Canadian rock legend Kenny Shields dies
69-year-old lead singer of Streetheart died in Winnipeg hospital Friday
By Darren Bernhardt, CBC News Posted: Jul 21, 2017 8:12 AM CT Last Updated: Jul 21, 2017 9:42 AM CT
Kenny Shields, lead singer of classic Canadian rock band Streetheart, has died at age 69.
Shields died early Friday morning in a Winnipeg hospital, where he underwent cardiac surgery, bandmate and close friend Jeff Neill confirmed.
Neill said Shields's wife and daughter were with him when he died around 3 a.m.
"The ones that he loved were by his side and he wasn't in pain. And he just slipped away," Neill said.
"He was sort of at peace with the world. It's a very humbling experience when you go in and you see one of your very best friends like that, and the courage that he had there was quite something."
Streetheart had planned a cross-country tour this summer to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band. The tour was cancelled when Shields fell ill earlier this month.
Neill announced Shields's illness on the official Facebook page for Kenny Shields and Streetheart and continued to post updates about his condition.
"Kenny, as some of you may know and many have speculated on, has a very sick heart. In lay terms, he has approximately 20 per cent efficiency on the left side of his heart, which has caused his right side to become damaged in an attempt to compensate," Neill posted July 5.
"This has created a dangerous buildup of fluid in his lungs along with other serious internal issues."
Born and raised in the farming community of Nokomis, Sask., in 1947, Shields started playing in bands in Saskatoon, where he moved to attend university.
He relocated to Winnipeg in the mid-1970s and became part of a band originally from his home province.
The band soon returned to Saskatoon.
When it broke up in 1976, Shields and some of his bandmates hooked up with a couple of new musicians and began rehearsals in Regina for what would become Streetheart, the prairie powerhouse band of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The band soon relocated once again to Winnipeg. Its numerous hits, a mix of their own tunes and covers, include:
Action.
Hollywood.
Here Comes the Night.
Under My Thumb.
Tin Soldier.
Look In Your Eyes.
What Kind of Love Is This.
One More Time.
Snow White.
The band earned six gold albums, four platinum albums, a gold single, two Ampex Golden Reel awards, a Music Express People's Choice Award as Most Popular Canadian Act and a Juno Award.
In September 2003, Kenny Shields and Streetheart were inducted into the Western Canadian Music Association Hall of Fame.
Shields became a fixture in the Winnipeg music scene, doing solo shows as well as performing with his old mates.
The band was scheduled for a farewell concert at the Winnipeg Classic RockFest later this summer. The show was slated as the "final farewell performance by members of Streetheart" and an event to "honour the incredible legacy of Kenny Shields."
Other Canadian rockers including Honeymoon Suite, Harlequin, The Pumps and Orphan were also on the bill.
An update on the Facebook page for the event says the show will go on: "Kenny Shields was so looking forward to performing for his fans in Winnipeg where Streetheart first began, so this special tribute will give Winnipeg a chance to honour and thank Kenny for all the great music memories he's given to us all over the last 40 years, he deserves this!"
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