Laura Smith

Who is Laura Smith?

Laura Smith is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1995 single "Shade of Your Love", one of the year's biggest hits on adult contemporary radio stations in Canada, and for her adaptation of the Scottish folk song "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean" which she entitled "My Bonny". She recorded a version of this with The Chieftains, which they erroneously listed as "My Bonnie" on their album Fire in the Kitchen. In December 2010, that version received a nod for Song of the Decade from Bill Margeson at LiveIreland.

Born and raised in London, Ontario, Smith was encouraged in her early writing by the noted poet Margaret Avison, then writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario. She began playing music as well, making her debut in area coffeehouses. She moved to Toronto in 1975 for nine years and in 1984 she moved to Cape Breton.

Smith released her debut album, Elemental, under the auspices of CBC Variety Recordings in 1989. It was recorded at CBC Halifax. Alas, unbeknownst to Smith or CBC, at about the same time, Loreena McKennitt released an album with the same title, so Smith's debut release was changed to Laura Smith when she leased back the masters from CBC. Her second album, B'tween the Earth and My Soul brought her national acclaim and earned her two East Coast Music Awards and two Juno nominations for Best New Solo Artist and Best Roots and Traditional Album. The next year, 1997, she was awarded a Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Performing Arts Program or Series.