Dianne Mae Heatherington (May 14, 1948 – October 22, 1996) was a Canadian singer of several genres, particularly rock, whose musical career spanned nearly two decades.
Three of the standout tracks were rearrangements of The Beatles' "Helter Skelter" and Bruce Cockburn's "Mama Just Wants To Barrelhouse All Night Long", plus "Mr. Nice Guy", co-written by Heatherington and members of her band.
In 1980, a one-hour documentary on Heatherington, Soul Survivor, chronicling the challenges of a woman in the music business, was produced under the auspices of the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre and aired on CBC Television.
[9] In 1981, Heatherington was nominated for a Juno Award in the category of Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year, but lost to Carole Pope.
[12] A notable exception was a co-starring role in Zero Patience, which "examines and refutes the urban legend of the alleged introduction of HIV to North America by a single individual, Gaëtan Dugas".
The business became highly successful, providing location security to major budget films and television series being shot in and around Toronto.
At its height, it employed approximately thirty people, some of whom were musicians Heatherington had met during her singing career and to whom she now offered more stable economic prospects.
In 2008, tribute concerts were held in Toronto and Winnipeg, for the purpose of raising money for cancer research, as well as the establishment of a music scholarship in Heatherington's name at the University of Manitoba.