Over 20 years ago, the elementary school Lois O’Hanley-Jones’ children attended in Blind River asked her if she could bake some cookies for a fundraiser.
She told them she couldn’t bake, but that she could sing.
So she approached two of her musical friends, Patty Dunlop and Debbie Rivard, about the possibility of the three of them holding a concert fundraiser for the school.
“We were friends but we had never really sung together,” says Patty Dunlop, one of three guitarist/singers in the Blind River-based trio that is now known as Women in Song.
“When we got together to talk about [the fundraiser] and to try a few songs, we thought, ‘Wow!’ We recognized that we had something very special.”
The experience was special enough that the musical relationship has not only endured 20 plus years of friendship but resulted in the release of their debut album, released in December 2020.
“We had talked about doing an album for many years,” says Dunlop.
“We always told our audience, over the course of 20 years, that we would make an album in 2020. We were always asked for CDs after a concert.”
Finally, in December 2019, the trio decided to make good on that promise.
“We began recording the album in January 2020,” says O’Hanley-Jones.
“Our intention was to have it released in June of 2020.”
Of course, the pandemic forced them to change their plans.
“We had to put it on the back burner,” says Dunlop.
“In September, our producer Ken Zoschke, from Riverview Recording Studios here in Blind River, suggested we get going again and we did. Ken did a fabulous job producing the album. We are so proud of it.”
The additional players on the album are all from Blind River.
“They are our friends. It’s a hometown project all the way,” says Rivard.
The trio’s ‘hometown’ of Blind River is something the members all take pride in and much like that first school fundraiser all those years ago, something they want to give back to.
“We have some charities that are important to us,” says Dunlop.
“Every year for the past several years, we do a fundraising concert for Timber Village Museum. The Rotary Club does a lot of good work and we do a concert by the river every summer for them to help them raise funds for the work they do. When you live in a small town and when you can contribute in some way, you step up. You must give back.”
The group also raises money for seniors, the local Legion, hospital, and schools.
Each member of the trio has been recognized by the Northern Ontario music community for their contributions to music and the indelible mark they have had on their community.
They are all members of the Northern Ontario Country Music Association. By the end of 2021, all three will have been inducted into the Great Northern Opry, with Rivard having been inducted in 2015, Dunlop in 2017, and O’Hanley-Jones later this year.
Although each member contributes collectively to the writing, O’Hanley-Jones is the primary songwriter in the group.
“‘Mud Slide Slim’ by James Taylor and ‘Tapestry’ by Carole King changed my life. Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt also heavily influenced me,” she says, noting that in her earlier years she played at university coffeehouses and worked for three years in Toronto as a solo artist.
O’Hanley-Jones, who is originally from Elliot Lake, moved to Blind River for work as a high school teacher/counsellor, a job from which she is now retired.
“I taught guitar and vocal high school classes. I did eight musicals as vocal director and played in an all-occasion band for twenty-five years, as well as with Women in Song.”
Dunlop notes that the inspiration for the songs on their debut album came from events in all three members’ lives.
“We are inspired by the things like arguments with your teenagers, having a great colonoscopy experience, having a sick parent, dealing with Alzheimer’s, having your child leave home for university.”
One particular song on the album, “I Knew Her When,” has struck a chord with many of the trio’s listeners.
“This song is very dear to us. We collectively wrote it when Patty’s mother was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. She has since passed away. The song has even more meaning now because Lois’ mother is in the final stages of the disease,” says Rivard.
The song delivers the heartbreaking line, “I knew her when she was invincible, now she’s invisible.”
“The song seems to resonate with a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. A former student of Lois’ says the song reminds her of her recovery from a horrible car accident.”
For Rivard, who is originally from Winchester Springs in the Ottawa Valley before moving to Blind River to start a business (from which she is also now retired), the love of song came at an early age, especially country music.
“I started singing in the church choir at age six and started playing guitar at age twelve,” she says, noting she had once played on bus tours that travelled from Ontario to Wheeling, West Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee.
“I had a lot of relatives who played different instruments and we had many Saturday night get-togethers around the kitchen table.”
Dunlop, who is a retired elementary school admin secretary, is originally from Blind River.
“I grew up with music in my house and listened to my parents' albums all the time. I started singing in elementary school [and] started playing guitar in Grade 8. I sang and performed in many school assemblies, school concerts, variety nights, and a few high school musicals. I started singing at weddings when I was 16 and I played at my church.”
Music has run through the trio's veins for most of their lives.
Although the pandemic most certainly put an important aspect of their lives as musicians on hold, it hasn’t dampened the friendship between the members.
“We are like sisters. We are friends and confidantes so we share secrets. We have shared so many life experiences such as raising children, dealing with teenagers, working and juggling family responsibilities, having sick parents, and losing parents,” says Dunlop.
“We have comedy in our shows so we share jokes. We laugh and most certainly cry at every practice. We inspire each other with new ideas, new songs and new harmonies. We can’t wait to be able to perform live again. When we do, we will have a CD release celebration and perform the songs on the album. We look forward to the audience singing along with all the words because they have the album now.”
A physical copy of Women in Song’s debut album can be purchased by contacting the trio on their Facebook page or by emailing them at [email protected]. Although the trio has sold out three pressings of the album the latest run will be arriving mid-March.
In Blind River, the album can be purchased at Barrels of Goodies, and in Elliot Lake at Alpine Flowers.
It is also available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube.