Peter Etulu Aningmiuq, Inuk singer-songwriter, dies at 69

Nunavut's legendary singer-songwriter PeterEtulu Aningmiuqdied Tuesday in Iqaluit at age 69.

Aningmiuq, who was diagnosed with cancer in November,is survivedby his wife Elisapee and her four children. He also has threechildren with his late wife, Susan.and several grandchildren.

Aningmiuq was responsible for such Inuktitut-language classics as Fishing Trip, and recently released his final album, "Everything of Me."

He began singing, writing and recording music in the 1980s, often as a duo with his late wife.

"It was the lyrics that they had that really lured the Inuk listener," musician William Tagoona said in Inuktitut."It was unusual to hear a man and a woman singing together in those years.

"Alot of the people that we would hear singing would be males, and it was unusual to hear a woman. So they started a trend."

Tagoona, who began his own musical career around the same time as Aningmiuq andkept in touch with him through Facebook, said that his deathcame as a surprise.

"It's pretty amazing sometimes," he said. "Just last month, he was posting pictures, and now he's in heaven."

The funeral will be held in Iqaluit. A date has not yet been set.