Ian Tyson Plays Shooting Star
Ian Tyson
Live Music Alert: Ian Tyson, Shooting Star Casino, Mahnomen MN, Thursday Sept 17, 8 pm. Tickets: 800-313-7469
To sample Ian Tyson’s albums and to download a couple of free songs from his new album, go to:
http://www.stonyplainrecords.com/Web/artist.asp?id=444
The 60s Canadian folk duo of Ian and Sylvia was my first introduction to the talent of Ian Tyson. His teaming with his future wife, Sylvia Fricker, who became his ex a decade later, was musical heaven as they blended his deep voice and her delicate tones. During those early days, they recorded Tyson’s legendary “Four Strong Winds” and “Someday Soon,” as well as Fricker’s “You Were On My Mind.” These three songs became classics.
Ian and Sylvia
Though that marriage of singing talent drew fans both in Canada and the US, it was Tyson’s songwriting that proved him a staple of folk music the world over. For myself, “Summer Wages” has to be my all-time Tyson favorite. His work has been covered not only by folkies but country artists. Bobby Bare, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Tanya Tucker, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, Judy Collins, Gordon Lightfoot, and Neil Young have all recorded Tyson songs.
After his breakup with Sylvia, who began writing and playing with her own band, Tyson fled to his ranch in the foothills of the Rockies south of Calgary, where spent his time raising horses and following the rodeo circuit. He became a Canadian country artist, writing about ranch life and life as a rodeo rider, eventually hosting his own Canadian TV show, on which Sylvia Fricker performed with her own band in an episode. Tyson continued to write and record, earning numerous Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammy) and the Order of Canada.
In the mid80s, his second wife Twylla urged him to record a cowboy album, mainly as what he called a “musical Christmas card” for their friends. That album, Old Corrals and Sagebrush, became an instant hit as Tyson discovered a whole new audience of cowboy enthusiasts. What is ironic is he still wrote about the same things he always did. Several albums followed and relentless touring across Canada and throughout the United States.
In 2006, CBC Radio declared “Four Strong Winds” the number one Canadian song of the 20th Century.
A year later, Stony Plain Records released a tribute album in anticipation of Tyson’s 75 th birthday in 2008 and fifty years of performing. The Gift: A Tribute to Ian Tyson presents 15 artists who proudly recorded their favorite Ian Tyson songs.
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Four Strong Winds – Blue Rodeo
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M.C. Horses – Corb Lund
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Blue Mountains Of Mexico – Jennifer Warnes
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What Does She See – Chris Hillman
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Red Velvet – Gordon Lightfoot
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The Gift – David Rea
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Range Delivery – Cindy Church
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Smuggler’s Cove – The McDades
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Some Kind Of Fool – Amos Garrett
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Old Cheyenne – Tom Russell
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Someday Soon – The Circus In Flames with Buddy Cage
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Will James – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott
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You’re Not Alone Anymore – Stewart MacDougall
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Summer Wages – The Good Brothers
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Moondancer – Jeff Bradshaw
- Bonus Track – Interview with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott & Buddy Cage
Yellowhead to Yellowstone cover
Tyson’s Yellowhead to Yellowstone and other Love Stories (2008), on Stony Plain, his label for several years now, comes three years after his last album, Songs from the Gravel Road. The years between though two albums shows a marked change in Tyson’s vocal instrument, but continues his never-skipping-a-beat songwriting skills. An attempt to override a cranky sound system at the outdoor Havelock Jamboree in Ontario caused permanent damage to the deep, velvet voice all of us have come to associate with Ian Tyson. He has since learned to use what he has to deliver his songs. Losing the deep end of his vocal range, he has kept the top end, making his voice sound gravely and well-lived. Audience, however, seem to set aside his delivery, which can sometimes be more like speaking a song than singing, and concentrate on what he has to say. Tyson says, “They seem to pay more attention, now, to the lyrics and the stories in the songs.”
No matter, the changes in Ian Tyson’s performances, his songs will always remain strong and will continue to tell the stories of Alberta and the disappearing cowboy, as well taping into his personal emotions.
Tyson has also just finished writing a book, La Primera: The Story of Wild Mustangs, which came out March 10 this year. It is a rendering for young readers of his classic song in words and paintings by equine artist Adeline Halvorson, but will appeal to horse-lovers everywhere. The book (and song) tell the history of how horses came to North America. Included in the book is a section of historical facts about wild mustangs and a CD of Ian Tyson singing “La Primera.”
