New Brunswick-born singer and songwriter Shirley Eikhard dead at 67

Canadian singer-songwriter Shirley Eikhard, whose flirty track “Something to Talk About” gave Bonnie Raitt her biggest hit and a Grammy Award win, has died after a battle with cancer.

Longtime friend Deborah Duggan says the musician died early Thursday at a hospital in Orangeville, Ont. surrounded by those closest to her. She was 67 years old.

Eikhard, born in Sackville, N.B., got her first taste of success in her early teens when Anne Murray recorded her 1971 track “It Takes Time,” making it a Canadian chart hit.

A year later, Eikhard’s self-titled debut album, released when she was only 16, gave her another boost. She went on to win Juno Awards for female country artist in 1973 and 1974.

Eikhard released several albums in the years that followed, but Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” offered an unexpected twist.

Originally intended for Murray, the East Coast singer’s producers vetoed the track in the mid-1980s, saying it wasn’t hit-worthy.

Several years later, it landed in the hands of Raitt, who recorded it for her 1991 album “Luck of the Draw.”

“Something to Talk About” peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 that year and won Raitt a Grammy for best pop vocal performance for a female artist.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2022.