| Sylvia Tyson | |
|---|---|
Tyson in 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Sylvia Fricker |
| Born | 19 September 1940 Chatham, Ontario, Canada |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Folk, country-rock, country |
| Occupations | Musician, songwriter, broadcaster, author |
| Instruments | Vocals, autoharp, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Labels | Vanguard, Columbia, Capitol, Stony Plain, Salt, Outside |
| Associated acts | Ian & Sylvia, Great Speckled Bird, Quartette |
| Website | quartette.com/sylvia.htm |
Sylvia Tyson, CM (born Sylvia Fricker on 19 September 1940 in Chatham, Ontario, Canada), is a musician, performer, singer-songwriter and broadcaster.[1] From 1959 to 1974, she was half of the popular folk duo Ian & Sylvia with Ian Tyson.[2][3]
From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, she and Ian also fronted the country-rock band Great Speckled Bird. More recently, she has been a member of the all-female folk group Quartette.
Perhaps her best-known song was "You Were on My Mind", which was originally recorded by Ian & Sylvia in 1964. The song became a massive hit single in the mid-1960s for the San Francisco-based folk-rock band We Five and also for the British pop singer Crispian St. Peters. It has become a rock and roll standard which has been covered numerous times.
She married Ian Tyson in 1964; they divorced in 1975.[4] During their marriage, they had one child, Clay (Clayton Dawson) Tyson.[5][6] Sylvia has contributed offstage to the Canadian music scene as a board member of FACTOR and the Juno Awards. She also established an independent record label, Salt Records, in the early 1980s.[7]
With Tom Russell, she was an editor of the 1995 anthology And Then I Wrote: The Songwriter Speaks(ISBN 9781551520230).[7]
Contents |
Sylvia Tyson was made a member of the Order of Canada in 1994.[8]
She was nominated seven times for a Juno Award, the first being in 1987 as Country Female Vocalist of the Year. But despite these nominations, she has not yet won a Juno award.
The Canadian Music Hall of Fame inducted Ian & Sylvia as a duo in 1992. In 2003, Sylvia Tyson herself was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.[1]
| Year | Album | CAN | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Woman's World | 54 | Capitol |
| 1976 | Cool Wind from the North | — | |
| 1978 | Satin on Stone | — | Salt |
| 1979 | Sugar for Sugar, Salt for Salt | — | |
| 1986 | The Big Spotlight | — | Stony Plain |
| 1989 | You Were on My Mind | — | |
| 1992 | Gypsy Cadillac | — | Silver City |
| 2000 | River Road and Other Stories | — | Salt/Outside |
| 2001 | The Very Best of Sylvia Tyson | — | Varèse Sarabande |
| 2011 | Joyners Dream: The Kingsfold Suite | — | Outside Music |
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN AC | |||
| 1972 | "Give It to the World" | — | 44 | single only |
| 1975 | "Sleep on My Shoulder" | 35 | 24 | Woman's World |
| 1976 | "Good Old Song" | 42 | — | Cool Wind from the North |
| 1979 | "Love Is a Fire" | 32 | — | Satin on Stone |
| 1980 | "Same Old Thing" | — | 36 | Sugar for Sugar, Salt for Salt |
| 1985 | "Up in Smoke" | 50 | — | single only |
| 1986 | "Denim Blue Eyes" | 15 | — | The Big Spotlight |
| 1987 | "Too Short a Ride" | 20 | — | |
| 1989 | "You Were on My Mind" | 35 | — | You Were on My Mind |
| 1990 | "Slow Moving Heart" | 43 | — | |
| "Rhythm of the Road" | 42 | — | ||
| "Thrown to the Wolves" (with Tom Russell) | 43 | — | ||
| 1992 | "I Walk These Rails" | 18 | — | Gypsy Cadillac |
| 1993 | "The Sound of One Heart Breaking" | 52 | — | |