Husband and wife team of Corey and Trina (nee Fufford) Crewe grew up in St John’s and became one of Newfoundland’s most popular duos around the island pubs and up and down the East Coast in the early 1970s. They were also renowned for mixing comedy routines into their shows which made them one of the most popular groups in the area at the time. Corey was working as a school teacher at the time, and with regional famed group The Country Ducats backing them up, they recorded some of their most popular tracks at Memorial University, releasing SONGS OF NEWFOUNDLAND’S COREY & TRINA’S VARIETY SHOW in ’75 on Audat Records. A mix of country and traditional East Coast sounds, it featured covers of Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night” and a pair of Hank Sr tracks, as well as Corey’s “Confederation Joe.” 1978 saw them follow it up with SONGS FOR LAUGHING AND DANCING, recorded at Clode Sound Studios in Stephenville, NL on Quay Records. Another eclectic mix, it featured a cover of Dolly’s “Coat of Many Colours” and Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’,” as well as other twangy country with some instrumental polka thrown in. It also featured the single, “The Wolf Is At The Door” and “The Northern Lights of Labrador,” written by Corey’s brother Don and which found its way to a number of compilation albums over the years. Claude Caines and Neil Bishop returned as producers for their next project, 1980’s COREY & TRINA III, filled with the same mix of traditional jigs and country covers. Also included was an Elvis medley, and the next year they hosted their own TV special. They kept a relatively low profile throughout the ’80s, though they continued to perform. A highlight of the new shows had become their cover of The Boss’ “Born In The USA,” which had been redubbed “Born In Placentia Bay” (Trina’s hometown). Corey and Trina landed in the top 20 of The Downhome Music Poll of favorite Newfoundland Songs and Musicians of All Time. They continued playing the bar scene until moving to Calgary in the mid ’90s, where their Newfoundland comedy routines didn’t get the same reception, but still kept them as busy as they wanted to be. After a long bout with stomach cancer, Trina passed away on July 5, 1997 in a Calgary hospital at the age of 56. In the early ’00s, Corey began releasing the duo’s entire music catalogue plus two compilations on CD. A DVD of various live appearances was also released a few years later.
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