Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a Canadian classical guitarist often referred to as the 'First Lady of the Guitar'.
Music career
Early years
Boyd was born in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and grew up 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 ...
.
Her father grew up in
Bilbao
Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...
, Spain, and her mother in
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...
, England. Her grandmother was from
Linares, Spain, the birthplace of the "king of the classical guitar",
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students.
Segovia ...
. During her family's first of two ocean voyages to Canada she made her debut performance playing "
Bluebells of Scotland
The Bluebells of Scotland is the usual modern name for a Scottish folksong (Roud Folk Song Index, Roud # 13849). It was written by Dora Jordan, an English actress and writer. First published in 1801.
Text
As with most folk songs, it exists in m ...
" on a treble
recorder in a talent show on the ship.
When she was thirteen, she was given her first guitar, a Christmas present which her parents had bought in Spain seven years earlier.
She took lessons from
Eli Kassner,
Narciso Yepes
Narciso Yepes (14 November 19273 May 1997) was a Spanish classical guitar, guitarist. He is considered one of the finest virtuoso classical guitarists of the twentieth century.
Biography
Yepes was born into a family of humble origin in Lorca, ...
,
Alirio Díaz
__NOTOC__
Alirio Díaz (12 November 19235 July 2016) was a Venezuelan classical guitarist and composer, considered one of the most prominent composer-guitarists of South America and an eminent musician. He studied with Andrés Segovia, and gav ...
,
Julian Bream
Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public perc ...
, and
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students.
Segovia ...
.
Boyd received a
Bachelor of Music
A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...
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 1972, graduating with honours. After graduation she studied privately for two years with
Alexandre Lagoya
Alexandre Lagoya (29 June 1929 – 24 August 1999) was a French classical guitarist and composer. His early career included boxing and guitar, and as he cites on the sleeve of a 1981 Columbia album, his parents hoped he would outgrow his predile ...
in Paris.
Performing
In 1975, she performed at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
in New York City.
Andrés Segovia
Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987), was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were either students of Segovia or students of Segovia's students.
Segovia ...
sent her a note that said "through your beauty and talent you will conquer the public, philharmonic or not." During the same year, she toured northern
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
and
Yukon
Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
. She also toured as the opening act for Canadian folk singer
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...
.
Recordings
In 1974, Boyd released her debut album, ''The Guitar''. It was produced by Eleanor Koldofsky and was released on
Boot Records
Boot Records was a Canadian country, bluegrass, and contemporary folk label formed in 1971 in Toronto by Stompin' Tom Connors and his manager, Jury Krytiuk.
Early years
Originally started as a format for Connors' recordings, Boot shortly after b ...
. The record was distributed internationally by
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
. In 1976, Boyd joined
Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
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 ...
, and established her own publishing company, Mid-Continental Music. In 1989, her album ''Christmas Dreams'' appeared on the ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
'' 100 Top Albums chart. To date she has three platinum and four gold albums in Canada.
As of 2018, she has recorded 26 studio albums, made a live recording from
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
, created over 25 music videos, and produced three compilation recordings.
During her career, Boyd has recorded with
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
,
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
,
Al Di Meola
Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his work in jazz fusion and world music, his breakthrough came after joining Chick Corea's Return to Forever group in 1974. He launched, from 1976 afterwards, a s ...
,
Rik Emmett
Richard Gordon Emmett (born July 10, 1953) is a vocalist, guitarist, and member of the Canadian hard rock band Triumph (band), Triumph.
Career
In Toronto, during the mid 1970s, several local musicians formed a progressive rock group called Act ...
,
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink F ...
,
Alex Lifeson
Aleksandar Živojinović (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Rush. In 1968, he co-founded a band (which later became Rush) with drummer John Rut ...
,
Steve Morse
Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist and songwriter. A seven-time Grammy nominee, he is best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the longest serving guitarist for Deep Purple. Morse also enjoyed a successful ...
, the
Canadian Brass
The Canadian Brass is a Canadian brass quintet formed in 1970 in Toronto, Ontario, by Charles Daellenbach (tuba) and Gene Watts (trombone), with horn player Graeme Page and trumpeters Stuart Laughton and Bill Phillips completing the quintet ...
,
André Gagnon
André Gagnon (2 August 1936 – 3 December 2020) was a Canadian pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, and actor, known for his fusion of classical and pop styles,Jean-Pierre Thiollet, ''88 notes pour piano solo'', Neva Editions, 2015, p.16 ...
,
Yo Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma (born October 7, 1955) is a French-born American cellist. Born to Chinese parents in Paris, he was regarded as a child prodigy there and began to study the cello with his father at age four. At the age of seven, Ma moved with his fami ...
,
Frank Mills
Frank Mills (born June 27, 1942) is a Canadian pianist and recording artist, best known for his solo instrumental hit " Music Box Dancer".
Early life and education
Mills was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was raised in Verdun, Quebec and started p ...
,
Strunz & Farah
Strunz & Farah is a guitar duo with an eclectic sound that has been described as a cross between world fusion and flamenco.
History
Jorge Strunz, born in Costa Rica, and Ardeshir Farah, hailing from Iran, met in the United States in 1979. Jor ...
,
Roger Whittaker
Roger Henry Brough Whittaker (22 March 1936 – 13 September 2023) was a Kenyan-born British singer-songwriter and musician. His music is an eclectic mixture of folk music and popular songs, the latter variously in a crooning or in a schlager ...
,
Gheorghe Zamfir
Gheorghe Zamfir (; born April 6, 1941) is a Romanian nai (pan flute) musician.
Zamfir is known for playing an expanded version of normally 20-pipe nai, with 22, 25, 28 or even 30 pipes, to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight ov ...
,
Pavlo,
Jesse Cook
Jesse Arnaud Cook (born November 28, 1964) is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, ''Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guita ...
, and
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 ...
.
Recordings
In 1995, Liona contributed to the Canadian Windows 3.1 computer game The Music Game.
Personal life
In 1988, Stoddard Publishing of Toronto, Canada published Boyd's autobiography ''In My Own Key: My Life in Love and Music''.
In it she revealed her eight-year romance with former Canadian Prime Minister
Pierre Trudeau
Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...
.
In 1992, Boyd moved to
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
, where she married John B. Simon, a real estate developer.
Following a diagnosis of musician's
focal dystonia
Focal dystonia, also called focal task-specific dystonia, is a neurological condition that affects a muscle or group of muscles in a specific part of the body during specific activities, causing involuntary muscular contractions (spasms) and abno ...
after the release of ''Camino Latino'', Boyd was compelled to change how she plays guitar. She reinvented herself by developing her songwriting and singing skills and playing less demanding guitar arrangements.
After divorcing in 2004 she relocated to
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and started a guitar duo with Srdjan Gjivoje. In 2007 she moved to
New Canaan, Connecticut
New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region.
About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...
, to make a record with him called ''Liona Boyd Sings Songs of Love''. They subsequently toured together. She released a new age album titled ''Seven Journeys'' which was co-written with her producer Peter Bond. In 2010, she lived in California once more. In 2011, she purchased a house in
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach, Florida, ...
but made her home base in Toronto where she recorded 3 more albums produced by Peter Bond. She and accompanist Michael Savona toured Canada extensively. In 2016, Liona formed a new touring duo with Andrew Dolson.
In August 2017, Dundurn Press reissued Boyd's first memoir ''In My Own Key'' and published her second memoir, ''No Remedy for Love''.
One of the many revelations in his book was that Boyd claims to have played a private concert for jurors at the murder trial of
O. J. Simpson
Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...
in the mid-1990s. This was at the request of judge
Lance Ito
Lance Allan Ito (born August 2, 1950) is an American retired judge, best known for presiding over the criminal trial for the O. J. Simpson murder case, held in the Los Angeles County Superior Court in 1995.
Early life and career
Ito was born ...
who Boyd says was a big fan of her music.
"'First Lady of Guitar' to play Bragg Creek and Cochrane"
Cochrane Today
In 2017, Liona filmed "A Winter Fantasy", a live Christmas special that was broadcast in December 2018 on several PBS stations including WNED-TV
WNED-TV (channel 17), branded BTPM PBS, is a PBS member television station in Buffalo, New York, United States. It is owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association (doing business as Buffalo Toronto Public Media) alongside NPR m ...
in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
.
In 2018, Blackstone Publishing released an audiobook of Liona reading her autobiography ''In My Own Key''.
Awards and honours
* Instrumental Artist of the Year, Juno Awards, five times
* Gallery of the Greats, ''Guitar Player Magazine''
* Classical Guitar Musician of the Year, ''Guitar Player
''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...
'', five times
* Order of Canada, Member: 1982, Officer: 2021
* Order of Ontario, 1991
* Vanier Award, 1978
* Prix Esprit du Ciècle
* Diamond Jubilee Award, 2013
* JoAnn Falletta competition Lifetime Achievement, 2018
* National Guitar Museum
The National Guitar Museum (NGM) is a museum dedicated to the guitar's history, evolution, and cultural impact; and to promoting and preserving the guitar's legacy. The NGM addresses the history of the guitar as it has evolved from ancient stringe ...
Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019
Discography
References
External links
Official site
Article at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
*
*
"Liona Boyd: five years of healing, two new albums, one rebirth"
''The Globe and Mail''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Liona
1949 births
Living people
Canadian classical guitarists
Canadian women guitarists
Members of the Order of Canada
Members of the Order of Ontario
University of Toronto alumni
English emigrants to Canada
Musicians from London
Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year winners
Canadian people of Spanish descent
Women classical guitarists
Columbia Records artists
RCA Records artists
London Records artists
Officers of the Order of Canada
Musicians with dystonia