Dana LaCroix (born April 1, 1966) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. She has released six roots and
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
-influenced studio albums that incorporate elements of
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Pop music, a musical genre
Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop! (British group), a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Album ...
,
roots-rock
Roots rock is a genre of rock music that looks back to rock's origins in contemporary folk music, folk, blues, and country music. First emerging in the late 1960s, it is seen as a response to the perceived excesses of the then dominant psychedel ...
,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
and
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
music.
Early life
LaCroix was born 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 ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, to Naomi LaCroix (née: Tanaka), a registered nurse and
Pat LaCroix
Patrick "Pat" LaCroix (born 1938) is a Canadian musician and photographer.
Early life and education
LaCroix attended the Westlake College of Music in Los Angeles.
Career
While at college La Croix was part of The Four Winds vocal quartet with f ...
, a Canadian musician and photographer who toured in the early sixties with
The Halifax Three, a group he founded with
Denny Doherty
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty (November 29, 1940 – January 19, 2007) was a Canadian singer, songwriter and musician. A tenor, he was a founding member of the 1960s musical group the Mamas & the Papas for which he was inducted into the Rock ...
. She cites The Halifax Three as her earliest musical influence. She is the sister of the Canadian actress,
Lisa LaCroix
Lisa LaCroix is a Canadian actress and fashion model who began her career in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. After training as an actor in New York City's Circle in the Square Theatre School, she returned to Toronto, and starred in numerous Canadian and ...
.
Career
Touring since 1993, LaCroix has appeared in the United States and Canada, and toured nationally in Norway and Denmark,
["Dana LaCroix er CD- og turneaktuel"]
''Rootszone Denmark'', by Lissen Jacobsen , 6 November 2016 at venues including
Midtfyns Festival
The Midtfyns Festival is a famous rock festival in Ringe, Denmark. It was closed before the 2004 festival started, due to declining ticket sales. In 2005 Henrik Malmkjær acquired the rights for the festival, planning to revive it in 2006. The pl ...
,
The Opera House,
Regent Theater, and on national media including CBC’s
Morningside,
This Morning and
Morning Edition
''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 a ...
, and
The Artie Lange Show.
Early in her career LaCroix performed at
Expo ’86 in
Vancouver
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, British Columbia, Canada, with the
Humber College
The Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, rebranded as Humber Polytechnic since 2024, is a public Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Founded in 1967, Humber has three mai ...
Big Band and went on to work with
Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
session guitarist, Leroy Emmanuel, and Norris Vines, formerly of
The Platters
The Platters are an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The act ...
, as a back-up and featured singer in a Motown tribute group.
She moved to New York City in 1989 where she performed and recorded with a 24-piece folk-rock band called The Poppies and others, before relocating to
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, Denmark in 1990.
In Denmark she toured nationally with Danish-American guitarist, singer and songwriter,
Paul Banks and took over for
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer.
Biography
Dupree was a New Orle ...
as the musical partner of Danish bluesman, Kenn Lending. She worked with Lending under the moniker Lending-LaCroix for two years, releasing a studio recording entitled "Down Home Blues" for Olufsen Records. and touring nationally in Denmark and Norway.
Two of LaCroix's songs, Lonely Rooms and Pride, from her independent debut release, ''Pride'', were included in Danish director,
Nicolas Winding Refn
Nicolas Winding Refn (; born 29 September 1970) is a Danish film director, screenwriter, and producer.
He directed the ''Pusher'' trilogy (1996–2005), the crime drama '' Bronson'' (2008), and the adventure film '' Valhalla Rising'' (2009). I ...
's 2002 feature film mystery thriller, ''
Fear X'', starring
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...
. The tracks were produced by Canadian producer, Rick Whitelaw. Lonely Rooms was originally released on LaCroix's freshman EP which was selected by Nashville's Performing Songwriter Magazine as a Top 12 Independent Recording in 1997.
LaCroix began working with Spanish bassist, songwriter and producer, Yadam Gonzales, soon thereafter, co-writing music for
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...
winner, Dutch pop star,
"Hind’s" 2005 release, "Halfway Home".
As a vocal workshop leader LaCroix has presented at
Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in
Odense
Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...
, Denmark, The Danish Musical Academy in
Fredericia
Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region Denmark, Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vej ...
, Denmark, and The Psychotherapy Networker Symposium in
Washington, DC
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
.
Today LaCroix performs and records
with her band in Canada,
the US and Denmark, released her sixth studio cd, The Great Divide,
in November 2016, and has begun a duo project with
Murali Coryell
Murali Coryell (born October 27, 1969) is an American blues guitarist and singer. Best known for performing live in small venues in New York State, Coryell has also opened for George Thorogood, Gregg Allman, B.B. King and Wilson Pickett. While tou ...
, son of jazz musician
Larry Coryell
Larry Coryell (born Lorenz Albert Van DeLinder III; April 2, 1943 – February 19, 2017) was an American jazz guitarist, widely considered the "godfather of fusion". Alongside Gábor Szabó, he was a pioneer in melding jazz, country and rock ...
.
She resides in
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...
with her husband and contributes to local events and projects there.
''The Daily Star'', By Mark Boshnack Nov 29, 2007
Discography
*2013 – "Moving On, Looking Back: - Artist: Dana LaCroix – Label: Independent
*2011 – "Jump In: - Artist: Dana LaCroix - Label: Independent
Filmography
*2003 – Fear X – (Contributing Songwriter) Director: Niels Winding Refn – Starring: John Turturro
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:LaCroix, Dana
1966 births
Living people
Canadian women singers
Canadian male songwriters
Singers from Toronto
Writers from Toronto