Ian Tyson (n. 1933, CAN) e Sylvia Fricker (n. 1940, CAN) si incontrano a Toronto nel 1959, animati entrambi da amore per la musica tradizionale. Nella città canadese in quel periodo, si sta sviluppando un forte movimento folk e i due vi partecipano, distnguendosi per la notevole abilità vocale e la serietà della loro musica, indirizzata anche e soprattutto verso i brani del repertorio dell'800 e dei primi decenni del '900. Trasferitisi negli Stati Uniti e notati dal manager Albert Grossman, pubblicano Ian & Sylvia (VANGUARD 1962 USA) nel 1962, cimentandosi con piacevole stile dalle work songs alle canzoni a cappella, dalle ballate folk al bluegrass. Il seondo disco è del 1964 e prende il titolo dal loro brano più famoso, Four Strong Winds, ripreso poi più volte da altri artisti. Nello stesso anno i due si sposano; nel 1965 partecipano con successo al Festival di Newport. Incidono regolarmente con la Vanguard fino al 1968, senza ottenere successo considerevole ma con ripetuti apprezzamenti da parte della critica e della scena musicale; tutta una certa scuola di cantautori canadesi (dalla Mitchell a Gordon Lightfooe e Neil Young) è in qualche modo debitrice alla coppia. L'ultimo disco per la Vanguard NASHVILLE, sbanda sorprendentemente verso il country un attimo prima della storica "svolta" di Dylan; i risultati però non sono convincenti, nonostante il repertorio si appoggi appunto allo Zimmerman (This Wheel's Of Fire, Mighty Quinn). Il discorso country prosegue con la formazione di un complesso, Great Speckled Bird, che per un certo periodo accompagna la coppia (vedi GREAT SPECKLED BIRD (Ampex 1970 USA) e Ian & Sylvia (COLUMBIA 1971 USA). Nei '70 Ian & Sylvia intraprendono diverse strade solistiche; Tyson inciderà cinque album da solo e condurrà diversi programmi TV, mentre la Fricker registrerà tre opere a nome proprio lavorando nel contempo alla radio con un programma folk. Ricordiamo che la Fricker è autrice del brano You Were On My Mind, celebre successo di Barry McGuire.
Publicity photo of singers Ian and Sylvia. 1968
Ian & Sylvia were a Canadian folk and country music duo which consisted of Ian and Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker. They began performing together in 1959, married in 1964, and divorced and stopped performing together in 1975.
History
Early lives
Ian Tyson, CM, AOE was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1933. In his teens, he decided upon a career as a rodeo rider. Recovering from injuries sustained from a fall during the mid-1950s, he started learning guitar. In the late 1950s, he relocated to Toronto, aspiring to a career as a commercial artist. He also started playing clubs and coffeehouses in Toronto. By 1959 he was performing music as a full-time occupation.Sylvia Tyson, née Fricker, CM, was born in Chatham, Ontario, in 1940. While still in her teens, she started frequenting the folk clubs of Toronto.
Career
Folk duo
The two started performing together in Toronto in 1959. By 1962, they were living in New York City where they caught the attention of manager Albert Grossman, who managed Peter, Paul and Mary and would soon become Bob Dylan's manager. Grossman secured them a contract with Vanguard Records and they released their first album late in the year.Their first album, self-titled Ian & Sylvia, on Vanguard Records consists mainly of traditional songs. There were British and Canadian folk songs, spiritual music, and a few blues songs thrown into the mix. The album was moderately successful and they made the list of performers for the 1963 Newport Folk Festival.
Four Strong Winds, their second album, was similar to the first, with the exception of the inclusion of the early Dylan composition, "Tomorrow is a Long Time", and the title song "Four Strong Winds", which was written by Ian Tyson. "Four Strong Winds" was a major hit in Canada and ensured their stardom.
The two married in June 1964; they also released their third album, Northern Journey, that year. It included a blues song written by her, "You Were on My Mind", which was subsequently recorded by both the California group We Five (a 1965 #1 on the Cashbox chart, #3 on the Billboard Hot 100) and British folk rock singer Crispian St. Peters (#36 in 1967). A recording of "Four Strong Winds" by Bobby Bare made it to #3 on the country charts around that time.
On the Northern Journey album was the song "Someday Soon", a composition by him that would rival "Four Strong Winds" in its popularity. (Both songs would eventually be recorded by dozens of singers.)
Their fourth album, Early Morning Rain, consisted in large part of new songs. They introduced the work of the couple's fellow Canadian songwriter and performer Gordon Lightfoot through the title song and "(That's What You Get) For Lovin' Me". They also recorded songs "Darcy Farrow" by Steve Gillette and Tom Campbell, being the first artists to record these three songs. Additionally, they recorded a number of their own compositions.
They performed at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Play One More, their offering of 1965, showed a move toward the electrified folk-like music that was becoming popular with groups like the Byrds and the Lovin' Spoonful. The title tune used horns to evoke the mariachi style.
In 1967, they released two albums, one recorded for Vanguard, the other for MGM. These two efforts, So Much For Dreaming and Lovin' Sound, were far less dynamic presentations. At this time they were doing a weekly TV program for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Country rock pioneers
They relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where they recorded two albums; one to fulfill the terms of their Vanguard contract, the other to supply MGM with a second (and last) album for that label. The albums can be defined as early country rock music; Nashville for Vanguard was cut in February 1968, one month before The Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo, widely considered the first collaboration of rock and Nashville players. Three of Bob Dylan's "Basement Tapes" songs are included on these albums; most of the rest were written by Ian or Sylvia.In 1969, Ian & Sylvia formed the country rock group Great Speckled Bird. In addition to participating in the cross-Canada rock-and-roll rail tour Festival Express, they recorded a self-titled album for the short-lived Ampex label. Produced by Todd Rundgren, the record failed when Ampex was unable to establish widespread distribution. Thousands of copies never left the warehouse, and it has become a much sought-after collector's item. Initially, the album artist was given as Great Speckled Bird but later copies had a sticker saying that it featured the duo.
Ian & Sylvia's last two albums were recorded on Columbia Records. The first, 1971's Ian and Sylvia, not to be confused with their 1962 release titled Ian & Sylvia, consists largely of mainstream country-flavored songs. This album was released on CD, with extra tracks, as The Beginning of the End in 1996. Their second Columbia record, 1972's You Were On My Mind, featured a later incarnation of Great Speckled Bird. The songs range from hard country rock to middle-of-the-road country material. Neither of the Columbia albums sold well. They were eventually combined and released as 1974's The Best of Ian and Sylvia.
In 1972, Ian & Sylvia performed the song "Let Her Alone" for Walt Disney Productions' live-action drama Run, Cougar, Run. Ian also served as the film's narrator.
By 1975, Ian & Sylvia had stopped performing together and soon afterwards were divorced.
Post-divorce
Ian retreated to western Canada, returned to ranching, and focused on his solo career.Sylvia wrote, performed, and involved herself in various projects. In recent years, she has been recording new material, working as a member of the group Quartette, and performing a one-woman show entitled River Road and Other Stories.
The duo's son, Clay Tyson (Clayton Dawson Tyson, born 1966), is also a musician and recording artist.
In August 1986 a stellar cast of Folk singers who had recorded or written their songs including Gordon Lightfoot, Judy Collins, Murray McLauchlan and Emmylou Harris was assembled in Ontario Canada for a Reunion Concert.
Ian & Sylvia sang their signature song, "Four Strong Winds", at the 50th anniversary of the Mariposa Folk Festival on July 11, 2010, in Orillia, Ontario.
Honours
In 1992 they were inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the Juno Awards ceremony.
In 1994 they were both made Members of the Order of Canada.
In 2005 an extensive Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) poll determined their song "Four Strong Winds" to be the "most essential" piece of Canadian music.
In 2006 they were both inducted into the Mariposa Hall of Fame. It was in 1961 that Ian and Sylvia headlined at Canada's legendary Mariposa Folk Festival. The induction featured a rare live performance by the duo (accompanied by David Celia on guitar) in Toronto to an enthusiastic audience including Gordon Lightfoot, The Good Brothers, Greg Keelor, and David Wilcox.
In a poll of the Western Writers of America, two Ian & Sylvia songs, "Someday Soon" and "Summer Wages" (both written by Tyson), were selected among the "Top 100 Western Songs" of all time.
Early Morning Rain - Ian & Sylvia - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyhZXdJ_4l0
Testo
In the early morning rain
With a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I'm a long ways from home
And I miss my darling so
In the early morning rain
With no place to go
With a dollar in my hand
With an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I'm a long ways from home
And I miss my darling so
In the early morning rain
With no place to go
Out on runway number nine
Big 707 set to go
But I'm stuck here on the ground
Where the cold winds blow
Well the liquor tasted good
And the women were all fast
There she goes my friend
Oh she's rolling now at last
Big 707 set to go
But I'm stuck here on the ground
Where the cold winds blow
Well the liquor tasted good
And the women were all fast
There she goes my friend
Oh she's rolling now at last
Here the mighty engines roar
See the silver wing on high
She's away and westward bound
High above the clouds she'll fly
Where the morning rain don't fall
And the sun always shines
She'll be flying over my home
In about three hours time
See the silver wing on high
She's away and westward bound
High above the clouds she'll fly
Where the morning rain don't fall
And the sun always shines
She'll be flying over my home
In about three hours time
This old airport's got me down
It's no earthly good to me
Cause I'm stuck here on the ground
Cold and drunk as I might be
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain
It's no earthly good to me
Cause I'm stuck here on the ground
Cold and drunk as I might be
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain
You can't jump a jet plane
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain
Like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way
In the early morning rain
Compositori: Gordon Lightfoot
Testo di Early Morning Rain © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Ian and Sylvia - Four Strong Winds (CBC TV 1986) - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3m7ckGhnsc
26 lug 2008 - Caricato da Robert W. Roddis, Esq.
Ian and Sylvia - Four Strong Winds (CBC TV 1986) .... I 'grew up' with Ian and Sylvia, as a Canadian kid ...IAN & SYLVIA ~ Four Strong Winds ~ - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjfTDPhMdTk
01 set 2009 - Caricato da Scout4Me1
Ian & Sylvia ~ FOUR STRONG WINDS ~ written by Ian Tyson. 
Testo
Four strong winds that blow lonely
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don't change come what may
But our good times are all gone
And I'm bound for moving on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don't change come what may
But our good times are all gone
And I'm bound for moving on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way
Think I'll go out to Alberta
Weather's good there in the fall
I got some friends that I can go to working for
Still I wish you'd change your mind
If I asked you one more time
But we've been through that a hundred times or more
Weather's good there in the fall
I got some friends that I can go to working for
Still I wish you'd change your mind
If I asked you one more time
But we've been through that a hundred times or more
Four strong winds that blow lonely
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don't change come what may
But our good times are all gone
And I'm bound for moving on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don't change come what may
But our good times are all gone
And I'm bound for moving on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way
If I get there before the snow flies
And if things are goin' good
You could meet me if I sent you down the fare
But by then it would be winter
There ain't too much for you to do
And those winds sure can blow cold way out there
And if things are goin' good
You could meet me if I sent you down the fare
But by then it would be winter
There ain't too much for you to do
And those winds sure can blow cold way out there
Four strong winds that blow lonely
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don't change come what may
But our good times are all gone
And I'm bound for moving on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way
Seven seas that run high
All those things that don't change come what may
But our good times are all gone
And I'm bound for moving on
I'll look for you if I'm ever back this way
Compositori: Ian Tyson
Testo di Four Strong Winds © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Ian & Sylvia -You Were On My Mind - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdhaaaD2QNg
26 lug 2008 - Caricato da Robert W. Roddis, Esq.
Ian & Sylvia -You Were On My Mind. ... david stuart2 months ago. I'll just listen and remember what a great ...Ian & Sylvia - You Were On My Mind [HD] - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-g203otiYU
19 ott 2016 - Caricato da Gary Larson
Ian & Sylvia, Canadian folk and country singers, sing 'You Were On My Mind' from their 1964 Vanguard ...
Testo
Got up this morning
You were on my mind
And you were on my mind
I got some aches and
I got some pains and
I got some wounds to bind
You were on my mind
And you were on my mind
I got some aches and
I got some pains and
I got some wounds to bind
Went to the corner
Just to ease my pain
It was just to ease my pain
I got drunk and
I got sick and
I came home again
Just to ease my pain
It was just to ease my pain
I got drunk and
I got sick and
I came home again
I got a feeling
Down in my shoes
It's way down in my shoes
I got to move on
I got to travel
Walk away my blues
Down in my shoes
It's way down in my shoes
I got to move on
I got to travel
Walk away my blues
Got up this morning
You were on my mind
And you were on my mind
I got some aches and
I got some pains and
I got some wounds to bind
You were on my mind
And you were on my mind
I got some aches and
I got some pains and
I got some wounds to bind
Compositori: Sylvia Fricker
Testo di You Were on My Mind © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Banni de ses foyers
Un canadien errant
Banni de ses foyers
Parcourait en pleurant
Des pays etrangers
Parcourait en pleurant
Des pays etrangers
"Si tu vois mon pays
Mon pays malheureux
Si tu vois mon pays
Mon pays malheureux
Va, dis a mes amis
Que je me souviens d'eux
Va, dis a mes amis
Que je me souviens d'eux."
(Repeat first verse)
_
(translation)
A wandering Canadian
Banished from his home
A wandering Canadian
Banished from his home
Went weeping through
Foreign lands
Went weeping through
Foreign lands
"If you see my country
My unhappy country
If you see my country
My unhappy country
Go tell my friends
That I remember them
Go tell my friends
That I remember them."
Discography
Albums
Singles
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US | ||||
| 1962 | Ian & Sylvia | — | — | Vanguard | |
| 1964 | Four Strong Winds | — | 115 | ||
| Northern Journey | — | 70 | |||
| 1965 | Early Morning Rain | — | 77 | ||
| 1966 | Play One More | — | 142 | ||
| 1967 | So Much for Dreaming | — | 130 | ||
| Lovin' Sound | — | 148 | MGM | ||
| Nashville | — | — | Vanguard | ||
| 1968 | Full Circle | 48 | — | MGM | |
| 1970 | Great Speckled Bird | 54 | — | Ampex | |
| 1971 | Ian and Sylvia | 60 | 201 | Columbia | |
| 1972 | You Were on My Mind | — | — | ||
| 1996 | Live at Newport | — | — | Vanguard | |
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||
| CAN AC | CAN | US | |||
| 1965 | "Early Morning Rain" | 1 | — | — | Early Morning Rain |
| 1967 | "Lovin' Sound" | — | — | 101 | Lovin' Sound |
| 1971 | "Creators of Rain" | — | 73 | — | Ian & Sylvia |
| "More Often Than Not" | 22 | — | — | ||
| 1972 | "You Were on My Mind" (re-issue) | 4 | — | — | You Were on My Mind |
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