Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Cue the blues: R.I.P. Candye Kane

Local artist passes

Local blues belter Candye Kane lost her long battle with cancer on Friday, May 6. She had been hospitalized in Oceanside on January 4, to await transfer to Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, and signs were at first positive that she might beat the disease once again but, alas, it was not to be.

Kane first gained attention after being signed by CBS Records in 1986, though the label later dropped her. Then married to Thomas Yearsley of the Paladins, she was touched by the music of Big Maybelle, Big Mama Thornton, Ruth Brown, and more. Her self-released 1991 album Burlesque Swing caught the ear of Texas impresario Clifford Antone, who signed her to a deal with Antone’s Records.

Video:

"Superhero"

Candye Kane singing at the Oasis House Concerts in 2010

Candye Kane singing at the Oasis House Concerts in 2010

She moved to Oceanside around 1991 and began evolving musically into an accomplished blues belter. Rounder/Bullseye Records signed her in 1995, releasing The Toughest Girl Alive, produced by Scott Billington. Four albums followed on the German RUF label, including the Bob Margolin-produced Guitar’d and Feathered. In 2008, Ruf Records released a live album featuring Kane, Deborah Coleman, and Dani Wilde.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That year, however, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

A musical based on Kane's early life story, The Toughest Girl in the World, debuted in workshops at the Diversionary Theatre in January 2009. The production includes many of her songs, with guest pianist Sue Palmer, a longtime Kane associate.

In summer 2011, she released a new album, Sister Vagabond. “I take things one day at a time and today I am feeling great and very optimistic about my new CD,” Kane said. "It’s been awesome to write and co-produce again with my guitarist Laura Chavez. I am grateful for every chance I get to make music live, or in the studio. Most people are given only three months to live after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and three years later, I am still here. So any opportunity I have to create music makes me humbled and grateful.”

Sister Vagabond hit #1 on the Living Blues Charts, as well as earning a pick-to-click slot on the XM/Sirius radio program Bluesville. It was also nominated for a German Blues Award. Her stage play Toughest Girl Alive returned to the Moxie Theater in early 2012.

In August 2012, she won Best Blues Album at the San Diego Music Awards, as well as receiving a Courage in Music trophy. Having mostly recovered from pancreatic cancer surgery, she then embarked on a tour of the Midwest, East Coast, Florida, and then on to France and Holland.

Her 2013 CD Coming Out Swingin' was engineered and co-produced by ex-husband Thomas Yearsley and Laura Chavez. In January 2014, she served as one of the judges at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the largest blues gatherings in the world.

Last year, Kane provided songs for a new musical called Eternally Bad, based on a graphic novel by underground cartoonist Trina Robbins and premiering at the Moxie Theatre during the 2015 Comic-Con International.

A longtime friend and supporter of the Reader, she will be missed.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Next Article

San Diego Holiday Experiences

As soon as Halloween is over, it's Christmas time in my mind

Local blues belter Candye Kane lost her long battle with cancer on Friday, May 6. She had been hospitalized in Oceanside on January 4, to await transfer to Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, and signs were at first positive that she might beat the disease once again but, alas, it was not to be.

Kane first gained attention after being signed by CBS Records in 1986, though the label later dropped her. Then married to Thomas Yearsley of the Paladins, she was touched by the music of Big Maybelle, Big Mama Thornton, Ruth Brown, and more. Her self-released 1991 album Burlesque Swing caught the ear of Texas impresario Clifford Antone, who signed her to a deal with Antone’s Records.

Video:

"Superhero"

Candye Kane singing at the Oasis House Concerts in 2010

Candye Kane singing at the Oasis House Concerts in 2010

She moved to Oceanside around 1991 and began evolving musically into an accomplished blues belter. Rounder/Bullseye Records signed her in 1995, releasing The Toughest Girl Alive, produced by Scott Billington. Four albums followed on the German RUF label, including the Bob Margolin-produced Guitar’d and Feathered. In 2008, Ruf Records released a live album featuring Kane, Deborah Coleman, and Dani Wilde.

Sponsored
Sponsored

That year, however, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

A musical based on Kane's early life story, The Toughest Girl in the World, debuted in workshops at the Diversionary Theatre in January 2009. The production includes many of her songs, with guest pianist Sue Palmer, a longtime Kane associate.

In summer 2011, she released a new album, Sister Vagabond. “I take things one day at a time and today I am feeling great and very optimistic about my new CD,” Kane said. "It’s been awesome to write and co-produce again with my guitarist Laura Chavez. I am grateful for every chance I get to make music live, or in the studio. Most people are given only three months to live after a pancreatic cancer diagnosis and three years later, I am still here. So any opportunity I have to create music makes me humbled and grateful.”

Sister Vagabond hit #1 on the Living Blues Charts, as well as earning a pick-to-click slot on the XM/Sirius radio program Bluesville. It was also nominated for a German Blues Award. Her stage play Toughest Girl Alive returned to the Moxie Theater in early 2012.

In August 2012, she won Best Blues Album at the San Diego Music Awards, as well as receiving a Courage in Music trophy. Having mostly recovered from pancreatic cancer surgery, she then embarked on a tour of the Midwest, East Coast, Florida, and then on to France and Holland.

Her 2013 CD Coming Out Swingin' was engineered and co-produced by ex-husband Thomas Yearsley and Laura Chavez. In January 2014, she served as one of the judges at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the largest blues gatherings in the world.

Last year, Kane provided songs for a new musical called Eternally Bad, based on a graphic novel by underground cartoonist Trina Robbins and premiering at the Moxie Theatre during the 2015 Comic-Con International.

A longtime friend and supporter of the Reader, she will be missed.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
Next Article

San Diego seawalls depend on Half Moon Bay case

Casa Mira townhomes sued after losing 20 feet of bluffs in storm
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader