Salome Bey (October 10, 1933 – August 8, 2020)While ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' gives her year of birth as 1939, other sources say she was born in 1933 or 1944. was an American-born Canadian singer-songwriter, composer, and actress who lived in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...
, Ontario, since 1966.
In 2005, she was made an honorary Member of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the c ...
. In 2022 she was honoured by Canada Post with a commemorative postage stamp for her contributions to Canadian music and theatre.
Biography
Born to a middle-class African-American family in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
, Bey formed a vocal group with her brother
Andy Bey
Andrew W. Bey (born October 28, 1939) is an American jazz singer and pianist. Bey has a wide vocal range, with a four-octave baritone voice.
Raised in Newark, New Jersey,Adler, David R"Andy Bey" ''JazzTimes'', April 25, 2019. Accessed December ...
and sister Geraldine Bey (de Haas), known as Andy and the Bey Sisters, performing in local clubs and touring North America and Europe. After moving to Toronto in 1964 and playing the jazz club circuit, she became known as "Canada's First Lady of Blues". Bey appeared on Broadway in '' Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'', for which she was nominated for a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
for her work on the cast album. She put together a blues & jazz cabaret show on the history of black music, ''Indigo'' – which earned her the
Dora Mavor Moore Award
The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped est ...
for outstanding performance. The show was later taped for TV networks.
Bey recorded two albums with
Horace Silver
Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silver (September 2, 1928 – June 18, 2014) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, particularly in the hard bop style that he helped pioneer in the 1950s.
After playing tenor saxophone and piano at sc ...
, and released live albums of her performances with the
Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir
The Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir is a choir from Montreal, Quebec, Canada that sings primarily traditional and contemporary Gospel music. The choir's repertoire also includes a mix of music ranging from Gregorian chant to Bach chorales, tradit ...
and at the
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
The Parachute Club
The Parachute Club was a Canadian band formed in Toronto in 1982. They released three top 40 hits in Canada between 1983 and 1987, including "Rise Up", "At the Feet of the Moon" and "Love Is Fire" (which featured guest duet vocals from John Oa ...
.
She received the Toronto Arts Award for her contributions to the performing arts in 1992, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Award for lifetime achievement from the
Black Theatre Workshop
Black Theatre Workshop (BTW) is a non-profit theater company based in Montreal and is one of the oldest Black English-speaking professional theatre companies in the Canada. It was established by Clarence Bayne and Arthur Goddard, who previously ...
of Montreal in 1996.
Beginning in her early sixties, Bey began showing signs of dementias. As of 2011 her illness had progressed to the point that she could no longer perform.
Bey was a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.
Personal life
She married Howard Berkeley Matthews on April 7, 1964; he was most noted for partnering with Dave Mann,
Archie Alleyne
Archie Alleyne (January 7, 1933 – June 8, 2015) was a Canadian jazz drummer.John Henry Jackson in The Underground Railroad, a
soul food
Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans, originating in the Southern United States.Soul Food originated with the foods that were given to enslaved Black people by their white owners on Souther ...
restaurant in Toronto.
They had three children, including the singer SATE, formerly known as Saidah Baba Talibah, and singer/performance artist Jacintha Tuku Matthews (tUkU). Matthews died in August 2016 at the age of 80, and Bey died August 8, 2020, at the age of 86.John R. Kennedy "Canada's First Lady Of Blues Salome Bey Dies" ''
iHeartRadio Canada
Bell Media Radio, G.P. (formerly CHUM Radio), operating as iHeartRadio Canada, is the radio broadcasting and music events subsidiary of Canadian media conglomerate Bell Media. The company has its origins in CHUM Limited, which was acquired by ...