Ian Tyson is 81 years old today. The Canadian singer-songwriter, best known for his song Four Strong Winds,” was one half of the duo, Ian & Sylvia. Tyson was born to British immigrants in Victoria in 1933, and grew up in Duncan B.C. A rodeo rider in his late teens and early twenties, he took up the guitar while recovering from an injury he sustained in a fall. He made his singing debut at the Heidelberg Café in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1956 and played with a rock and roll band, The Sensational Stripes. After graduation from the Vancouver School of Art in 1958, Tyson moved to Toronto, Ontario where he commenced a job as a commercial artist. There he performed in local clubs and in 1959 began to sing on occasion with Sylvia Fricker. By early 1959, Tyson and Fricker were performing part-time at the Village Corner as Ian & Sylvia. The pair became a full-time musical act in 1961 and married four years later. In 1969, they formed and fronted the group The Great Speckled Bird. Residing in southern Alberta, Tyson toured all over the world. Tysons first marriage, to Sylvia Fricker Tyson, ended in an amicable divorce in 1975. Their son Clay (Clayton Dawson Tyson, born 1966) was also a musical performer, and then moved to a career modifying racing bikes. In 1989, Tyson was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame. Here, Tyson performs his song, “Saddle Bronc Girl,” in 2011.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 04:41:50 +0000
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