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With his deep knowledge of Canadian music history, Nicholas has been commissioned by record labels to write extensive liner notes for many of the country’s top artists, including Ian & Sylvia, Bruce Cockburn and Stompin’ Tom Connors. He penned an 8,000-word biography of Gordon Lightfoot for Songbook, the popular four-CD Lightfoot box set issued in 1999 by Rhino Records. |
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Catalysts of the folk boom, Canada’s Ian Tyson and Sylvia Fricker burst onto the scene in the early 1960s with a unique vocal sound. Sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall. Headline appearances at the Newport and Mariposa festivals. Hit songs like the now-classic “Four Strong Winds” and “You Were On My Mind.” A real singing cowboy and a church organist’s daughter, Ian & Sylvia were one of the hottest acts around. But all of that changed in the mid-1960s when The Beatles and the British Invasion landed on North American shores. The folk boom suddenly went bust and everyone—including Ian’s mentor, a scruffy kid named Bob Dylan—began plugging in.Reviews
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