Ian Tyson was a Canadian singer and songwriter with the duo Ian & Sylvia who wrote the folk standard “Four Strong Winds.”
- Died: December 29, 2022 (Who else died on December 29?)
- Details of death: Died at his ranch in Alberta at the age of 89.
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Musical career
Tyson began playing music after working as a rodeo rider. He paired with Sylvia Fricker in the late 1950s; the two performed together for years and were married in 1961. As Ian & Sylvia, they became one of Canada’s most prominent folk acts as well as pioneers of country rock. Their 1962 song “Four Strong Winds,” written by Tyson, became a standard of folk music, covered by artists including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Neil Young, and Johnny Cash (1932–2003). CBC Radio One listeners later chose “Four Strong Winds” as the greatest Canadian song of all time. Tyson’s other compositions for Ian & Sylvia included “Someday Soon.” In the late ‘60s, the duo moved to Nashville and joined the vanguard of the country rock movement, forming the band Great Speckled Bird. Tyson hosted the Canadian TV show “The Ian Tyson Show” in the early 1970s. In 1975, the pair divorced and their musical partnership was dissolved. Tyson continued as a solo artist, focusing on cowboy music and releasing more than a dozen albums.
Tributes to Ian Tyson
Full obituary: The Globe and Mail
