Canadian folk icon Ian Tyson passed away on December 29, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

By The Canadian Press

Versatile And Serious Songwriter

Remembering Ian Tyson: Canadian folk icon

Jan 9, 2023 | 3:20 PM

Sylvia Tyson is remembering her former husband Ian Tyson as a versatile and serious songwriter.

The Canadian folk legend turned cowboy storyteller died at age 89 over the holidays.

His manager says the Victoria native died Thursday, December 29, 2022 at his ranch near Longview, Alberta, following a series of health complications.

Ian Tyson hitchhiked from Vancouver to Toronto in the 1950s, where he was swept up in the city’s burgeoning folk movement alongside Canuck legends including Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. The singer-songwriter penned “Four Strong Winds” as one half of Ian & Sylvia.

The tune was covered by dozens of artists over the years, including Young and Johnny Cash.

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Tyson moved back West after the pair divorced in 1975 and returned to ranch life, training horses and cowboying in Pincher Creek, Alberta.

He won numerous awards for his music, including an induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019.

(The Canadian Press, story originally published on December 30, 2022)