Shane Yellowbird tributes hail talent, `star power,' of Cree country singer
Candlelight vigils held this week were among several events to celebrate the life of country musician Shane Yellowbird.
Tributes to the 42-year-old, who died Monday night after a battle with epilepsy, have been pouring in from every corner of the entertainment world.
Aaron Goodvin, Craig Moritz, Jason Benoit and Aaron Pritchett are just a few who've been filling social media feeds with touching and colourful stories of the musician.
While his career was shorter than some, he accomplished more than many could hope to. It started when a speech therapist suggested he start singing to help control a stutter.
His impressive voice began winning competitions, then landing him gigs on bar stages where his manager Louis O'reilly first saw him and everything that made him special.
“I just loved his voice. I loved his vibe. I loved the way he looked. And I liked the way the crowd was reacting to him,” O'reilly recalled. “After the show, I spent quite a bit of time getting to know him, and I was charmed by him.”
His 2006 debut album, Life Is Calling My Name, racked up numerous awards and nominations and confirmed him as a force to be recognized. That album won country recording of the year at the Native American Music Awards, earned five CCMA nominations — he won the Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award that year — and a 2008 Juno nomination for country recording of the year.
But his 2009 performance at the Grand Ole Opry — he was one of only three Indigenous artists to do so — where he met his hero and fellow stutterer, Mel Tillis, may have been his greatest accomplishment.
“When Mel found out that Shane had a stuttering problem, they engaged in a conversation,” said O'reilly.
“Shane was absolutely on cloud nine to spend 10, 15 minutes with his idol. And Mel had dispensed some advice and heard about Shane's story and they bonded over parallels.”
While reaching out to friends, family and professional collaborators, the one thing that came to most minds other than his impressive voice was Shane's big smile, “that had dimples you could put your fist into,” as O'reilly put it.
Brett Kissel reminisced about meeting the singer for the first time backstage at Northlands' Country Vocal Competition in Edmonton, saying he “was instantly mesmerized by his smile. I'd never seen a bigger smile or deeper dimples than Shane's.
“He had this shy, humble demeanour, yet exuded confidence and star power the minute he got on stage.”
Calgary's Troy Kokol and his wife Joni Delaurier were friends and professional collaborators. Kokol played guitar with Shane through his biggest years touring with Emerson Drive and Paul Brandt — he was at the Opry gig where they also met Charlie Pride — which established a close bond between the two. Shane was even a groomsman at their wedding in 2010.
The couple wrote Shane's biggest hit, Pickup Truck, from his debut release — the fun lyrics are laden with pick-up lines, which in Kokol's opinion was ironic.
“He had this smile and he had this set of dimples — I don't think he really needed pick-up lines,” Kokol said lightheartedly, with Delaurier adding, “I always joked, after 2006, any female friendship in my life, I had to confirm that they actually wanted to be my friend and weren't just looking for some sort of meet-and-greet with the handsome, dimpled cowboy.”
(Pickup Truck was No. 4 on the Boot's top 10 best country music pick-up lines, right below Hank Williams' Hey Good Lookin'. “We were pretty proud about this,” Kokol noted with a laugh.)
Shane's uncle, Ray Yellowbird, shares the family's famous dimples. They're part of what he calls “the Yellowbird gift.”
“You could not mistake a Yellowbird because we all have the dimples,” he said, adding that natural charisma and an ability to sing were a part of the package Shane possessed. “It comes from my dad, Norman Yellowbird. He was known for his voice.”
Also a musician, Ray and Shane played a New Year's Eve show at the Yellowhead Inn a few years ago and as Ray says, “We just packed the house.”
Norman, Shane's grandfather, was not only a hand-drum singer and Chief Elder of the Samson Cree Nation but a rancher, which established rodeo cowboys in the family's next generations.
“I learned a lot about cowboy culture and cowboy honour and cowboy ethics and cowboy everything from Shane,” said O'reilly, adding that Shane's parents were on the rodeo circuit and he grew up with that.
“I always appreciated that authenticity.
“Shane loved country music and knew the legends and knew the greats and knew the songs and lived and breathed it. And he was just thrilled to be in the midst of it and doing what he could to carry on the legacy of country music.”
Shane Ryan Yellowbird was born July 7, 1979 in Maskwacis, , the second of five children born to Merle and Colleen Yellowbird. He was living in Calgary at the time of his death and is survived by his parents, grandparents, siblings, four children of his own, and his fiancée Sarah Garrow.
The family planned to hold a funeral in Maskwacis on Friday.