Kenny Shields (October 24, 1947—July 21, 2017) was a Canadian musician and the lead singer of rock band Streetheart, known for singing various hits, including "Action," "Hollywood," "Look in Your Eyes," "What Kind of Love Is This," and a cover of

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classic "

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Early life

Shields was born and spent his youth in

Nokomis, Saskatchewan Nokomis is a town in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. History *1904: The area was opened to homesteading. *1906: Florence Mary Halstead established a post office on the Halstead farm and called it ...

, a small farming community. He developed an interest in music early in his life, enrolling in an amateur talent show at six years old.

Early career

Shields moved to

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

to attend the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

and joined the local band Witness Incorporated. The band started touring the country, opening for

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and

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. His career was sidetracked in 1970 when he was critically injured in a car accident. Shields returned to music in 1975 and moved to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, following the dissolution of Witness Incorporated. He began performing with local musicians and soon formed the band that would become Streetheart. The band became a success in Canada, frequently playing cities across the country and recording six studio albums and one double-disc live album. Their more popular tour mates would include

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and

Max Webster Max Webster was a Canadian hard rock band formed in Toronto in 1972. The band was relatively successful in Canada, with several best-selling albums, and had some minor success in the UK, before dissolving in 1981. The band's founder, Kim Mitche ...

Later career and death

After the original Streetheart lineup dissolved, with two of them leaving to form

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, Shields would continue to tour as the Kenny Shields Band throughout the 1980s. He would reunite with some of the original group in the late 1990s to play festival shows. In 2017, Shields was forced to back out of the band's 40th anniversary tour when he became disoriented and confused during a Canada Day concert in Sherwood Park, Alta. He had undergone an emergency surgery and a combination of health problems led to the band cancelling its 40th anniversary tour. Shields died at St. Boniface General Hospital in Winnipeg. Band mate Jeff Neill, via the band's

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page, confirmed on July 21, 2017, that Shields died that morning.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Kenny 1947 births 2017 deaths Canadian rock musicians Canadian male singers People from Rural Municipality Wreford No. 280, Saskatchewan