Meryn Cadell is a transgender man who transitioned in 2003. An American-Canadian writer and performance artist, Cadell is currently an assistant professor of song lyrics and libretto writing in the Creative Writing Program at the University of British Columbia.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Cadell grew up in Waterloo, Ontario, later moving to Toronto in the mid-1980s. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design.
Cadell released an independent cassette titled Mare-In Ka-Dell in 1988 while active as a performance artist in Toronto’s bohemian Queen Street West scene.
Cadell soon signed to Intrepid Records and recorded with Jim Creeggan of Barenaked Ladies, Bob Wiseman and members of the Rheostatics. Those sessions were released in 1991 as the album Angel Food for Thought, whose first single “The Sweater” became a surprise hit in Canada in 1992 and also very popular on college radio and alternative stations in the United States.
“The Sweater” is a spoken word monologue with musical backing from a remixed sample of Syd Dale’s jazzy instrumental track “Walk and Talk”. The monologue revolves around a girl’s obsession about a teenage boy’s sweater.
In 1993, Cadell released a follow-up album, Bombazine, on Sire Records. This album featured guest appearances by The Rheostatics, Ben Mink, Tyler Stewart, Anne Bourne and John Alcorn.
Following the album, Cadell took a hiatus from music to do human rights work with PEN Canada.
In 1997, Cadell returned to the music business with the album 6 Blocks on the independent label Handsome Boy Records. Guest performers on this outing included Anne Bourne, Mary Margaret O’Hara (actor Catherine O’Hara’s sister), Chris Wardman, Martin Tielli of The Rheostatics, Paul Brennan from The Odds and Jason Sniderman, son of Sam Sniderman of Canada’s legendary record retailer Sam The Record Man as well as keyboardist for 80s Canadian synthpop band Blue Peter.
Following that album, Cadell retired from the music business for good. He publicly came out as transgender to radio host Bill Richardson on Canada’s national broadcaster the CBC on October 2, 2004, although he had already been out to friends and family for a number of years.
In 2007, Bongo Beat Records released an expanded edition of Angel Food for Thought, including two tracks that were previously available only on cassette as well as a video for “The Sweater”.
Cadell is also well known for the Christmas song “The Cat Carol”.