R.I.P. Newfoundland Songwriter Ron Hynes

BY Alex HudsonPublished Nov 20, 2015

Newfoundland has lost one of its classic songwriters, as veteran folksinger Ron Hynes has died. He was 64.

Hynes had been battling cancer for a few years. In 2012, he revealed that he had throat cancer, and although he underwent treatments, he announced this year that the disease had spread to his hip and lung. Earlier this week, he was taken to hospital, reportedly due to dehydration.

Born in St. John's in 1950, Hynes had been active in the music world since the '70s. He is best known for the oft-covered 1976 song "Sonny's Dream." In 2010, he was the subject of a documentary, directed by William MacGillivray, entitled Man of a Thousand Songs.

Hynes won numerous East Coast Music Awards, was a JUNO nominee in 1994, and his image is featured on a large statue in St. John's. Other notable tunes by Hynes include "Godspeed" and "Atlantic Blue."

The songwriter had been raising money for a new album called Later That Same Life, and the GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $12,000 as of press time. An update from yesterday noted, "Ron is resting peacefully in hospital, we are in the process of putting all your comments and good wishes together so to be able to sit with him and read them all, I know it will certainly warm his heart, thank you so much." It seems, from recent updates, that the new album is finished and CD manufacturing is already underway.

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