Pamela McNeill
Inducted 2024
Pamela McNeill grew up between the Mississippi River and Highway 61 in the small town of Minnesota City, Minnesota. She was raised in a home that was musically divided. Her mom brought home pop records by The Supremes, Lesley Gore, and Simon & Garfunkel; while her dad was all about country music- and these mixed influences can still be heard in McNeill’s music today. McNeill recalls, “I decided when I was three years old that I was going to be a singer and that was that! I spent my entire allowance buying pop records, and I learned how to play an old upright piano and my grandmother’s Hammond organ”. In junior high and high school she played trombone in school band, jazz band, and orchestra, while continuing to study classical piano. In eighth grade she wrote an orchestral arrangement for the song “Sleigh Ride” for Winona Junior High Orchestra’s Christmas concert. By 16, she was in her first rock band, MROZ, opening shows for celebrated Minneapolis band The Suburbs. She tried her hand at songwriting at age 15, and performed her first original song “Wanting You”, at Winona Senior High School’s Homecoming Talent Show. When the song finished, she was greeted with an enthusiastic standing ovation and the groundwork for her career was set in motion. Upon graduating, she received a scholarship from The College of St. Teresa in Winona for music, but soon left to become lead singer of Twin Cities-based rock/cover band Heartbreaker- touring the Midwest, Canada, and parts of the Southern USA for two years. Pamela says, “I had some wonderful professors at CST, one who was very encouraging, but my heart was in rock and roll, and the only way I knew I was going to truly follow that path was to just get out there and do it!”. Following Heartbreaker, she was recruited to perform as backing vocalist for regional blues favorites The Lamont Cranston Band. That experience, she says, was “Like going to school to learn how to be fearless.” Soon after, in her early 20s, she moved to London, England and quickly landed a gig as a backing singer for pop superstar Rick Astley, whose monster hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up” was on top of the charts. With Astley, she performed in London at The Royal Albert Hall and at The Palladium for The Royal Variety Performance- performing for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and HRH Princess Margaret! Next came the Top of the Pops weekly show on BBC television, and a featured role in Astley’s music video “Take Me to Your Heart.” Pamela toured briefly with Astley as well. McNeill then performed as singer/dancer with Japanese pop band TM Network at The Tokyo Dome– or “The Big Egg” as it is known in Tokyo– for 54,000 fans, and broadcast live on NHK television in Japan. She landed an acting role in a VHS Series for Yamaha Music called Let’s Play Keyboard, alongside BBC Radio 1 DJ Pat Sharp. Pamela then recorded her first original song demos and was signed to a Recording Development Deal with EMI Records in London. Heading back to The States, McNeill signed a Publishing Deal with Windswept Pacific Entertainment in Los Angeles, California. Wynonna Judd quickly recorded her song “Troubled Waters”, which was featured in an episode of CBS television program The Young and the Restless. In 1997, instrumental music icon Yanni pulled her aside and expressed a desire to work with her. A collaboration began them led to Pamela writing Yanni’s first lyrical song “Love is All.” It was a fixture on his Tribute album, which earned RIAA Double Platinum status, selling over two million copies. The album went to #21 on The Billboard Top 200 and stayed for many weeks at #1 on the Billboard New Age Charts. A performance of “Love is All” was filmed in front of The Taj Mahal in India with the entire Yanni Orchestra, featuring Vann Johnson’s hauntingly powerful vocals. Pamela wrote two more songs with Yanni for 2003’s Ethnicity album: “The Promise” and “Almost a Whisper”. As a songwriter, she has written with Grammy Award-winners Bobby E. Boyd, Jim Peterik, Pam Tillis, Buffy Lawson, Roxie Dean, and caught the ear of Reba McEntire as well as famed producer Busbee. In 1999, a promotional spot for The Duluth United Way led to McNeill writing and releasing her first solo album 2 Sides to Every Sky. It was heralded by The National United Way, and McNeill & her band toured the country in support, including performances at Staples Center in Los Angeles and The Mt. Baker Theater in Bellingham, Washington. She donated 100% of profits to The United Way for three years, raising over $100,000. McNeill has released seven more solo albums: 2001’s American Breakup, 2007’s Nightingale, 2010’s Heartaches and Miracles, 2014’s Hurtsville USA, 2019’s Solitary, 2022’s Neon Lightning, and 2024’s Wave After Wave EP. Solitary was nominated for 2020 Album of the Year at The Midwest CMA Awards. McNeill toured in support of every solo album, opening for Etta James, Little River Band (twice), Atlanta Rhythm Section, and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, to name a few. She has played numerous music festivals and theaters in support of her original music, including performances at The Minnesota State Fair, The Taste of Minnesota, Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, The O’Shaughnessy Theater in St. Paul, The Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, The Paramount Theater in St. Cloud, and at Bunkers, The Fine Line, and First Avenue nightclubs in Minneapolis. She played “in the round” twice at the iconic Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tennesse, earning her a standing ovation. Averaging 150 shows a year, Pamela has been a member of several high-profile Minnesota-based bands, including The Fabulous Armadillos since 2006 and RRXS – Rock and Roll XMAS Spectacular since 2005. She also leads the highly-successful Fleetwood Mac tribute band Rumours and Dreams, as well as the production Wild Angels and The Handsome Devils- The Women of Rock, Pop, & Country.
