Originally Published: 2009-10-18

Liona Boyd

Canadian music icon Liona Boyd has made her mark as one of the most successful and acclaimed classical guitarists ever. Her virtuosity has brought Boyd multiple gold and platinum records, five Juno awards, the Order of Canada, and induction into Guitar Player magazine’s Hall of Fame Gallery of Greats. She has a large and loyal international audience, one she is about to surprise with her new album, Liona Boyd Sings Songs Of Love.
That’s right, sings. The record marks Boyd's coming out as a vocalist, a major career detour brought on by a medical reason. As has only recently been revealed publicly, Boyd suffers from a condition called Task Specific Focal Dystonia. In an interview with Tandem, Boyd describes this as “a neurological condition where you basically wear out the neuro-receptors in the brain. The brain maps become smudged, and the neuro-receptors don’t give the right message to the fingers. I must have done billions of the same notes, especially as I was famous for doing tremolo. This happens to a certain percentage of musicians especially as we do all these repetitive things. There’s no physical pain, just total emotional anguish as every day for years I’d sit around trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with my hands.”
Upon receiving the correct diagnosis in 2003, Boyd left the international concert stage, as she was unable to perform at her customary level. Her passion for music remained, but, as she recalls, “I was desperately wondering what in the world I was going to do with my life if I couldn’t play the guitar. Guitar had always been my big passion. Then I thought, ‘Well, I’ve always loved writing lyrics. Maybe I’ll learn how to sing.’ I’m not a great talented singer but I think I’m a good songwriter.”
Her new album and role as singer/songwriter confirm this. LBSSOL is a collaboration with a Croatian guitarist, Srdjan Givoge, and his voice and guitar playing blend sweetly with Boyd’s on this charming record. Boyd wrote most of the music and lyrics. She also covers the Ewan McColl classic, “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, while for “Why Must You Leave Me Now” she wrote English lyrics to Lucio Dalla’s big hit.

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