Luba

Luba (born Luba Kowalchyk, 1958) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She won Juno Awards as Canada's best female vocailst for three straight years (1985-87), and is best known as the singer of several top 40 Canadian hits from 1983 to 2000, including "Eveytime I See Your Picture", "Let It Go", "Giving Away A Miracle" and a cover of the Percy Sledge classic "When A Man Loves A Woman".

History

Luba Kowalchyk was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1958. Growing up, she studied voice, guitar, flute, and piano. As a teenager, she travelled across Canada to perform traditional Ukrainian folk songs at weddings and social gatherings.

In 1979 she formed the band "Luba" with a rotating cast of musicians, including drummer Peter Marunzak (who would eventually become her husband). Though there were attempts throughout the years to keep the band identity of "Luba" separate from the identity of Luba the singer, Luba herself was the only constant member of the band. Accordingly, Luba is generally thought of as a solo performer.

After releasing an independent debut album (Chain Reaction) to minimal attention in 1980, Luba rose to fame in Canada in the early 1980s with the top 40 hit "Everytime I See Your Picture". A self-titled EP on Capitol-EMI of Canada followed in 1982.

In 1984 Luba released her first full-length album with Capitol, entitled Secrets And Sins and produced by Daniel Lanois. This album spawned the Canadian hit singles "Let It Go" (mixed by Richard James Burgess) and "Storm Before The Calm". The album also earned Luba a Juno Award in 1985 for "Best Female Vocalist."

In 1985 Luba performed several songs written by Stephen Lunt, Jon Stroll, and Kevin Gillis for the first season of the Canadian cartoon The Raccoons. Several of these songs were later re-recorded by Lisa Lougheed for use in later seasons.

In 1986 Luba released Between The Earth & Sky, which included the single "How Many (Rivers To Cross)". This top 20 Canadian hit had represented Canada at the 1985 World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan and made the finals. Also in 1986, Luba won her second straight Juno as Canada's best female vocalist.

Shortly after the album release, Luba's band was involved in a serious bus accident, although Luba herself was not on board the bus at the time. Luba and her band took some time off, returning in 1987 with Over 60 Minutes With Luba, a compilation of her hits with one new track, a live recording of "When A Man Loves A Woman". This track would become her biggest Canadian hit, peaking at #6 on the RPM top 100. She would cap the year with her third straight "Best Female Vocalist" Juno

Luba followed this up in 1989 with All Or Nothing, which included the singles "Giving Away A Miracle," "No More Words", and "Little Salvation". This would be her last studio album for a decade, as during the 1990s, Luba experienced personal upheavals due to the loss of several close family members, along with her divorce from husband and long-time drummer Peter Marunzak.

The latest album by Luba, From The Bitter To The Sweet, was released in 2000 on her own label Azure Music. While the album won some critical acclaim, and produced the Top 30 single "Is She A Lot Like Me?", it did not match the sales or radio airplay as her earlier albums. At year's end, she was featured in a concert performance on a Canadian program entitled An Evening With The Stars, which included both new and old material.

In addition to her Juno Awards, Luba has also received CASBY and F?lix Awards, and a Black Music Association Award for "Female Entertainer of the Year". Most recently, her music has been featured on Canadian Idol.

Two new songs by Luba have recently appeared on a member music page of the popular social networking site MySpace. One is a ballad called "Heaven," and the other more upbeat called "Time." These are possibly singles for an upcoming album release, which is mentioned on both this Luba MySpace page and Luba's official website. An , 2007 update on Luba's official website states that Luba chose to use MySpace in order to connect with her fans as well as for posting her music. Additional information is included on there, as well as a link to her MySpace page. Both new singles are available for adding to other MySpace members' music profiles.

Luba has recently moved from Canada as of mid-2007 and now lives in the Caribbean Islands.

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Original Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luba