Shirley Eikhard, the writer of Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-winning hit “Something to Talk About,” died on Thursday, Dec. 15. She was 67.
Videos by American Songwriter
Musical throughout her childhood, the Canadian-born singer/songwriter rose to fame in the 1970s. By the time she was 15, country singers Chet Atkins and Anne Murray had both recorded and released two of her songs, “Pickin’ My Way” and “It Takes Time,” respectively.
Eikhard released her self-titled debut album in 1972, and won two consecutive Juno Awards for Best Country Female Artist in ’73 and ’74.
She reportedly wrote more than 500 songs over the course of her career, many of which would go on to be covered by popular musicians, such as Raitt, Cher, and Rita Coolidge. In the 1980s, she made a mega breakthrough, penning “Something to Talk About.” It would become her most notable song, one that would lead to her induction into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.
Raitt recorded and released “Something to Talk About” as the lead single of her 1991 album, Luck of the Draw. The song spent 20 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, peaking at No. 5. In 1992, Raitt took home the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Something to Talk About.”
In a 2017 post on social media, Raitt praised her friend, writing, “So happy to reunite with my friend and great singer/songwriter Shirley Eikhard, who joined me onstage in our London, Ontario show the other night on her song, ‘Something to Talk About.’ The crowd loved honoring one of their own and so did we!”
Eikhard’s track “Born With the Hunger” would be recorded and released on Cher’s album, Not Commercial, in 2000. Alongside Cher, the two also wrote “Lovers Forever” for the film, Interview With the Vampire.
Revisit her classic, “Something to Talk About,” below.
(Photo by Reg Innell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
