Frances Black

A pure vocal tone paired with an energetic, pop-minded delivery has established Frances Black among Ireland's foremost vocalists. The Irish Record Industry Awards (IRMA) twice honored her as Ireland's Best Female Artist, first in 1995 and again in 1997, while the National Awards ceremony also presented her with its Most Popular Artist prize.

Black's solo career began when she contributed two tracks to the million-selling, multi-artist compilation Woman's Heart in 1993. A subsequent tour tied to that release, shared with Maura O'Connell, Dolores Keane, Sharon Shannon, Sinead Lohan, and her sister Mary Black, shattered Ireland's box-office records. Her first solo album, Talk to Me, appeared in 1994, sold more than 100,000 copies, and held the summit of the Irish charts for eight weeks; the later releases The Sky Road (1995), The Smile on Your Face (1996), and Don't Get Me Wrong (1998) cemented her reputation as an internationally recognized performer. Black has demonstrated equal skill interpreting the work of American singer-songwriters and performing Irish music. Talk to Me contained four compositions by Nanci Griffith: "On Grafton Street," "Talk to Me While I'm Listening," "Always Will," and "Time of Inconvenience." Among her most successful singles are the October 1996 re-recording of Acker Bilk's "Stranger on the Shore" and the August 1997 version of the Yvonne Elliman-popularized song "Love Me, Please."

Black entered the professional arena in 1986 as a member of the Black Family, a group that also included her three brothers—Michael, Shay, and Martin—and her sister Mary. She performed on the ensemble's two albums, The Black Family (1986) and Time for Touching Home (1988), as well as on her brothers' album What a Time. Soon after completing Time for Touching Home she joined the Irish trad-folk band Arcady, whose lineup also featured accordion players Shannon and Jackie Daly together with bouzouki player Johnny Moynihan. She stayed with Arcady until 1994, when she formed a duo with Irish singer-songwriter Kieran Goss. That same year Black gave a benefit concert for the Aoibhneas Women's Refuge and issued the EP Fear Is the Enemy of Love & Children, which included backing vocals by her children Eoghan and Aoife. How High the Moon appeared on Koch in 2005.