Megon McDonough

All Music Guide:

Megan McDonough has been recording since she was 17 years old. After making four folk albums in the 1970s, she moved to New York and worked as a vocalist for TV and commercials before returning to recording in the early 90s, having changed the spelling of her name to "Megon." She was one of the inaugural members of Christine Lavin's the Four Bitchin' Babes with whom she still tours.

Born in Illinois, McDonough was one of nine children born to a strict Irish-Catholic couple. Having taken up the piano and the guitar as a child, she began performing at high schools before moving to Los Angeles in the early '70s and signing with the RCA subsidiary Wooden Nickel label. She made four albums for Wooden Nickel, which were generally received warmly by critics, but never charted. She toured extensively, opening for John Denver at Carngie Hall and also supporting Harry Chapin.

During the '80s, McDonough lived in New York and sung for television productions, work that led to an ACE Cable TV award in 1984. She also began to branch out into acting before recording her self-published American Girl album in 1990. The change in spelling from "Megan" to "Megon" was advised by a fortune teller who told McDonough that the letter "o" would positively affect her career. Shortly, she joined the Four Bitchin' Babes -- the female cabaret/folk quartet helmed by Christine Lavin -- and has since contributed to all of their albums as a songwriter and performer. She appeared as Patsy Cline in the well-received Always Patsy Cline at Chicago's Barber Theater between 1997 and 1998. Her 1998 Shanachie album, My One and Only Love, was a delightful collection of standards and pre-rock pop.

Wikipedia:

Megon McDonough (formerly Megan McDonough) is an American folk/cabaret singer-songwriter and actress, from Chicago, Illinois. After her early solo recording career brought national attention, she became a founding member of Four Bitchin' Babes, performing and recording with them from 1990 to 2001 and then resuming her solo work.

McDonough wrote her first song at age 11 and had her first record deal by the time she was 14. The label was Wooden Nickel, and she released four albums between 1972 and 1974. By age 17, she was the opening act for John Denver at Carnegie Hall. She also opened for acts such as Steve Martin and Harry Chapin.

McDonough played Patsy Cline in the musical Always...Patsy Cline. She wrote and performed a one-woman cabaret show, An Interesting Bunch of Gals, in which she pays tribute to eight artists who influenced her, including Édith Piaf, Billie Holiday, and Joni Mitchell.

Solo discography

Her first name was spelled "Megan" on her earlier albums, changing to "Megon" with Day by Day.