The Rankin Family

{{Short description|Canadian music group}} {{More citations needed|date=May 2010}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = The Rankin Family | image = The Rankin Family, 1990.png | caption = The Rankin Family performing aboard the M/S Scotia Prince, April 18, 1990. From left to right: Jimmy Rankin, guest Natalie MacMaster, guest Bruce Phillips, Raylene Rankin, John Morris Rankin, Cookie Rankin, Heather Rankin. | image_size = | alias = The Rankins | origin = Mabou, Nova Scotia, Canada | genre = Celtic, country, folk | years_active = {{start date|1989}}–present | label = Capitol, EMI, Liberty, MapleMusic | current_members = Jimmy Rankin Cookie Rankin Heather Rankin | past_members = Raylene Rankin (1960–2012) John Morris Rankin (1959-2000) David Rankin Geraldine Rankin (1958–2007) Genevieve Rankin }} '''The Rankin Family''' (also known as '''The Rankins''') are a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four SOCAN Awards, three Canadian Country Music Awards and two Big Country Music Awards.

==Career==

===Background=== The Rankins come from a family of 12 siblings, all of whom would entertain the neighbours musically every third weekend as part of a cèilidh. The first Rankin Family band formed in the 1970s when siblings Geraldine, Genevieve, David, John Morris, and Raylene Rankin began performing at local weddings and dances in Cape Breton.<ref name="Keillor2008">{{cite book|author=Elaine Keillor|title=Music in Canada: Capturing Landscape and Diversity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P4rf9W02vv0C&pg=PT298|date=18 March 2008|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-3391-2|pages=298–}}</ref> As the older siblings went away to college and university, the younger siblings Jimmy, Cookie and Heather took their places.<ref name=GeraldineDeath>Canadian Post, ''The Cape Breton Post'', "Rankins Tour Postponed as Family Grieves", pg A2, January 13, 2007</ref>

===1989–1999=== Jimmy, John Morris, Cookie, Raylene and Heather Rankin released their own independent cassettes, ''The Rankin Family'' (1989) and ''Fare Thee Well Love'' (1990), featuring original songs and a combination of traditional jigs, reels and Celtic folk songs. These independent recordings were distributed by the Canadian independent folk music distribution company 'Soundwright' until the band's major label breakthrough with EMI. Their television debut was on the CBC Television variety show ''On the Road Again'' in 1989. EMI's re-release of ''Fare Thee Well Love'' in 1992, went quadruple platinum, selling over 500,000 copies; the title track was a Top 40 single in Canada.

In 1998 The Rankins first worked with The Chieftains on their album, ''Fire in the Kitchen'', performing the Celtic song, "An Innis Aigh" (The Happy Isle). That year the band released an album, ''Uprooted'', which had a country music flavour.<ref name="Inc.1998">{{cite magazine|author=Larry LeBlanc|title=The RAnkins show their country roots|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57|date=9 May 1998|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=57–|issn=0006-2510}}</ref>

On September 17, 1999, after recording the song "Jimmy Mo Mhile Stor" with The Chieftains for their album, ''Tears of Stone'', the group issued a press release stating that they would no longer perform as a group in order to pursue independent interests and careers.

===2000–present===

On January 16, 2000, John Morris Rankin was killed in a car accident in Cape Breton Island.<ref name=JohnMorrisDeath>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/john-morris-rankin-killed-in-truck-crash-1.247882|title=John Morris Rankin killed in truck crash|date=11 November 2000|work=cbc.ca}}</ref> His daughter Molly Rankin is now a musician, and is lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the indie pop band Alvvays.<ref>[https://www.straight.com/music/778611/alvvayss-molly-rankin-broke-family-tradition "Alvvays’s Molly Rankin broke with family tradition"]. ''The Georgia Straight'', November 26, 2014.</ref>

In the spring of 2000 Heather Rankin joined Carly Simon on her New York City promotional tour for Simon's record ''The Bedroom Tapes'', and appeared with Simon on the Rosie O'Donnell show.

Jimmy Rankin has continued to write songs and has released seven solo albums: ''Song Dog'' (2001), ''Handmade'' (2003), ''Edge of Day'' (2007), ''Forget About the World'' (2011), ''Back Road Paradise'' (2014), ''Moving East'' (2018), and ''Harvest Highway'' (2024). Raylene Rankin released the solo albums ''Lambs in Spring'' (2004) and ''all the diamonds'' (2011) and live in Nashville.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-23 |title=From The Rankin Family to the solo Rankin performing in Sidney |url=https://www.peninsulanewsreview.com/entertainment/from-the-rankin-family-to-the-solo-rankin-performing-in-sidney-341441 |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=Peninsula News Review |language=en}}</ref> Heather Rankin released the solo albums ''A Fine Line'' (2016) and ''Imagine'' (2017);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://heatherrankin.ca/heather-rankin-and-friends-coming-to-key-city/|title=Heather Rankin - Heather Rankin and Friends coming to Key City}}</ref> the first album included a cover of the Tears for Fears hit “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” featuring Halifax rapper, Quake Matthews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omxmGb24WG8|title=Heather Rankin - Everybody Wants to Rule the World, ft. Quake (Tears For Fears Cover)|last=Heather Rankin|date=1 April 2016|via=YouTube}}</ref> When not performing on their own, the sisters run The Red Shoe pub in Mabou.<ref>[http://www.redshoepub.com/history.htm The Red Shoe Pub History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150311220937/http://www.redshoepub.com/history.htm |date=2015-03-11 }}. Accessed 19 March 2016</ref>

One of the founders of the group, Geraldine Coyne (Rankin), died January 10, 2007, the result of a brain aneurysm, at her home in Calgary. She had not performed with the group since prior to the first recordings' being released.<ref name="GeraldineDeath"/>

On January 16, 2007, the album ''Reunion'' was released, and in 2009 the Rankin Family released their seventh studio album, ''These Are the Moments''.

On June 3, 2012, Raylene Rankin appeared on CBC Radio's ''The Sunday Edition'' where she spoke about her decade-long struggle with cancer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/thesundayedition/documentaries/2012/06/03/all-the-diamonds/|title=Documentary: All the Diamonds|date=18 November 2014|work=cbc.ca}}</ref> She died of metastatic breast cancer on September 30, 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/singer-raylene-rankin-dies-of-cancer-1.1278160|title=Singer Raylene Rankin dies of cancer|date=30 September 2012|work=cbc.ca}}</ref> After funeral services in St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Halifax and St. Mary's Church in Mabou, she was buried in St. Mary's cemetery.<ref>[https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/local/a-final-farewell-to-raylene-rankin-4767/ "A final farewell to Raylene Rankin"], ''Cape Breton Post'', October 5, 2012. Retrieved 2020-10-25.</ref>

==Members== * Jimmy Rankin – vocals, guitar * Cookie Rankin – vocals * Heather Rankin – vocals

===Former members=== * Raylene Rankin (1960–2012) – vocals * John Morris Rankin (1959–2000) – piano, fiddle * David Rankin – vocals * Geraldine Rankin (1958–2007) – vocals * Genevieve Rankin – vocals

==Discography== {{main|The Rankin Family discography}} ;Studio albums *1989: ''The Rankin Family'' *1990: ''Fare Thee Well Love'' *1993: ''North Country'' *1995: ''Endless Seasons'' *1998: ''Uprooted'' *2007: ''Reunion'' *2009: ''These Are the Moments''

==Awards and nominations== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Association ! Category ! Result |- | rowspan="3"| 1992 | rowspan="3"| Juno Awards | Most Promising Group of the Year | {{nom}} |- | Country Group or Duo of the Year | {{nom}} |- | Best Roots & Traditional Album - ''Fare Thee Well Love'' | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="4"| 1994 | rowspan="4"| Juno Awards | Single of the Year - ''Fare Thee Well Love'' | {{won}} |- | Group of the Year<ref name="Inc.1994">{{cite magazine|author=Larry LeBlanc|title=A Breakthrough Year for Canadian Acts|magazine=Billboard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZAgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA53|date=24 December 1994|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|pages=53–|issn=0006-2510}}</ref> | {{won}} |- | Country Group or Duo of the Year<ref name="Inc.1994" /> | {{won}} |- | Canadian Entertainer of the Year<ref name="Inc.1994" /> | {{won}} |- | rowspan="1"| 1995 | rowspan="1"| Juno Awards | Group of the Year | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="2"| 1996 | rowspan="2"| Juno Awards | Album of the Year - ''North Country'' | {{nom}} |- | Country Group or Duo of the Year | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="1"| 1997 | rowspan="1"| Juno Awards | Country Group or Duo of the Year | {{won}} |- | rowspan="1"| 1999 | rowspan="1"| Juno Awards | Best Group | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="1"| 2000 | rowspan="1"| Juno Awards | Best Country Group or Duo<ref>{{cite web | title=The Rankins | website=The Canadian Encyclopedia | url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/rankins-the | access-date=2025-12-29}}</ref> | {{won}} |- | rowspan="1"| 2002 | rowspan="1"| Juno Awards | Best Country Artist/Group - Jimmy Rankin (solo) | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="1"| 2012 | rowspan="1"| Juno Awards | Country Album of the Year - Forget About the World (Jimmy Rankin solo album) | {{nom}} |- | rowspan="1"| 2013 | rowspan="1"| Juno Awards | Adult Contemporary Album of the Year - All The Diamonds (Raylene Rankin solo album) | {{nom}} |- |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|name=Raylene Rankin|id=1801156}} * {{discogs artist|The Rankin Family}} * {{imdb name|1830239}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin Family, The}} Category:The Rankin Family Category:Musical groups established in 1989 Category:Musical groups from Nova Scotia Category:Canadian country music groups Category:Canadian folk music groups Category:Juno Award for Single of the Year winners Category:Family musical groups Category:Canadian Celtic music groups Category:People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia Category:Juno Award for Group of the Year winners Category:Canadian Country Music Association Rising Star Award winners Category:Canadian Country Music Association Group or Duo of the Year winners Category:Canadian families of Scottish ancestry