Luba

Luba (born Lubomyra Kowalchyk (Любомира Ковальчук), 24 April 1958) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and recording artist from Montreal.

Luba Kowalchyk was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1958 to Ukrainian immigrant parents.

Growing up, she studied piano, guitar, flute, and voice.

During her teens, she traveled across Canada to perform traditional Ukrainian folk songs at weddings and festivals.

At the beginning of her career, Luba performed with the traditional Ukrainian music group Via Zorya, with whom she released a self-titled album in 1973.

In 1975, then known as Lubomyra Kowalchyk, Luba released an album with a musical ensemble called Via Zorya.

The record, Zorya, was released by the label Yeshvan and featured traditional Ukrainian folk songs in new arrangements.

Two years later, Luba released her first solo album, called Lubomyra, via SAGE Promotions.

It again featured Ukrainian folk songs, but this time mixed with elements of jazz, blues, and rock.

Both Ukrainian albums featured her future drummer Peter Marunzak.

With high production values, Luba's Ukrainian recordings raised the bar for this music genre in the diaspora, setting a standard that was followed by artists such as Kvitka Cisyk and Darka & Slavko.

Luba released a single in French in 1979 called "Le Doux Rendez-vous", through the Bobinason label.

A year prior, she had formed a band under her first name, Luba.

She was professionally active from 1980 to 1990, 2000 to 2001, and is active again as of 2007.

In the 1980s, she sang with her own band, Luba, which released the album Chain Reaction in 1980.

She went on to have a solo career using the mononym Luba.

Two of her albums have been certified Platinum by the Canadian music industry (for sales in excess of 100,000 units).

She has had nine top-40 hits on the Canadian pop charts.

Their debut album, Chain Reaction, was released on an independent label in 1980 and received only minimal interest outside of their native Montreal.

Capitol-EMI signed her as a solo artist under the mononym Luba in 1982, and she released a self-titled EP that year, followed by the top-40 hit "Every time I See Your Picture" in early 1983.

Luba enjoyed her greatest success in Canada between 1983 and 1987.

In 1984, Luba issued the album Secrets and Sins.

It spawned the singles "Let It Go" and "Storm Before the Calm", both of which reached the Canadian top-40 charts.

Luba is a three-time winner of the Canadian music industry Juno award for Female Vocalist of the Year (1985–1987).

Her success is limited to her native Canada, as she has never charted in the US or elsewhere.

In addition to her Juno awards, Luba has also received CASBY and Félix Awards, and a Black Music Association Award for Female Entertainer of the Year.

Throughout her career, Luba has released seven studio albums, two EPs, two compilation albums, and multiple singles.

Luba earned her first Canadian music industry Juno award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1985.

Later the same year, she recorded several songs written by Stephen Lunt, Jon Stroll, and Kevin Gillis for the first season of the Canadian cartoon series The Raccoons.

Several of these songs were later re-recorded by Lisa Lougheed for use in subsequent seasons.

This top-20 Canadian hit represented Canada at the 1985 World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan and made the finals.

Two of Luba's songs are featured on the 1986 soundtrack to 9½ Weeks, a film starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke In 1986, Luba released Between the Earth & Sky, which included the single "How Many (Rivers to Cross)".

Also in 1986, Luba won her second Juno as Canada's best female vocalist.

Her most successful song is a cover of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman", which reached number 6 on the Canadian pop chart and number 3 on the Canadian adult contemporary chart, in 1987.

In 1987, Luba published Over 60 Minutes with Luba, a compilation of her hits with one new track, a live recording of "When a Man Loves a Woman".

This track would become her biggest Canadian hit, peaking at number 6 on the RPM top 100.

She would cap the year with her third Best Female Vocalist Juno.

By 1988, Luba's music was being played mainly in Canada, and her label brought in new management to promote her work in the United States.

Her next album, All or Nothing, was recorded over a year and half across seven studios, using various session musicians.

Released in the fall of 1989, the album included the singles "Giving Away a Miracle", "No More Words", and "Little Salvation".