Cowboy Junkies are a Canadian alternative rock band. The group was formed in Toronto in 1985 by Michael (songwriter, guitarist), Margo (vocalist) and Peter Timmins (drummer), and Alan Anton (bassist).

The Junkies first performed publicly at the Beverley Tavern and other clubs in Toronto's Queen Street West, including The Rivoli. Their 1986 debut album, produced by Canadian producer Peter Moore, was the blues-inspired Whites Off Earth Now!!, recorded using an ambisonic microphone in the family garage.

The group's fame spread with their second album, The Trinity Session, recorded in 1987 at Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity. Their sound, again using the ambisonic microphone, and their mix of blues, country, folk, rock and jazz earned them both critical attention and a cult following. The Los Angeles Times named the recording as one of the ten best albums of 1988.

The band was nominated for Group of the Year at the Juno Awards in 1990 and 1991. In the early 1990s Margo Timmins was named "one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world" by People Magazine. The group has continued to tour North America, Europe, Japan and Australia with extensive North American and European tours following album releases in 2002 and 2004. In 2008, they released Trinity Revisited in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the original recording of The Trinity Session.

The band was formed by three siblings from the Timmins entertainment family. Another sibling, Cali, rose to fame as an actress on Ryan's Hope. (The Timmins siblings are descendants of Noah Timmins, a mining prospector who founded the Ontario city of Timmins.)

Cowboy Junkies formed in Toronto in 1985. The band's name was chosen randomly as they approached their first gig.^{[citation needed]}

The Trinity Session was recorded live on a single Calrec stereo microphone at the Church of the Holy Trinity in downtown Toronto by producer Peter J. Moore. This album also included a cover of The Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane" based on the 1969 Live album version rather than the studio version from Loaded. The single featured in the films Natural Born Killers and The Good Girl.

None of the band's subsequent albums have been hits outside of Canada, although the band has maintained a dedicated following and have continued to have chart hits in their native country. Following their 1998 album Miles from Our Home, Cowboy Junkies agreed to leave Geffen Records. They have continued to release albums on their own independent label, Latent Recordings, with distribution through other labels such as Rounder in the USA and Cooking Vinyl in the UK.

In June 2007, Cowboy Junkies performed alongside the Boston Pops at Boston Symphony Hall conducted by Keith Lockhart. The program was titled Edgefest.

In 2007 they released Trinity Revisited, a re-recording of the album featuring guest artists Ryan Adams, Vic Chesnutt, Natalie Merchant and Jeff Bird. Both the album and the film Trinity Revisited were filmed and produced by Pierre and François Lamoureux. On 9 November 2007, CBC Television aired Trinity Revisited: featuring Cowboy Junkies, which was recorded as the band recorded the new album.

Officially, there are four band members, all siblings except Anton, who was a member of Michael Timmins’s two previous bands as well.

• Margo Timmins (vocals)
• Michael Timmins (guitar and chief songwriter)
• Peter Timmins (drums)
• Alan Anton (bass)

Since their second album the band has performed and recorded with Jeff Bird.

Albums

Singles

• ^A"A Common Disaster" also peaked at #11 on the Canadian Rock Singles chart.

Compilations

• It Came from Canada, Vol. 4, 1988 ("Blue Moon Revisited (Song for Elvis)")
• Pump Up the Volume, 1990 ("Me and the Devil Blues")
• The Cities' Sampler Vol. 2: Collectibles, 1990 ("Decoration Day")
• Deadicated 1991 ("To Lay Me Down")
• Born to Choose, 1993 ("Lost My Driving Wheel")
• Upfront! Canadians Live from Mountain Stage, 1994 ("Misguided Angel")
• Natural Born Killers, 1994 ("Sweet Jane")
• Borrowed Tunes: A Tribute to Neil Young, 1994 ("Tired Eyes")
• Oh What a Feeling: A Vital Collection of Canadian Music, 1996 ("Misguided Angel")
• The Truth About Cats & Dogs, 1996 ("Angel Mine")
• Cities' Sampler Vol. 10, 1998 ("Miles from Our Home")
• Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons, 1999 ("Ooh Las Vegas")
• 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10, 2002 ("Something More Besides You")
• WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances, 2002 ("Thousand Year Prayer")
• Beautiful: A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, 2003 ("The Way I Feel")
• This Bird Has Flown - A 40th Anniversary Tribute to the Beatles' Rubber Soul, 2005 ("Run for Your Life")
• Northern Songs: Canada's Best and Brightest, 2008 ("Sweet Jane")

RCA Records, the band's label from 1988 to 1996, has also released two best-of albums. These were compiled without the band's approval or authorization, and Internet fansites dedicated to the band usually recommend that fans purchase Waltz Across America instead:^{[citation needed]}

• Best of the Cowboy Junkies, 2001
• Cowboy Junkies: The Platinum and Gold Collection, 2003

XX: Lyrics and Photographs of the Cowboy Junkies, with watercolors by Enrique Martinez Celaya. 2007. Santa Monica: Whale & Star.

• Cowboy Junkies: Covered in Blues by Jason Gonulsen, Glide Magazine

Music portal

Rock music portal

Canada portal

• Canadian rock
• Music of Canada
• Category:Canadian rock music groups
• List of Canadian musicians
• List of bands from Canada

• Official web site
• Cowboy Junkies at The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Cowboy Junkies official download site
• The Live Music Archive has a large collection of Cowboy Junkies concerts available to stream or for free download.
• XX: Lyrics and Photographs of the Cowboy Junkies, with watercolors by Enrique Martínez Celaya, 2006