Shirley Eikhard, the songwriter of Bonnie Raitt’s 1991 hit song, “Something to Talk About,” has passed away at the age of 67, as announced on Thursday, December 15th. She passed away at the Orangeville Hospital in Ontario, Canada, and was surrounded by her family. S
Eikhard was born in New Brunswick and at age 15, her song “It Takes Time” was recorded by country singer Anne Murray in 1971, then later became a hit in Canada. She then released her self-titled debut album the following year in 1972. Several of her songs went on to be covered by popular musicians, the most notable being Bonnie Raitt and Cher.
Raitt released “Something to Talk About” at the first track off of her 1991 album, Luck of the Draw, with the track being written in the 80s by Eikhard. The song spent 20 weeks on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number five. The song ultimately won Raitt the best pop vocal performance, at the 1991 Grammy Awards and was also nominated in the record of the year category.
As for Cher, Eikhard’s track “born With the Hunger” was rerecorded and released for the singer’s 2000 album Not Commercial. Eikhard also contributed “Lovers Forever” with Cher for the 1994 film Interview With the Vampire; the track is on Cher’s 2013 studio album Closer to the Truth.
—
Ramona Kaulitzki / Shutterstock.com