St. Thomas native and 70’s disco star Cherrill Rae will be inducted into the Legends of Vinyl Hall of Fame in New York tonight. Cherrill Rae formally known as Cherrill Yates, grew up in St. Thomas and attended Holy Angels School and Parkside Collegiate Institute before moving to Wales to pursue her singing career. Rae first started singing in the Yarmouth Youth Group, where it was there that her parents decided to send her to Wales to be professionally trained as a singer.
Rae went on to meet her husband at the time Robbie Rae, where the two became a disco duo called The Raes. The two had multiple hits songs including a re-imagined version of Doris Day’s Que Sera Sera that was #1 in Canada for 10 consecutive weeks. The duo also landed themselves a TV show called “The Raes” that aired for 2 seasons from 1978-80. The Canadian variety television series on CBC Television was hosted by Cherrill and Robbie and saw many different musicians and comedians from that era perform, including Abba, Howie Mandel, among others.
Rae is being recognized by the Hall of Fame for her contributions to the music industry and culture. Cherrill Rae will be joining legendary artists such as Michael Jackson, Queen, David Bowie, Ben E. King, Madonna, and The Bee Gees with her induction into the Legends of Vinyl Hall of Fame.
