Megon McDonough (formerly Megan McDonough) is an American

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 ...

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

singer-songwriter and actress, from

Crystal Lake, Illinois Crystal Lake is a city in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. Named after a lake southwest of the city's downtown, Crystal Lake is northwest of Chicago. The population was 40,269 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Crystal L ...

. After her early solo recording career brought national attention, she became a founding member of

Four Bitchin' Babes The Four Bitchin' Babes is a group of female singer-songwriters with rotating membership performing mainly humorous, satirical, or light-hearted songs in the folk genre. The current touring group consists of Sally Fingerett, Deirdre Flint, Chri ...

, performing and recording with them from 1990 to 2001 and then resuming her solo work. McDonough wrote her first song at age 11 and had her first record deal by the time she was 14, securing the deal after winning a local "Big Break" talent contest sponsored by local radio station WLS. The label was

Wooden Nickel In the United States, a wooden nickel is a wooden token coin, usually issued by a merchant or bank as a promotion, sometimes redeemable for a specific item such as a drink. Scrip and tokens have often been issued locally in times of severe ...

, and she released four albums between 1972 and 1974. By age 17, she was the opening act for

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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 ...

. She also opened for acts such as

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and

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. McDonough played

Patsy Cline Patsy Cline (born Virginia Patterson Hensley; September 8, 1932 – March 5, 1963) was an American singer. One of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century, she was known as one of the first country music artists to successfully Cross ...

in the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

''Always...Patsy Cline''. She wrote and performed a one-woman cabaret show, ''An Interesting Bunch of Gals'', in which she pays tribute to eight artists who influenced her, including

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

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, and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

. In 1993, McDonough also played the singing voice for actress

Jennie Garth Jennifer Eve Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Taylor throughout the Beverly Hills, 90210 (franchise), ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and Val Tyler on the sitcom ''What I Like About You (TV ...

during the performance of the song ''Timeless Love'' in the made-for-TV movie

Danielle Steel's Star ''Danielle Steel's Star'' is a 1993 American made-for-television film starring Jennie Garth, Craig Bierko, Terry Farrell, Penny Fuller and Mitchell Ryan. This film is based on the 1989 novel ''Star'' by author Danielle Steel and is set in the 19 ...

Discography

Her first name was spelled "Megan" on her earlier albums, changing to "Megon" with ''Day by Day''. * ''In the Megan Manner'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1972 Wooden Nickel album # WNS-1004) * ''Megan Music'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1972 Wooden Nickel album # WNS-1007) * ''Keepsake'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1973 Wooden Nickel album # BWL1-0145) * ''Sketches'' (privately re-released songs from defunct 1974 Wooden Nickel album # BWL1-0499) * ''If I Could Only Reach You'' (unknown release year – privately released songs from late 1970s pop-country era while playing college campuses and Chicago clubs) * ''Day by Day (1989)'' * ''American Girl (1990)'' * ''Blue Star Highway (1993)'' * ''My One and Only Love (1996)'' * ''4+1 (2002)'' * ''The Patsy Project (2002)'' (with Don Stiernberg) * ''Spirits in the Material World (2006)''

References

External links

* * AllMusic.com discography, including hotlinks to Charles Donovan's reviews of the early Wooden Nickel label albums
Wooden Nickel album Discography, including some obscure album producer details
American women singers American folk musicians Singers from Chicago 1950s births Living people Four Bitchin' Babes members Singer-songwriters from Illinois Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-singer-songwriter-stub