The Rankin Family

Family Harmony

by Maureen Brennan

[From Dirty Linen #60 October/November '95]

photo: Denise Sofranko

In Mabou (a village on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia) everybody enjoys music," began Jimmy Rankin, as he explained how the Rankin Family started singing. "Mabou is a very musical community," Sister Cookie elaborated, "and it's not unusual for people to be involved in music in one way or another. They either sing or play music on a personal basis, or just have a great interest or appreciation of it. There are very few people that I know that don't know how to do the traditional dance." And the Rankin family -- Jimmy, Raylene, Cookie, John Morris and Heather -- partake in all aspects.

Raised in a family of 12 children, music was an important form of recreation. "Our parents really encouraged us to participate through local festivals, local dances, and so forth," Cookie explained. "We could participate by singing or playing the fiddle or the piano. John Morris played the fiddle and the piano, and we would sing. Jimmy plays the guitar, and we dance as well."

As they grew up, music became a financial opportunity for family members as well. "When we got a little bit older -- junior high and high school -- we got involved in being an actual band where we could play for adult dances. We'd be too young to be admitted to them and we were never allowed to go to them on a recreational basis. It would always be through work. It was a means of making money for us -- preparing for college and getting through college. We would have a summer job and do this at night."

Parents Buddy and Kaye Rankin were involved in music in a minimal way. "Our father was a classic fiddler and our mother had a voice; but they did not perform in any way really," Cookie continued. "They had a tremendous appreciation for music, especially traditional music. They made sure that we had a piano at a very young age, and it was usually tuned. It wasn't unusual for local musicians to come to the house for a cup of tea. While Mom was making the tea, there would be music in the house. We were encouraged to be involved with music, and I think our parents had an ear to hear that we had an ear for music."

Not surprisingly, the five Rankins that became this singing (and playing) phenomenon were not the first in the family to enjoy the benefits of the local music. "When I was too young to participate, the older sisters and brothers were participating. But once they reached high school and graduated from high school, they kind of went their separate ways. By the time we came along, there was much more support for the local music scene, and people getting involved in the local music. I think that's why we were able to sustain ourselves musically, more so than the older (children).

"Raylene and John Morris," Cookie continued, "were actually part of the older group; and they were always involved in the music. It didn't matter what was going on, they always stayed in the music scene. Jimmy came along, and I came along, and then Heather (the age span in the Rankin Family is from mid-20s to mid-30s). It was basically whoever wanted to stick with it, stuck with it; and those who didn't, it was okay."

Six years ago, the Rankins decided to record their first album, and see how far they could take the music. "We were all at a crossroads," said Heather.

Heather, Cookie, and Jimmy were just finishing school. Raylene, a trained lawyer, was re-thinking, looking twice at that career; and John Morris was working and supporting his family in music. The first album, The Rankin Family, contains the most traditional material, certainly the most acoustic. Early marketing schemes included loading up their mother's car with cassettes, and selling them to restaurants, shops and gas stations around Nova Scotia. One small business owner in Baddeck reported that she's sold over 300 of the family's tapes to tourists preparing to visit Cape Breton Highland National Park. She makes the same offer to all: "If you don't like it, you can get your money back when you return." She's never had one come back.

The first recording features three of Jimmy's original compositions (many of which now comprise a large portion of the Family's repertoire). He finds inspiration in the geography, music and people of Cape Breton Island. "There are loads of great songwriters in the Maritimes," he said, "and there's so much great music that comes out of there. You cannot help but be inspired by the ocean, and the history. In Cape Breton, people have a very strong sense of history and their past, and storytelling, and people and their relations. I think that rubs off on me consciously and unconsciously."

Their hometown, Mabou, has a population of approximately 1,500. The major sources of income and employment are fishing, farming and forestry. And, unfortunately, like so many places, they've been "hard hit by the economy," Jimmy explained. "There's been kind of a mass exodus of people there since about 100 years ago. It's been a launching ground for people to take off for other parts of the country and other places in the world. It's kind of a quaint place, untouched by industry. In one sense it's good, in one sense it's bad, 'cause there's not a lot of work there." His song "Tramp Miner" reflects the kind of life some have had to lead once they left Mabou. It's a great irony that many of the descendants of families that once left Scotland due to economic hardships are now, generations later, having to leave again in search of work.

The Rankin Family's music and performance are noted for their eclecticism. In some ways, their concerts are like cabaret. There are songs (traditional and contemporary, in Gaelic and English), instrumental music, and dance. The lead vocals are constantly shifting from one member of the family to another; yet the others are always there to provide backing harmony or to-and-fro duets.

While much of the original material the band performs has a country flavor, the influences of traditional music, folk, pop and rock 'n' roll can also be heard. When the Rankin Family goes out on the road, besides the five family members, the band includes Howie MacDonald on fiddle, drummer Scott Ferguson, electric guitarist Ray Montford, and bassist John Chiasson.

Jimmy attributed the variety in their performance to their earlier career, playing dances. "That's where our style evolved from, playing a diverse array of music. We had our Cape Breton fiddle, and people dancing square sets. Then, between the square sets, we had what we called round dance music. Round dance music, to us, was anything that people would dance to. That could be rock 'n' roll, whatever."

The majority of the traditional music the band plays, other than jigs and reels, are songs sung in Gaelic. While not native speakers, the Rankins did study Gaelic at school. "When I was in elementary school, junior high, and high school, I took it for that whole time," said Cookie. "It was a real sense by a small community of people to try and re-establish the Gaelic language at least through the kids. But unless you're immersed in it, you're not going to learn to think it instinctively. I know how to read it, vocabulary and grammatics, more than I know how to speak it. So we have a tutor that helps us with it at home; and we do have to learn the songs phonetically, unfortunately."

The Family put out a second album, Fare Thee Well Love, which in March 1992 was picked up by EMI-Canada. "The best thing that happened to us when we signed with EMI was that they were able to get our records in stores everywhere in the country," said Jimmy. "People were able to see us on a different level, as opposed to the underground thing we had been doing ourselves for two or three years. Most importantly, they got songs on mainstream radio. We had four singles that year that were in the Top 10; we had a couple of songs that made it to the Top 5 in country music radio; and we had one that went to number one on the adult contemporary charts. That was like people hearing you ten times a day, and that broke us through."

When the Canadian version of the album North Country came out in 1993, the Rankin Family were poised for success. The album swept the Juno Awards in 1994, winning for "Group of the Year," "Country Group of the Year," "Single of the Year," and "Entertainer[s] of the Year." Jimmy Rankin explained the Family's reaction: "I think at the time we were touring so much, we didn't really absorb what was happening. Once we had a chance to sit down and reflect, it was just a great honor. It's not an easy thing to do, even in Canada, which is a heck of a lot smaller than the U.S. It's very competitive, especially for the kind of music we do, which is not easily categorized."

Catching on in the rest of the world -- and particularly in the United States -- was a bit slower, and at times frustrating. "It took us so long to get our album (North Country) released here," Jimmy said, "and we went through a couple of bad experiences with other record companies before we found this one [Guardian, a division of EMI] that knew what we were about and had some good marketing schemes. I think our next album is going to be available here in February. That's the plan anyway."

Last spring, the Rankin Family toured Australia and New Zealand with the prestigious Irish Guinness Tour. Other performers included Altan, Sharon Shannon, Donal Lunny, Brendan Power, and Maire Ní Chathasaigh and Chris Newman. They have built up their reputation in England and Scotland, and hope, with record company support, to tour Ireland. At the time of this interview, they were just finishing their first full U.S. tour. Previously, they'd travelled south for the odd festival or concert.

If asked to name the most memorable aspect of a Rankin Family live performance, most people would mention the exquisite three-part harmonies of the sisters, that sometimes extend to four and five parts when the brothers are included. Does the harmony carry over when they have to go on tour together for days on end? Jimmy responded "We've been at it seriously for six years, touring in every way, shape, and form; and we've learned to stay out of each other's way and make things work; you have to. Basically, we're on a bus with 11 people a lot of the time, and any band has their hard times and good times."

Cookie added, "It's the same way with any family that has to work together, whether it's working on the road as musicians or working in an office trying to make a go of a family business. You learn to work together, and you learn to get along. It's part of making something good successful; and we happen to like one another."

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