Susan Gayle Medley (born 1962 at

Courtenay, British Columbia Courtenay ( ) is a city of about 26,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest community and only List of cities in British Columbia, city in th ...

) is a Canadian

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musician. She released her self-titled debut CD in 1990. She won a Juno Award in 1991 for Most Promising Female Vocalist.

Early years

A native of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Sue Medley was signed to PolyGram Records Canada in 1989 and released a self-titled debut CD in 1990. The album was co-produced by Medley and

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

producer Michael Wanchic and featured strong performances by

John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New wave music, new wave, blues, and country music, country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Gramm ...

's band The Goners. In Canada Medley's first single, "Dangerous Times" not only pushed her debut album to gold status within a few weeks of release, but was #1 on

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for two weeks, #1 on the Pop Adult charts for 12 weeks, in the Top 3 of the national album rock chart for six weeks, and earned her a SOCAN Songwriter of the Year Award for most airplay. On the heels of the singles "Dangerous Times", "Maybe the Next Time", "That’s Life", and "Love Thing", she toured North America the rest of the year opening for

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and other high-profile artists. Her second album, ''Inside Out'', was once again co-produced by Medley and Wanchic and was aided by the musical help of slide guitarist

Sonny Landreth Clide Vernon "Sonny" Landreth (born February 1, 1951) is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, and settled in Lafayette, Louisiana. He lives in Br ...

and drummer Kenny Aronoff. The album, released in 1992, continued her radio success with a handful of additional singles and national tours with such artists as

Tom Cochrane Thomas William Cochrane ( ; born May 14, 1953) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician best known as the frontman for the rock band Red Rider and for his work as a solo singer-songwriter. Cochrane has won eight Juno Awards. He is a member ...

Kim Mitchell Joseph Kim Mitchell (born July 10, 1952) is a Canadian rock musician. He was the lead singer and guitarist for the band Max Webster before going on to a solo career. His 1984 single, " Go for Soda", was his only charted song on the US ''Billbo ...

and 54.40, keeping her in the spotlight. The first single "When the Stars Fall" became a hit on album radio and reached #2 on ''The Record'''s chart (being locked out of #1 only by U2). In October 1992 she was invited by John Mellencamp to participate in the Bob Dylan Tribute at

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, and performed a duet with Mellencamp on the classic Dylan track "Like a Rolling Stone". Later that month she received a SOCAN award for her song "Maybe the Next Time", which was one of the most played songs on Canadian radio in 1991. Medley is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism.

Dispute with PolyGram

Her third album, however, would not be forthcoming. Following a two-year dispute with her record label over the songs that would comprise that release, she and PolyGram parted ways. She retreated to her house near Bloomington,

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, and wrote and recorded much of the material that made up her independent release, ''Velvet Morning'', which was released in February 2000 on Egg Records. Her profile received a boost after four of her songs were featured on the TV series ''

Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It aired from January 20, 19 ...

''.

Recent activity

After the renewal of her profile with ''Dawson's Creek'', Medley lived and worked in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, teaching guitar and helping to develop a new generation of budding songwriters and recording artists. Medley recently returned to Canada, and is now writing and demoing new material for an upcoming release. She is currently represented by Inner Circle Management, an art and cultural industries consulting business, based in Regina,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. In 2011 she joined the horn driven band "Time Well Wasted" based in her home town of

. After two years, Medley left TWW to form her own band "Sue Medley & The Back Road Band", and in July 2013 released the 3-song EP "Sue Medley & The Back Road Band", and followed this with a full-length album "These Are The Days", both productions co-produced with former CBC Music Producer / Recording Engineer John Mang. Sue Medley continues to perform, teach and perform in the Comox Valley.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Medley, Sue 1962 births Canadian women rock singers Canadian rock guitarists Canadian women guitarists Juno Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year winners Living people Musicians from British Columbia People from Courtenay, British Columbia 20th-century Canadian women singers 21st-century Canadian women singers