Local Music spotlight
As we celebrate Winnipeg’s 150th birthday, each month music historian and author John Einarson will share stories from our city’s rich and colourful music history. Enjoy.
Yvette Dandaneau
Singer Yvette Dandaneau was born in St. Pierre, Manitoba and moved to Winnipeg at age 13 to pursue a singing career. She sang with the Jimmy King Trio at the Royal Alexandra Hotel where she was spotted by CBC’s Ray McConnell who hired her. Yvette became the CBC’s #1 vocalist, appearing on almost all their locally produced music shows. With CBC, Yvette was able to sing on both the English and French networks. She proved to be a versatile singer, capable of imitating the popular singers of the day for soundalike recordings. According to jazz aficionado and owner of The Record Room, Richard Zurba, “Yvette was the nearest thing to Peggy Lee in Winnipeg.” In 1969 Yvette recorded a single composed by Zurba entitled “That Was A Day” backed by Dave Shaw on bass, George Reznik on piano, and drummer Reg Kelln.
Yvette and had a very recognizable image with her short Mia Farrow-style haircut. Fellow CBC singer Karen Marklinger recalled, “People used to go to their hairdressers and say ‘I want an Yvette haircut’.” Married to musician Dave Shaw, Yvette retired from performing in 1981 when Dave became ill. She has occasionally appeared at special reunion events.
Len Cariou
Another local singer who caught his break on local CBC television music productions is Len Cariou. Born in the Norwood neighbourhood of east Winnipeg and raised in East Kildonan, Len’s first public appearance was at Rainbow Stage. He also sang in Winnipeg clubs with the Len Cariou Quartet (drummer Owen Clark, Marv Bales on guitar, and Cam Fairfield on piano). As both an actor and a singer, Len appeared in several local musical theatre productions. In 1968 he made his Broadway debut (Broadway New York, that is) and never looked back, earning Tony Award nominations appearing with the likes of Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor and Angela Lansbury with whom he won a Tony for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. His list of theatrical productions is peerless. He has an equally impressive list of movie and television credits, most recently in the long running television series Blue Bloods. Still a singer at heart, Len has returned to Winnipeg to perform for the hometown crowd on several occasions.
Ed Evanko
Singer/actor Ed Evanko followed a similar path to Len Cariou, only to make a sharp right turn. The child of Ukrainian immigrants to Winnipeg, at age thirteen Ed’s vocal abilities first shone at the annual Winnipeg Music Festival. He went on to appear at Rainbow Stage where his love of acting grew. In 1961, Ed moved to the UK where he trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and sang with the English Opera Group and the Welsh National Opera. Back home in Winnipeg in 1967, Ed hosted his own CBC television show. He would go on to appear in a number of Canadian television shows and to record Broadway musical albums for Capitol, RCA, Decca, and Destiny Records. He appeared on Broadway in “Canterbury Tales” and “Rex”, his Broadway debut earning him a Theatre World Award, a New Jersey Drama Critics Award, and a Los Angeles Ovation Award nomination. Ed also performed at Ukrainian festivals across Canada.
In 2001, despite a rising career in music and theatre, Ed answered a higher calling, choosing instead to become a Ukrainian Catholic priest, a role he fulfilled for the rest of his life both in Manitoba and British Columbia. He passed away in November 2018.
