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Neil MacGonigill, a prominent Calgary-based artist manager, producer and record label owner, died on Oct. 31, at age 77.
He played a major role in the careers of such Albertan stars as Jann Arden, k.d. lang, Ian Tyson, Billy Cowsill and Diamond Joe White.
In a Calgary Herald obituary, Eric Volmers reports that "MacGonigill began his music career in Calgary in the 1970s, working for various record labels, including A&M Records. He worked his way from the warehouse to become an artist rep and soon made the move to managing and developing artists.
"In 1980, MacGonigill began managing Ian Tyson and helped the iconic singer-songwriter transform from a folkie to a cowboy poet. He executive-produced the 1983 record Old Corrals and Sagebrush, which was recorded in Tyson's basement in Longview and helped establish him as a pioneer in cowboy music." In 1996, MacGonigill was the executive producer of Tyson's gold-selling album All The Good 'uns, released on Vanguard Records
"In 1985, he became road manager for a young k.d. lang. He met Billy Cowsill in the mid-1970s, a decade after the singer led the family band The Cowsills to global fame, and helped guide his solo career. He eventually brought Cowsill to Calgary, where he was an active musician until he died in 2006.
MacGonigill's first management client was Alberta-based country performer Diamond Joe White. He is also credited with discovering Jann Arden, becoming her manager and executive producer of a number of her records. MacGonigill worked with Arden from 1985-98, and was the person who urged Arden to record "Insensitive," a song penned by Calgary writer Anne Loree. Released in 1994, it remains Arden's most successful hit.
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In 2000, MacGonigill founded the independent label Indelible Music, through which he released, between 2000 and 2007, a number of albums by Calgary-based artists, including The Co-Dependents and Billy Cowsill.
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Record label executive and broadcaster Allison Brock posted a Facebook tribute that reads, in part: "I lost a dear friend on the weekend, not only a dear friend but a transformative person in my life. I met Neil MacGonigill in 1984, shortly after becoming Music Director at then, KIK FM in Calgary.
"After becoming MD I got a phone call from him and he wanted to come over to meet and have a chat. That began a musical conversation that lasted over 40 years. I was there when he first saw Jann Arden and the beginning of that relationship. When I moved to Vancouver and then Toronto the conversation just continued. I was working on some major video projects with Sony & Virgin music and he was also doing the same at A&M with Jann so we compared notes.
"When I moved back to Calgary in 1996 it was to work with Neil as a part of the management team. We were building a roster; in addition to Jann, we worked with Ralph Boyd Johnson and Beautiful Joe. Despite the changes that came, our conversation never stopped. That company sadly had to end but our friendship and respect did not. It was also at this time that we brought Billy Cowsill back from Vancouver and were able to be a part of his last chapter in music and life. Neil is someone that I will never forget and the huge impact he had on my life. Godspeed Neil."
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