Velvet Morning

Sue Medley is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose work bridges pop rock, roots rock, folk rock, and country-edged adult contemporary. Closely associated with Vancouver Island and the Comox Valley music community, Medley emerged nationally at the end of the 1980s and became one of the stronger Canadian female rock voices of the early 1990s, combining a direct songwriting style with a polished but roots-conscious major-label sound.

Before her national breakthrough, Medley had already developed as a working performer and songwriter, moving through country and roots-oriented material before signing with Mercury / PolyGram. Her early recordings and live work positioned her as an artist with both mainstream radio potential and a grounding in guitar-based songcraft. That balance became central to her 1990 self-titled debut album, Sue Medley, released in Canada by Mercury.

Produced primarily by Michael Wanchic and Simon Vinestock, with Sue Medley arranging the material, the album connected Medley to a network of musicians associated with John Mellencamp’s heartland-rock circle. The sessions featured players such as Kenny Aronoff, Toby Myers, and John Cascella, along with Sonny Landreth, Robbie Steininger, Kenneth Blevins, David Ranson, Vince Ditrich, Richard Sera, Ashley Cleveland, and others. The record was cut across several major studios, including Belmont Mall in Bloomington, Indiana; Le Studio in Morin Heights, Quebec; Westside Studios in London, England; Utopia Studios in London; The Hit Factory in New York; and Sterling Sound in New York.

The debut album produced Medley’s best-known single, “Dangerous Times,” a strong pop-rock track that brought her national attention through radio and video exposure. Other key songs from the album included “That’s Life,” “Heart Of Mine,” “Blue Skies,” “Queen Of The Underground,” “Love Thing,” “Start It Over,” “57 Chevy,” and “Maybe The Next Time.” The album also included a cover of Mick Ralphs’ “Oh. Atlanta,” the only non-Medley composition on the main CD configuration. The Canadian LP also included “Blue Train,” giving that edition an additional track not carried on the later European CD sequence.

Medley’s breakthrough was recognized at the 1991 Juno Awards, where she won Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year. The award placed her among the most visible new Canadian female artists of the period, at a time when Canadian pop and rock were moving between mainstream radio, MuchMusic, adult contemporary formats, and a growing singer-songwriter revival. Her voice, songwriting, and roots-rock presentation gave her a distinct position beside the more polished pop and heavier rock acts then dominating national charts.

Her second album, Inside Out, followed in 1992, again issued by Mercury / PolyGram. Produced by Michael Wanchic and co-produced by Sue Medley, the album continued her connection to major American rock session players while expanding the sound into a broader, more mature adult-rock direction. The album featured Robbie Steininger on acoustic guitar, dobro, electric guitar, slide guitar, and backing vocals; David Grissom on electric guitar; Sonny Landreth on slide guitar; Jimmie Lee Sloas on bass guitar; Kenny Aronoff on drums and percussion; Richard Bell on piano, organ, and synthesizer; Richard Sera on organ, synthesizer, and backing vocals; and backing vocals from Jacci McGhee, John James, Mike Wanchic, Roderic Bronaugh, Robbie Steininger, Richard Sera, and Medley herself.

Inside Out included “The Sound And The Fury,” “Inside Out,” “When The Stars Fall,” “I Can’t Imagine,” “Forget You,” “Jane’s House,” “I Am Alive,” “Long Hard Fall,” “Under A Southern Sky,” and “How Deep It Goes.” Unlike the debut, which was dominated by Medley’s solo writing, the second album included several collaborations, with co-writing credits involving Robbie Steininger, Crain, Green, Greenberg, and McHugh, while several tracks remained Medley solo compositions. The album was recorded at The Belmont Mall in Bloomington, Indiana, with further tracking in Indianapolis, New York, and Vancouver, then mixed by Ross Hogarth at Royal Recorders in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and Paisley Park Studios in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Masterdisk in New York.

The early 1990s also connected Medley to one of the decade’s most high-profile tribute events. In 1992, she appeared as part of the Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden, performing alongside John Mellencamp on “Like a Rolling Stone.” That appearance reflected the credibility she had gained through the Wanchic/Mellencamp musical circle and placed her briefly on an international stage beyond the Canadian radio market.

After the Mercury / PolyGram period, Medley’s major-label momentum slowed. A planned third album did not emerge through the same system, and she eventually returned with the independent album Velvet Morning, released in 2000 on Egg Records, a division of Ramona Holdings Inc. The album included “Velvet Morning,” “Road To Neverland,” “No Time,” “Gone,” “Paper Angel,” “Hole In The Backyard,” “Descansos,” “You Won’t See Me Cry,” “Break The Chain,” and “Who I Am.” Coming after a long gap between albums, Velvet Morning repositioned Medley as an independent artist rather than a major-label priority, while still carrying forward the emotional, guitar-based songwriting that had defined her earlier work.

Several of Medley’s songs later found renewed exposure through television placement, including use in the series Dawson’s Creek, helping introduce her material to a new audience after her main Canadian chart period. She also continued working as a performer, songwriter, teacher, and local music figure, eventually becoming closely tied again to the Vancouver Island scene.

In the 2010s, Medley returned to recording and performing with Sue Medley & The Back Road Band, releasing new material including the 2013 album These Are The Days. This later phase emphasized community, roots, and lived-in musicianship over the major-label machinery of her early career. It also reinforced the long arc of her work: from Vancouver Island singer-songwriter beginnings, to PolyGram-era national recognition, to independent and regional activity rooted in the same direct, melodic songwriting voice that first brought her to attention.

-Robert Williston