Submitted Courtesy of Eric Alper
Shirley Eikhard, writer of the Grammy-Award winning “Something To Talk About” as well as a two-time JUNO and multi-BMI Award winner and inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall Of Fame, had died. She passed away at the Orangeville Hospital surrounded by wonderfully caring staff and dear friends at age 67.
Born in Sackville, New Brunswick, Eikhard loved her Canadian roots and over the past 43 years, has travelled the world both as a performer and writer.
Eikhard’s songs have been covered by the likes of Bonnie Raitt, Cher, Anne Murray, and Ginette Reno to name but a few of the incredible artists who have enjoyed success with Eikhard’s writing and she had written well over 500 songs to date.
Raitt’s recording of Eikhard’s composition “Something to Talk About” proved a spectacular success. The single, off Raitt’s Luck of the Draw album, peaked on Billboard’s Hot 100 and adult contemporary charts at #5 in October 1991, and at No. 8 on Cashbox. It placed even higher in Canada, at #3 on the RPM Top 100 chart and #4 adult contemporary and made the top 20 on RPM’s 1991 year-end chart.
At home in Canada, “Something to Talk About” also earned Eikhard a JUNO nomination as songwriter of the year, and later SOCAN Classics and BMI awards for its status as a radio favourite heard still to this day.
Shirley was a veteran musician who plays various instruments including guitar, piano, bass, drums, percussion, chromatic harmonica and sax. Over the past decade, she added dobro, banjo, and mandolin to the mix. She loved a challenge and picking up a new instrument helps shape her songwriting skills and kept her inspiration flowing. Her last nine CDs, including her most recent On My Way To You from 2021, were completely performed and sung by Shirley in her home studio.
Shirley’s songs have appeared in numerous international films and television shows and among them, she sung theme songs for two movies, “The Domino Principle” and “The Passion Of Ayn Rand” featuring Oscar-award winning Helen Mirren.