This Top 10 Alannah Myles Songs list includes her best songs like “Black Velvet,” “Lover of Mine,” ” Family Secret,” “Love Is,” and many more. Alannah Byles, daughter of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Famer, William Douglas Byles, was born on December 25, 1958, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Already at a young age, the singer-songwriter whom the world knows as Alannah Myles seemed destined for a career in the entertainment industry. As young as nine years old, she wrote songs for herself and for other interested parties. Her musical niche focused on the genre of blues, pop, and rock.
When she was nineteen years old, Alannah changed her last name from Byles to Myles as she pursued her career in the entertainment industry as a singer-songwriter. In 1989, she officially began her recording career, signing up with Atlantic Records saw a total of three studio albums released while she was with that label. In 1997, she terminated her contract with Atlantic and recorded three additional albums with other record labels. In addition to the six studio albums, Alannah Myles also has two compilation albums, an extended play (EP), and nineteen singles to her credit.
Top 10 Alannah Myles Songs
#10 – I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) (featuring Nine Below Zero)
The cover of Aretha Franklin’s 1967 single that defined her career was “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You),” was a duet Alannah Myles performed with the blues band, Nine Below Zero. When it comes to bluesy ballads, Alannah Myles is a hard act to follow. Although her version of Franklin’s R&B classic didn’t find a spot on the billboard charts, it definitely earns a warm place among fans of Alannah Myles, as well as fans of Nine Below Zero and the group’s eighth album, Hot Music for a Cold Night.
#9 – Our World, Our Times
From Rockinghorse, “Our World, Our Times” was the album’s third single, which appeared on the Canadian Singles Chart at number twenty-seven. The opening of the song as Alannah Myles displayed her vocal range, served as a dramatic build-up into one of the most epic performances Myles has ever recorded. Throughout the song, as the backup vocals and guitar riffs added their magic, so did the narrative spoken, matched with the lyrical storytelling by Myles.
#8 – Still Got This Thing
“Still Got This Thing” was the third single released from Alannah Myles’s self-titled album and peaked as high as number twenty-six on the Recorded Music New Zealand (RMNZ) Official Singles chart in 1993, as well as at number twenty-eight on the Canadian Singles Chart. In Australia, Still Got This Thing charted at number sixty-two. The opening guitar riff set the tone before Alannah Myles performed one of the hardest-hitting songs of her career. One of the biggest highlights of this song featured the backup vocalists performing one of the choruses on their own, which added a hint of R&B into it.
#7 – Blow Wind Blow
A-lan-nah was the third studio album recorded by Alannah Myles and released in 1995. “Blow Wind Blow” was its second single, which peaked as high as number eleven on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and appeared at number sixty-four on the Canadian Singles Chart. In a manner that seemed to mix blues with country, the single also served as a folk-style performance, especially in the guitar and violin instrumentation that paralleled perfectly along with Myles’s vocal presentation. Blow Wind Blow was one of those best to listen to songs to kick up the heels and simply enjoy the moment as if going with the flow of the music from start to finish.
#6 – Sonny Say You Will
In 1993, “Sonny Say You Will” was the fifth of five singles that were released from Alannah Myles’s second studio album, Rockinghorse. On the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart, it peaked as high as number fifteen and at number twenty-three on the Canadian Singles Chart. The beautiful, harmonic opening of this single set the tone for one of the best vocal performances ever laid out by Alannah Myles. Magical and fluidic from the start of the song to its finish, Sonny Say You Will was one of Myles’s best lyrical pleas as a performer to win over the love interest of her song.
#5 – Family Secret
In 1995, from her third studio album, A-lan-nah, “Family Secret” charted as a number eight single on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and a number ten single on the Canadian Singles Chart. Smoky from its opening riffs, as well as clean through to its end, the bluesy performance of Alannah Myles saw her at her vocal best as the brilliant hold of each note she sang demonstrated what made the music from Myles earn herself the loyal fan following she had.
#4 – Song Instead of a Kiss
The first single from Alannah Myles’s second studio album, Rockinghorse, was “Song Instead of a Kiss.” In 1993, on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and the official Canadian Singles Chart, it was a number one hit. On the Dutch Single Top 40 Chart belonging to the Netherlands, Song Instead of a Kiss climbed as high as number thirty-five and it was a number eighty-nine hit on the UK Singles Chart. The lyrics of this song come from a poem written by Robert Priest, who sent it to Nancy Simmonds, who is a songwriter for Alannah Myles.
Priest wrote it for Simmonds, hoping she and Myles could make it song-worthy. Together, the ladies put forth what became one of many build-up power ballads Alannah Myles is best known for. Throughout the song, from start to finish, samples of Heart’s 1987 single, Alone, played alongside the lyrical tale Alannah Myles poured out as she performed yet another beautifully performed ballad.
#3 – Lover of Mine
“Lover of Mine” demonstrated how powerful the ballads coming from the vocals of Alannah Myles can be when she’s at her best. Lovers around the world who knew what it’s like to have their loved interest have wandering eyes, found themselves relating to this song. On the Adult Contemporary chart belonging to Canada, it was a number one hit. On its official singles chart, it peaked at number two. It was also another international hit for Myles as it charted at number forty in New Zealand, at number forty-seven in Australia, at sixty-one in the Netherlands, and at number seventy-eight in the UK. It was the fourth and final single from her self-titled debut album, which was released in 1989.
#2 – Love Is
“Love Is” served as the debut single for Alannah Myles in 1989, which was the first track released from her self-titled album. The raspiness behind Myles’s voice worked in her favor as she performed this straightforward song about what love really is about. On the singles chart belonging to the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), “Love Is,” peaked as high as number twelve and became certified gold. On the Canadian Singles Chart, the single climbed as high as number sixteen and it was a number thirty-six hit on the US Billboard Hot 100. This song officially put Alannah Myles on the map as a bluesy talent that suggested to the music industry there is a new name in the business that intended to stay awhile.
#1 – Black Velvet
In 1989, Alannah Myles sang an epic power ballad as a tribute to Elvis Presley through her hit single, “Black Velvet.” This 1991 Grammy Award-winner for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance also won Canada’s Juno Award for Single of the Year in 1990. Black Velvet is Alannah Myles’s signature song and had become a chart-topping phenom on a number of billboards, including the US Billboard Hot 100, the US Billboard Hot Album Tracks, the US Billboard Top 40/Rock, and on the national charts belonging to Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Where the single didn’t reach number one, it at least placed within the top ten and was a number two hit on the Eurochart Hot 100.
“Black Velvet,” also received the Millionaire Award by ASCAP in 2005 after having four million plays on the radio. In certifications, Black Velvet became platinum with Australia’s ARIA and Sweden’s GLF, as well as gold with Austria’s IFPI, Denmark’s IFPI, Germany’s BVMI, the UK’s BPI, and the US’s RIAA. Since its original release, Black Velvet has been covered many times over by different artists over the years and has also been featured in a few commercials.
Feature Photo: Photograph by Mike F. Campbell (User:76wins), CC BY 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons
Alannah Myles Songs article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2022
Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business or any organizations is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain creative commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at end of article.
