In an official press release, Ian Tyson’s family confirmed that he had died. They said that he died from ongoing health problems after spending his last days at his ranch in southern Alberta. Tyson had lived for 89 years.
Tyson was a Canadian singer-songwriter who did folk, Western, and country-rock music. He started his career in 1959 as one half of the folk duo Ian & Sylvia.
By 1961, the couple had become a full-fledged folk act, and in 1964, they got married. In 1969, the two of them put together a country-rock band called The Great Speckled Bird, which they led.
The couple recorded and performed hits like Tyson’s “Four Strong Winds” and “Someday Soon” and Sylvia’s “You Were on My Mind.” Their songs have been covered by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Judy Collins, among others, and the couple helped guide aspiring Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot.
In 1975, Ian and Sylvia got a divorce and stopped making music together. Tyson went on to train horses in the ranch country of the Canadian West while he still played and recorded music.
He was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, along with Sylvia, in 1992. Tyson’s last single, “You Should Have Known,” came out in September 2017.
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