March 1981

1981

May 1982

1982-1984

1983

Summer 1985

Michael, John, Pete and Margo Timmins along with Alan Anton form the Cowboy Junkies

November 7, 1985

The band's first live show is performed at the Beverley Tavern in Toronto. Bad Boy from this show appears on the double live CD '200 more miles'.

Early 1986

John Timmins leaves the band and moves to Montreal

June 28, 1986

Whites Off Earth Now!! is recorded by Peter Moore in the garage where the band practiced. This is the first recording with Peter's Calrec Ambisonic microphone. A version of Sweet Jane is recorded but left off the record.

Fall 1986

Whites Off Earth Now!! Is released on the band's own Latent Records

1987

The 4 members of the band tour the Southern U.S. and the songs and theme of the next album starts to take shape.

November 27, 1987

Trinity Session recorded around a single microphone with Peter Moore. This is the most famous and most written about day in the band's history. It's worth noting that Mining for Gold was actually recorded several days later when Margo and Peter Moore returned to the church during a lunch break for the rehearsing Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Early 1988

The Trinity Session is released on Latent Records and immediately gathers attention from fans and critics alike.

Middle 1988

After discussions with several labels, the Cowboy Junkies are signed by RCA

November 15, 1988

The Trinity Session is re-released on RCA records. Two additional songs (Blue Moon Revisited and Working on a Building) recorded at the original session are added to this release

1989

Jeff Bird, Jaro Czerwinec and Kim Deschamps join the band as they tour the world virtually non-stop for the next year.

February 9, 1989

Rolling Stone review The Trinity Session and gives the CD 4 stars.

February 18, 1989

The band appears on Saturday Night Live

April 1989

The band's third album, Sharon, is recorded at the Sharon Temple just north of Toronto. The decision is made later in the year to re-record the record and ultimately the Sharon Sessions are not released.

December 1989

The Sharon songs (along with a few new tunes) are re-recorded at Eastern Sound in Toronto, becoming The Caution Horses

March 19, 1990

The Caution Horses is released

June 1990

The band appears on The Tonight Show for the first time

1990

Townes Van Zandt tours with the Cowboy Junkies

1991

Kim Deschamps leaves the band and subsequently joins Blue Rodeo.

Late 1991

Black Eyed Man is recorded at Grant Avenue Studios in Hamilton.

1992

February 11, 1992

The band's fourth album, Black Eyed Man, is released

Spring 1993

Ken Myhr, who had toured with band, plays lead guitar during the recording of Pale Sun, Crescent Moon in Toronto

November 23, 1993

The band's fifth album, Pale Sun, Crescent Moon, is released

July 12, 1994

Margo sings 'O Canada' at the Baseball all-star game

1994

Sweet Jane appears on the radio frequently again as it is featured in the hit movie Natural Born Killers.

June/July 1995

Lay It Down is recorded in Athens, Georgia

October 10, 1995

Double live CD '200 more miles' is released to complete the contract with RCA and the band signs with Geffen.

1995

After contributing to the music of Guelph and Canada for years, Jeff Bird releases his first solo record, self-titled.

February 27, 1996

The band's sixth studio album and first for Geffen, Lay It Down, is released and becomes the best selling album for the band since The Trinity Session on the strength of the single A Common Disaster.

October 19, 1996

Michael, Margo, Jeff and Jaro perform at Neil Young's 10th annual Bridge School Benefit concert

Spring 1997

The songs for the upcoming album are written at Maiden's Mill.

Fall 1997

After recording the tracks, songs are re-recorded and mixed at Abbey Road studios in London

June 30, 1998

Miles From Our Home is released, but unfortunately at the same time the record company is going through a merger and the album in not properly promoted or distributed.

July 11, 1998

Junkies perform with Karin Berquist and Linford Detweiler from Over the Rhine for the first time. A strong bond is formed and the pair tour with the band for several years and appear on Waltz Across America, Open and Open Road.

August 23-29, 1998

The Cowboy Junkies are asked to take part in Lilith Fair. They play 5 shows and a live version of Miles From Our Home makes the CD Lilith Fair Volume 2.

Fall 1998

Margo and Michael consider quitting, but realize they still love the music, just not the record business. A plan is started to re-launch Latent Records and a web site to get the music directly to the fans.

June 1999

Rarities, B-Sides and Slow, Sad Waltzes is released on Latent Records.

1999 through 2000

The 7 piece band ( 4 + Karin, Linford & Jeff) tour across America and really hit their stride. Shows are recorded for an upcoming live album.

October 2000

Waltz Across America is released - arguable the best Junkies album ever. It captures the brilliance of the live shows.

October 17, 2000

Live in Toronto is recorded in Toronto and later released on VHS.

May 2001

Open is released, the first studio album since 1998 and an extensive tour follows.

Summer 2002

Maplemusic starts to make a name for itself as a place for Canadian music. Maplemusic One is released which includes the Junkies version of 'Carmelita' and songs by many talented but lesser known artists (at the time) like Ron Sexsmith, Sam Roberts, Kathleen Edwards and Sarah Harmer.

June 25, 2002

Open Road DVD/CD combination is released documenting the tour of the past year. A wide variety of performances are shown, included an acoustic set with just Michael and Margo for the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

March 2003

Most of the songs from the upcoming album, One Soul Now, are debuted live during a mini-tour of Ontario

October 27, 2003

In The Time Before Llamas is released, a terrific collection of songs recorded in 1990 and 1992 in London

2003

The songs for One Soul Now are put together in The Clubhouse - the band's rehearsal space. For the first time no outside help is used recording the music.

May 31,04

One Soul Now, the band's ninth full studio album is released. A bonus EP entitled 'neath your covers part 1 is included. In addition a CD-ROM called 'anatomy of a album' is available through the website, providing rare draft versions and analysis of the songs on this new CD. The band tours again and sound better than ever live.

Feb 2005

John joins the band in their rehearsal space and songs are collected and recorded for the upcoming release Early 21st Century Blues.

March 31,2005

Margo and Michael appear on stage in Toronto with brother John Timmins for the first time since he left the band 20 years ago. John plays guitar for all four songs. Included is Misguided Angel which is the first time he's performed the classic song before a live audience. John joins the band for the 2005 tour.

May 6, 2005

Early 21st Century Blues is released today exclusively through their website, with a retail release to follow.

Spring 2005

Long Journey Home, a double DVD is released in Europe, with a North American release in August 2005.

Feb 1, 2006

Mike, Margo, Jeff and Jaro play Carnegie Hall in New York for the first time, as part of a tribute to Joni Mitchell. The band plays 'River' from Blue.

Feb 11, 2006

Pete is unable to play due to a bad back and so long time friend of Jeff's Randall Coryell sits in with the Junkies for the first time.

Mar 24, 2006

Margo performs with the Potion Kings in Elora, ON - marking her first true solo appearance after 20 years fronting the Junkies.

Apr 7, 2006

Pete returns behind the kit and the band plays 4 new songs expected to be part of the next CD. There are very few live dates in 2006 as they work on the material for the upcoming CD.

Oct 7, 2006

A new book entitled XX is released. It features pictures and lyrics from the Cowboy Junkies and watercolours created by Enrique Martinez Celaya .

Nov 4, 2006

Natalie Merchant, Ryan Adams and Vic Chestnutt join the band at the Church of the Holy Trinity to record a DVD to be released in 2007 for the 20th anniversary of the original recording. For Alan Anton it was the first time he'd been in the church since the original recording 19 years earlier.

Nov 11-14 , 2006

The bands plays on a train from Toronto to Vancouver along with Fred Eaglesmith, The Skydiggers, Over The Rhine & Blackie & The Rodeo Kings. The entire Trinity Session is played in order for the first time.

Early 2007

Whites Off Earth Now!!, the bands first album, was re-released on SACD with a never before released surround sound mix. Vinyl is expected to follow.

April 10, 2007

At The End of Paths Taken is released in Europe, April 17th in North America.

April 17, 2007

Latent Recordings website is launched by the band, initially featuring the new CD At The End of Paths Taken along with several rare and previously unreleased tracks.

Jun 9, 2007

Garth Hudson from The Band played several songs with the Junkies in Woodstock, NY

Jun 23 & 24, 2007

The band appears with the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall

October 16, 2007

Trinity Revisited is released, a live CD/DVD combo recorded Nov 4, 2006.