens of international musicians, actors, athletes and cancer survivors to walk the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...

to raise money for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. In 2009, Green Hill Records released ''Grace and Gratitude Renewed'', which included two new songs. In 2012, Sky made her return to her solo records with the release of ''Alive & Awake''. As a companion to the album, there was a website and monthly newsletter dedicated to sharing information about mental health self care. Sky has been nominated for East and West Coast Music Awards, the

Canadian Independent Music Awards The Canadian Independent Music Awards, also known as the Independent Music Awards or Indies, are national awards presented annually to musicians to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. They were first inaug ...

, and the International Songwriter's Award, and in 2007 won the Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Best Composition. She is the first recipient ever of the CRIA Applause award, recognizing her work on behalf of artist rights. Sky speaks about and advocates for mental health issues.

Other work

In 2006, Sky was honoured for her work as a spokesperson in this area, with the CAMH Courage to Come Back award, and the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario Hero Inspiration Award. She continues to advocate for "mental hygiene", and in 2008 was featured on the covers of two magazines, ''Canadian Health and Lifestyle'' and the debut issue of ''Anchor'', speaking about this topic. Sky has hosted three seasons of parenting shows on

Rogers TV Rogers TV (stylized as Rogers tv) is a group of English-language community channels owned by Rogers Communications. Many of these channels share common programs. Rogers TV broadcasts in the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and ...

, currently ''Enfagrow: The Toddler Years with Amy Sky''. Sky has lent her support to many charitable causes, including the Parkinson's Foundation, Princess Margaret Hospital, National Ovarian Cancer Association,

The Hospital for Sick Children ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

, Easter Seals,

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

, MADD (

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada ( MADD Canada) and Brazil that seeks to stop driving with any amount of alcohol in the bloodstream, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent un ...

), Mood Disorders of Ontario,

United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...

, Wellspring,

Gilda's Club ] Gilda's Club is a community organization for people with cancer, their families and friends. Local chapters provide meeting places where those who have cancer, their families, and friends can join with others to build emotional and social suppor ...

, Casey House (Toronto, Ontario), Casey House,

Covenant House Covenant House is a large, 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization in the Americas, whose goal is to provide safe housing and holistic care to youth ages 16–21 experiencing homelessness and survivors of human trafficking. Covenant House was ...

, Ontario Child Abuse Prevention and Zareinu.

Personal life

Sky currently resides in Toronto, Ontario. She is married to musician

Marc Jordan Marc Wallace Jordan (born March 6, 1948) is an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, session musician, and actor. Covering a wide variety of genres, he has written songs for a number of well-known artists, including Diana Ro ...

and they have two children together, a son, Ezra and a daughter, Zoe. Both Ezra and Zoe are musicians and performers as well; Ezra performs music under the name Ezra Jordan, and Zoe performs as Zoe Sky Jordan. Sky is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest singles

References

External links