Molly Hamilton

She was country before country was cool. She was family before the Brady Bunch appeared on television. And she has roots reaching deep into Alberta soil.

Molly Hamilton, the popular Calgary singer who goes by the stage name Miss Molly, is a fifth-generation Canadian whose western heritage and family values imbue her performances and make them authentic. This year, she celebrates her 33th anniversary as a performer, bringing the best in genuine country music entertainment to audiences of all ages.

Miss Molly was born in Calgary, into a pioneering family that produced the frontier city's first schoolteacher (John W. Costello), the city's 19th mayor (Michael C. Costello), and the first two white children born in Calgary (John Calgary Costello, Elizabeth Lillian Costello).

She was born to sing, and she was born to sing country. Miss Molly grew up in a music-loving household where her father sang along to the smooth country crooning of Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold, and her mother tapped her toes to the big band music of Glen Miller and the hit tunes from such Broadway musicals as Oklahoma and The Sound of Music.

"Mom and Dad always said people enjoy things more if they can join in," says Miss Molly.

She drew her musical inspiration from the richly emotional ballad singing of Karen Carpenter, the powerful yet exceptionally controlled vocal stylings of Barbara Streisand and the vibrancy and flair of Dolly Parton. She received her big break when a family friend heard her singing at her older sister's wedding. "You should be doing promotions for the Calgary Stampede," he said.

For the next 14 years, Miss Molly waved the white hat as official entertainer for the Stampede promotions committee. She starred as a featured performer at the 1988 Winter Olympics and at the 1993 Grey Cup game, and she appeared for three summers as a special guest with the Young Canadians in the Grandstand Show at the Stampede.

"Always pick happy songs," a friend told her once, and that's what defines the essence of a Miss Molly show. There are no long faces when Miss Molly entertains. She turns every performance into a vibrant, energetic, old-time western celebration of hand-clapping, foot-stomping, singalong fun for all the family.

There are many highlights in a Miss Molly performance. Her program is both timeless and up to the minute. Miss Molly combines the classic country sounds of Patsy Cline and Wilf Carter with the contemporary stylings of Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks. Add to these the Vegas performing magic of Tony Orlando, and the singalong charm of Mitch Miller, and you have a dynamic entertainment package, filled with excitement, laughter and audience participation guaranteed to bring a crowd to its feet.

Miss Molly has been honoured many times for her contributions to country music and family entertainment. She has won the Alberta Recording Industries Association award for best children's artist. The readers of Calgary's Child magazine have voted her best children's entertainer in the city. And she has received the coveted White Hatter of the Year award from Calgary Tourism.

The awards are richly deserved. Miss Molly has furthered the cause of country music, western heritage and family entertainment in venues from Dallas to Hawaii, and as far away as France and Japan. After two and a half decades of bringing her special brand of entertainment to audiences at home and abroad, Miss Molly is still riding tall in the saddle.
- Brian Brennan - Calgary Herald