Alannah Myles grew up splitting her time between studying to be an artist at a vocational school for graphic arts in Toronto and in the little northern town of Buckhorn, Ontario on her family’s ranch riding horses and later competing in equestrian horse shows until she decided to make a full time career of performing.
Myles spent her commercial acting income on demo tapes in order to find a record deal until joining creative forces with songwriter Christopher Ward. Ward penned her now legendary Black Velvet which won Myles a Grammy for “Best Rock Vocalist” after producing a special on The Life Of Elvis Presley for Canada’s Much Music.
Together with Christopher’s songs and financing and David Tyson’s production they secured Myles an eight album recording contract with Atlantic Records in New York. After the sale of nearly eight million records worldwide of her first self-titled record at beginning of the 90s, she concluded her alliance of only three records with Atlantic and signed on with Miles Copeland’s Ark 21 Records.