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A Canadian icon reflects on the things that matter to him: The prairies, the legends of the West, and the changing life of a veteran artist
Tyson has long been one of Canada’s most respected singer-songwriters. A pioneer who began his career in the early days of the first folk boom in the ’60s, he was one of the first Canadians to break into the American popular music market. In the years that followed he hosted his own TV show, recorded some of the best “folk” albums ever made, quit the music business and became — after years of backbreaking work — a rodeo rider and a successful rancher.
But with his songs covered by Neil Young, Judy Collins, Suzy Bogguss, Gordon Lightfoot, Bobby Bare and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, among many others, he returned to music with a vengeance in the mid-’80s. He found himself able to combine his two separate lives in new songs that explained the reality of “western culture” and the mindset of a cowboy in a sometimes-alien world.
Ian Tyson is one of a kind ... authentic and durable. In the tough world of show business where an artist can consider himself lucky to have one hit and a few good years, Ian Tyson has had two distinctly brilliant careers. Spanning three decades, Tyson has forged a trail of musical innovation. Starting with the legendary folk duo of Ian and Sylvia in the 60's, the trail has culminated with the seminal Cowboyography collection reaching platinum status in the mid 90's.
At the age of 24, Tyson left behind the itinerant logging and rodeo life of British Columbia and hitchhiked to Toronto. Caught up in the folk music revival, he formed, along with a very young Sylvia Fricker, the legendary singing duo of Ian and Sylvia.
The influential folk duo, Ian and Sylvia, married in 1964, recorded over a do zen timeless albums, including their best known and often covered hits - Ian's Four Strong Winds and Someday Soon, and Sylvia's You Were On My Mind.
Moving through the first decade of the new millennium, Ian continues to actively tour, write music, record, and garner new honors and awards. In 2006, CBC Radio declared Four Strong Winds the number one Canadian song of the 20th Century. In 2007, Stony Plain Records released a new CD - The Gift, A Tribute to Ian Tyson - recorded by 15 of Ian’s most respected, international peers. And in 2008, with continuing coast to coast touring in both Canada and the United States, Ian celebrates 5 decades of performance and his 75th birthday.
Ian Tyson, a recipient of the Order of Canada, lives and continues to work on his ranch in Alberta's Rocky Mountains and is exclusively represented by fellow Canadian, Paul Mascioli of Mascioli Entertainment Corporation, Orlando, FL
For the full bio visit - www.iantyson.com
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