A Sylvan Lake man is mourning the death his friend, Kenny Shields, lead singer of the Canadian band Streetheart.
The band was scheduled to play at Westerner Days on Thursday however Rob Hamill said that Streetheart cancelled because Shields had a heart attack two weeks ago. He passed away Friday morning in Winnipeg. The band was in its final tour this year.
Hamill, a musician and freelance photographer, has known Shields for years and was on the guest list to attend Streetheart’s performance in Red Deer.
Streetheart had a good following locally and the band used to play in the city several times a year, he said.
Hamill met Shields in the Eighties when the band played at the old Sylvan Lake Hotel. He last saw the band perform when he took photos at a performance in March in Edmonton.
He said Shield was a wonderful guy, and often band members would step into the crowd and shake hands with fans.
Hamill said over the years he has photographed other iconic musicians, including Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton and James Brown.
Streetheart was known for a number of hit songs throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, including “Action,” “Look in Your Eyes,” and a cover of the Rolling Stones classic “Under My Thumb.”
The band was inducted into the Western Canadian Music Association Hall of Fame in 2003.