In his own words
Ian Tyson's classic song, beautifully illustrated for horse-loving youngsters everywhere
The story of the wild mustang in North America is the subject of “La Primera,” a song written and performed by Canadian folk singer and horse afficionado, Ian Tyson. And it is the subject of this handsome picture book with paintings by equine artist Adeline Halvorson.
In 1493, the first Spanish horses were loaded onto a ship and taken on a long, hard voyage to the Americas. Many died along the way and only a few survived. Among them was La Primera. Little by little, their numbers grew, and in time they were in Mexico with Cortez and his conquistadors, on the grasslands with the Comanche upon their backs, and in frontier towns serving the needs of cowboys.
The rugged wild mustangs still exist, and their bloodlines are traceable all the way back to those first horses and the careful records the Spaniards kept. That the animals have survived for five hundred years, while the world around them changed, is a tribute to their endurance and fiery spirit. Included with the story of the song is a section of historical facts on these amazing and beautiful animals and a CD of Ian Tyson singing “La Primera.”
An acclaimed music historian brings us the long-awaited story of Ian & Sylvia - marking the first time that the legendary folk duo has endorsed a biography of their groundbreaking career.
Their classic "Four Strong Winds" is widely considered to be one of the great songs of all time. Bob Dylan, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Joni Mitchell count among their admirers. Their music, including hits like "You Were On My Mind" and "Someday Soon," has been recorded by everyone from Dylan, Joan Baez, and Johnny Cash to Sarah McLachlan and The Tragically Hip. Their influence on music - both in Canada and the United States - has endured over generations and surpassed genres.
Yet until now, we have known little of the story behind the folk sensations Ian & Sylvia. In Four Strong Winds , John Einarson takes us back to Ian & Sylvia's early days in Toronto coffeehouses, to their experiences at the heart of the vibrant 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene, and beyond, as their personal and musical partnership continued to change and evolve. Based on Ian and Sylvia Tyson's own personal reflections as well as on the recollections of contemporaries, associates, and admirers, Four Strong Winds is the definitive account of this iconic musical duo and a window on a fascinating period in music history.
A Canadian icon on his longstanding love of the West and his life in "one of the last true cowboy countries on either side of the border."
"I live on a ranch about six miles east of the town of Longview and the old Cowboy Trail in the foothills of the Rockies. On a perfect day, like today, I can't imagine being anywhere else in the world. Of course, I'm not going to say there aren't those other days when you think, 'What am I doing here?' It's beautiful country and it can be brutally tough as well." —Ian Tyson
Ian Tyson's journey to the West began in the unlikely city of Victoria, BC, where he rode his dad's horses on the weekends and met cowboys in the pages of Will James's books, and eventually followed that cowboy dream to rodeo competition. Laid up after breaking a leg, he learned the guitar, and drifted east, becoming a key songwriter and performer in the folk revival movement. But the West always beckoned, and when his marriage to his partner and collaborator Sylvia broke up and the music scene threatened to grind him down, he retreated to a ranch and work with cutting horses. Soon, he'd bought a ranch in Alberta and found a new voice as the renowned Western Revival singer-songwriter and horseman he is today. This book is Ian's reflection on that journey...
Many music lovers know Ian Tyson as a cowboy singer. Others remember him as half of the folk act “Ian & Sylvia.” Either way, they won’t be disappointed with this no holds-barred portrait of the legendary Tyson. Anecdotes of life on the road in the free and easy sixties, as well as intimate recollections of his musical career, his cowboying, and his two marriages, provides a new understanding of the man and his music.
Tyson co-wrote this autobiography, “I Never Sold My Saddle”. It provides 48 colour and black & white photographs, never-before-published lead sheets for 11 songs and a complete discography of Ian & Sylvia and Ian Tyson recordings.