Luba

Luba is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and recording artist who was commercially active from 1980 to 1990, 2000 to 2001 and is active again from 2007 to present. She was initially the vocalist for a band named Luba before signing as a solo artist under the one-name moniker. She has released a total of six albums as a solo artist.

Two of her albums are certified platinum by the Canadian music industry. She has nine top-40 hits on the Canadian pop charts. Her signature song is "Everytime I See Your Picture"). Her most successful song is a cover of Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman" which reached #6 on the Canadian pop chart and #3 on the Canadian adult contemporary chart). She is a three-time winner of the Canadian music industry Juno Award for Female Vocalist of the Year. Her success is limited to her native Canada as she has never charted in the US or elsewhere. She continues to record music under her own independent label.

In 1978, she formed a band under her first name Luba. Their debut album Chain Reaction was released on an independent label and received only minimal interest outside of their native Montreal.

Luba enjoyed her greatest success in Canada between 1983 and 1987.A self-titled EP followed in late 1982 and the top 40 hit "Everytime I See Your Picture" in early 1983. In 1984, Luba released her first full-length album called Secrets and Sins. It issued the singles "Let It Go" and "Storm Before The Calm" both reaching the Canadian top-40 charts.

Luba earned her first Canadian music industry Juno Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1985. Later the same year, she recorded several songs for the first season of the Canadian cartoon series The Raccoons. Several of these songs were later re-recorded by Lisa Lougheed for use in later seasons. Two of Luba’s songs are featured on the 1986 movie soundtrack 9½ Weeks starring Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke.

In 1986, Luba released Between the Earth & Sky, which included the single "How Many (Rivers To Cross)". This top 20 Canadian hit had represented Canada at the 1985 World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan and made the finals. Also in 1986, Luba won her second straight Juno as Canada's best female vocalist. In 1987, Over 60 Minutes With Luba, a compilation of her hits with one new track was released with a live recording of "When A Man Loves A Woman". This track would become her biggest Canadian hit, peaking at #6 on the RPM top 100. She would cap the year with her third straight "Best Female Vocalist" Juno.

By 1988, Luba still had not broken into the US market despite all her success at home the previous 5 years. Her next album, All Or Nothing, was recorded over a year and half across 7 studios using more than a dozen session musicians. Released in the fall of 1989, the album included the singles "Giving Away A Miracle," "No More Words", and "Little Salvation". The band recorded an acoustic, live-in-the-studio show in Toronto and released as Live on Tour in 1990. Although All Or Nothing reached platinum status in Canada, it did nothing in the US.

During the 1990s, Luba decided to put her career on hold and focus on other priorities.

From The Bitter To The Sweet, was released in 2000 on her own label Azure Music. While the album won some critical acclaim, and produced the Top 30 single "Is She A Lot Like Me?", it did not match the sales or radio airplay as her earlier albums. At year's end, she was featured in a concert performance on a Canadian program, An Evening With The Stars, which included both new and old material.

She is still very focused on her passion, writing and singing, and is working on a new album which will highlight her roots in Soul/R&B music.

Music Videos

 * How Many (Rivers To Cross)
 * Let It Go