BIOGRAPHY
THE HAWORTHS Biography
Rick was born in Medicine Hat Alberta, into a very musical family, and grew up listening to gospel music, the middle child with 2 siblings. From the early age of 5, he began singing gospel music in church, with his older sister and his Dad who played the piano . His Mom taught him the songs and words, as he was too young to read. Later his younger sister joined them and they all sang at many church functions, touring all around the Medicine Hat area, The family moved to Nanaimo BC in 1963 and quickly those beautiful family harmonies were a favourite at The First Baptist Church where they attended. They continued to sing at many other Christian functions, continuing to tour, where they met such gospel greats as The Blackwoods, The Couriers, and The Gaither Trio.
Rick has been playing in bands from the age of 13, learning by copying others styles, but soon began to do his own arrangements of cover songs. His influences over the years have been more about any groups that displayed great harmonies, like the Eagles and the Association. In the beginning, the music was the most important part of any song for Rick, but then he challenged himself to write songs and lyrics and music came together beautifully. He has put it all together and with his passion for writing ,arranging and singing , the songs really began to grow in the past decade. Now he has penned over 100 songs which include many genres like country, folk, rock and roll, smooth jazz, Latin, and gospel. All of these influences have culminated in a diverse and eclectic library of songs.
Maureen was born in Nanaimo BC , one of 4 siblings. She was born and raised in The First Baptist Church and it was here that she met Rick and his family. She was a member of the church choir and a girls group where his Mom was a leader so she knew the family well. After taking piano lessons for many years, she decided to become a self- taught guitar player, playing and singing songs at home, only once in a while venturing out to perform at church. Just after graduating from high school in 1971, she and Rick attended a church youth group retreat, where they brought their guitars to accompany the group sing-a-longs . It was here that they really got to know each other and began to fall in love. After just 3 months, they were picking out wedding rings and were married in 1973, all the while playing music together.
They moved to Grand Forks B.C. in 1976 where they have raised 2 wonderful children, daughter Erin and son Richard. Along with their children, they love to enjoy their grandchildren. Living in Grand Forks, Rick worked with the Ministry of Highways for 28 years and Maureen, 20 years with School District 51, but are now mostly retired , leaving them time to pursue music in a grander fashion.
Their love of music has been a continuous thread throughout their marriage and they have been playing in a band together( Phase Four) since 1979, with Rick on guitar, Maureen on bass and both doing vocals.
Rick is a prolific song writer and has honed his craft over many years , while Maureen has more recently begun to write as well. Armed with a much smaller repertoire, only 7 songs to date, she has already gained some notoriety. In 2010. ‘How Do I Tell You? placed in the semi-finals of the international song writing competition, “Song of the Year.com“ and out of over 5000 entries in the adult contemporary category, it was rated in the top 10. Her new gospel tune ‘I’m Singin’ Jesus’ is beginning to attract some attention in the world of country gospel. Her influences in music include The Carpenters, and has been told over the years that when singing certain genres of songs, her voice is reminiscent of Karen Carpenter. Gospel music influences include The Gaither Vocal Band, The Gatlins and Gold City. As well as gospel music, her other influences were bands like the Beatles, Eagles and the Beach Boys. Bands with great harmonies have been the main attraction. She continues to hone her craft and looks forward to adding new songs to her library.
In the last couple of years, Rick and Maureen have recorded 11 original songs their debut CD entitled “ Reflections” which is a mix of adult contemporary songs and was released in January 2011. This CD is a very diverse collection of tunes which ‘reflect’ the many genres of songs that have been written over the years . It is a collections of songs which captures the vastness of their writing styles.
The Haworths continue write and record , and going back to their roots, have penned three gospel songs that have been recently published by Have a Heart Music (SOCAN) They were very excited to be part of a compilation CD that was released in Europe in early 2012 by North County Records., which includes notable artists such as Lee Dinwoodie and Kenny Hess. They have just recorded 2 new gospel songs that have just been released, "These Old Boots" written by and featuring Rick and " I Love the Lord", written by Maureen and featuring both Maureen and Rick.
Along with playing music, they love spending time with their family and friends, riding motorcycles, gardening, and traveling.
Whenever family is together it’s a wonderful time of playing and singing music.
They both thank the Lord for his love and all of the many blessings he has given to them throughout their lives.
For more information please visit their website.
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