Amanda Marshall

Amanda Meta Marshall (born August 29, 1972 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian pop-rock singer. Marshall studied music extensively in childhood, attending the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, but she first grabbed attention while attending high school at Jarvis Collegiate, often performing as an 'opening act' for other local bands performing cover songs by artists like Janis Joplin at venues like The Concert Hall, The Horseshoe Tavern, and Lee's Palace. While performing on the Queen Street West bar scene she eventually met guitarist Jeff Healey, who was struck by her powerful voice and took her on tour. She was subsequently signed to a management contract by Jeff's drummer, Tom Stephen, who had formed Forte Management and Forte Records to handle Jeff's career, and Tom successfully negotiated a record deal with Sony's Epic Records. In 1995, Marshall released her self-titled debut album, and it was a massive hit in Canada, spawning six Top 40 hits -- "Let It Rain", "Beautiful Goodbye", "Dark Horse", "Fall From Grace", "Sitting on Top of the World" and "Birmingham". Unfortunately, it was not immediately released in the USA, and it did not receive the same radio attention when it eventually hit the shelves; although it did crack Billboard's Heatseekers Chart for several months. The album remains her biggest hit internationally. Elton John described Amanda as "his favourite new American artist" while being interviewed on Late Night with David Letterman, when asked who he's listening to.