Ian Tyson is singing new songs with a new voice.
Canada’s iconic singer and songwriter celebrated his 80th birthday in September 2013 and the complete recovery of his voice following surgery to remove polyps from his vocal cords.
“I think one of reasons I wanted to get him is his voice is back… He’s one of the great voices of our time,” says Roots and Blues Festival artistic director Peter North. “What continues to impress me about Ian is, I don’t know any artist other than Bob Dylan who writes all the time and matches anything he’s done at this age.”
North says Tyson has put out five records of new material since 2000.
“A lot of his peers rely on a back catalogue of their hits, which I understand,” he says, calling Tyson, an avid reader, a walking encyclopedia of North American history.
North maintains there are only a handful of writers, artists, composers and singers who could be included in the “same category of greatness.”
As a songwriter, Tyson’s songbook has been mined by his peers for half a century and the still-expanding songbook will be his lasting legacy.
Four Strong Winds alone has been recorded by a remarkable cast of artists that includes Neil Young, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Marianne Faithful and Blue Rodeo. Suzy Bogguss, Jennifer Warnes, Nanci Griffth, David Bromberg, Tom Russell, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, and The McDades are just a few of the artists who have recorded other Tyson-penned gems including Someday Soon and Summer Wages.
As well as releasing five albums in the first dozen years of the 21st century, Tyson has filmed a music documentary that earned two international film and television awards, and issued This is My Sky, a two-DVD concert video. Two years ago, he penned an autobiography, The Long Trail: My Life in the West, which has sold 30,000 copies and continues to be a best-seller.
He continues to be honoured for his achievements. After numerous Canadian Country Music Awards, membership in the Juno Awards Hall of Fame, he has three honorary doctorates, and is proudly a member of the Order of Canada.
In 2006, Four Strong Winds was chosen Canada’s No. 1 song of the 20th century by CBC listeners. And the songs and stories keep coming, as true as a well-worn saddle.
“Musically Ian has big ears; he’s always listening to new artists,” says North of Tyson’s continuing reinvention of himself. “In a couple of tunes he injected reggae beats into a cowboy song. Who else could get away with that?”
There’s much more to Tyson than writing and singing.
There’s the ranch south of Calgary, in the foothills of the Rockies, with fences to mend, quarter horses to train, cattle to move, land to conserve.
And, there are concert stages – across Canada and the U.S. – in any given year another 30 or 40 cities, including headlining at the 22nd Annual Salmon Arm Roots & Blues Festival Saturday, Aug. 16.
Volunteers will be able to hear Tyson and the rest of the festival’s stellar slate of performers for free if they put in time in a variety of capacities prior to and after the festival. Other volunteer opportunities exist during the festival – parking, camping, raffle sales or acting as ambassadors. To volunteer, visit rootsandblues.ca/volunteers or call Skye at 250-833-4096.
