Frances Black

A pure vocal tone and an energetic, pop-minded delivery has made Frances Black one of Ireland's top vocalists. In 1995 and 1997, Black was named Ireland's Best Female Artist by the Irish Record Industry Awards (IRMA) . She also received the Most Popular Artist award at the National Awards ceremony. A former member of Arcady and the Black Family, Black made her solo debut with two tracks on the million-selling, multi-artist compilation Woman's Heart in 1993. An album-related tour with Maura O'Connell, Dolores Keane, Sharon Shannon, Sinead Lohan, and her sister, Mary Black, broke all of Ireland's box office records. While Black's debut solo album, Talk to Me (released in 1994), sold over 100,000 copies and spent eight weeks at the top of Ireland's music charts, her releases The Sky Road (1995), The Smile on Your Face (1996), and Don't Get Me Wrong (1998) further established her as an internationally known performer. Black has proven as effective interpreting the songs of American singer/songwriters as she is with Irish music. Talk to Me featured four songs by Nanci Griffith ("On Grafton Street," "Talk to Me While I'm Listening," "Always Will," and "Time of Inconvenience." Among Black's most successful singles are re-recordings of Acker Bilk's "Stranger on the Shore" in October 1996 and the Yvonne Elliman-popularized tune "Love Me, Please" in August 1997. Black made her professional debut in 1986 with the Black Family, a group that also featured her three brothers (Michael, Shay, and Martin) and her sister (Mary). In addition to singing on the group's two albums (The Black Family in 1986 and Time for Touching Home in 1988) -- Black sang on her brothers' album, What a Time. Shortly after recording Time for Touching Home, Black joined Irish trad folk band Arcady, which also featured accordion players Shannon and Jackie Daly and bouzouki player Johnny Moynihan. Black remained with the band until 1994, when she formed a duo with Irish singer/songwriter Kieran Goss. In 1994, Black performed a benefit concert for the Aoibhneas Women's Refuge and recorded an EP (which featured her children, Eoghan and Aoife, singing backup vocals) titled Fear Is the Enemy of Love & Children. How High the Moon was released on Koch in 2005. ~ Craig Harris, Rovi