Newfoundland and Labrador artists will pay tribute to late Maritime songwriting legend Ron Hynes on a new tribute album. Sonny Don't Go Away: A Tribute to Ron Hynes arrives October 20 via Sonic Records.
Produced by Alan Doyle and Cory Tetford, Sonny Don't Go Away features 20 Hynes songs reinterpreted by Hey Rosetta!'s Tim Baker, the Once, Fortunate Ones, Amelia Curran, the Ennis Sisters, Quote the Raven, the Dardanelles and more.
"Dealing with Ron Hynes material in this neck of the woods is like dealing with the bible," Doyle shares in a statement. "He showed people like me that we could be ourselves and we should be ourselves and not try to pretend we're from anywhere else. Not only was it [okay] for us to sing our own songs and tell our own stories but it was essential that we do so."
Baker's album-opening cover of "Leaving on the Evening Tide" is the first of the reinterpretations to arrive, and you can watch him perform the song in a video below.
In a statement, Baker shares that "Leaving on the Evening Tide" is "everything you want a Ron Hynes song to be — it's personal, local, clever, catchy, and it's somehow heartbreaking and tough and rousing at the same time. And for me, it's true. I've spent my whole adult life leaving, saying goodbye, going off in vans and planes for work and school and tour. Me and my entire generation of Newfoundlanders. Also, it's my mother's favourite Ron song."
Hynes, who passed away in 2015, is one of the most prominent musical figures to come from Canada's East Coast. His 1972 debut Discovery was the first album by a Newfoundland artist entirely composed of original material. In a career of over four decades, Hynes was nominated for JUNO and Canadian Country Music Association awards, and, in 2013, received Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal. The artist was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
"We all adored this legendary songwriter but maybe people across Canada and internationally aren't nearly as aware of his genius as we are," Doyle adds. "It was an excellent rallying cry for the whole Newfoundland and Labrador music community to come together for this. For the people who knew and loved Ron, this will be an emotional and important tribute to him. This is just 20 songs. We could easily do 20 more."
Pre-save and pre-order Sonny Don't Go Away: A Tribute to Ron Hynes.
Sonny Don't Go Away: A Tribute to Ron Hynes:
1. Tim Baker - "Leaving on the Evening Tide"
2. Amelia Curran & Duane Andrews - "Dark River"
3. Quote the Raven - "Godspeed (Requiem for Gene MacLellan)"
4. Alan Doyle & The Dardanelles - "St. John's Waltz"
5. The Once - "Atlantic Blue"
6. Jodee Richardson - "Cryer's Paradise"
7. Mallory Johnson - "River of No Return"
8. Joel Thomas Hynes - "Last Chance Avenue"
9. Ennis Sisters - "Lonely Song"
10. Matthew Byrne - "1962"
11. Barry Canning - "Where Do You Get Off"
12. Cory Tetford - "Shine Like Diamonds"
13. Glenn Simmons - "Picture of Dorian Grey"
14. Yvette Lorraine - "Where Does Love Go Wrong"
15. Rum Ragged - "House"
16. Shanneyganock - "If I Left You Alone with My Heart"
17. Fortunate Ones - "No Change in Me"
18. Silver Wolf Band - "Dry"
19. Mick Davis - "Get Back Change"
20. Kellie Loder - "Sonny's Dream"
Produced by Alan Doyle and Cory Tetford, Sonny Don't Go Away features 20 Hynes songs reinterpreted by Hey Rosetta!'s Tim Baker, the Once, Fortunate Ones, Amelia Curran, the Ennis Sisters, Quote the Raven, the Dardanelles and more.
"Dealing with Ron Hynes material in this neck of the woods is like dealing with the bible," Doyle shares in a statement. "He showed people like me that we could be ourselves and we should be ourselves and not try to pretend we're from anywhere else. Not only was it [okay] for us to sing our own songs and tell our own stories but it was essential that we do so."
Baker's album-opening cover of "Leaving on the Evening Tide" is the first of the reinterpretations to arrive, and you can watch him perform the song in a video below.
In a statement, Baker shares that "Leaving on the Evening Tide" is "everything you want a Ron Hynes song to be — it's personal, local, clever, catchy, and it's somehow heartbreaking and tough and rousing at the same time. And for me, it's true. I've spent my whole adult life leaving, saying goodbye, going off in vans and planes for work and school and tour. Me and my entire generation of Newfoundlanders. Also, it's my mother's favourite Ron song."
Hynes, who passed away in 2015, is one of the most prominent musical figures to come from Canada's East Coast. His 1972 debut Discovery was the first album by a Newfoundland artist entirely composed of original material. In a career of over four decades, Hynes was nominated for JUNO and Canadian Country Music Association awards, and, in 2013, received Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal. The artist was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
"We all adored this legendary songwriter but maybe people across Canada and internationally aren't nearly as aware of his genius as we are," Doyle adds. "It was an excellent rallying cry for the whole Newfoundland and Labrador music community to come together for this. For the people who knew and loved Ron, this will be an emotional and important tribute to him. This is just 20 songs. We could easily do 20 more."
Pre-save and pre-order Sonny Don't Go Away: A Tribute to Ron Hynes.
Sonny Don't Go Away: A Tribute to Ron Hynes:
1. Tim Baker - "Leaving on the Evening Tide"
2. Amelia Curran & Duane Andrews - "Dark River"
3. Quote the Raven - "Godspeed (Requiem for Gene MacLellan)"
4. Alan Doyle & The Dardanelles - "St. John's Waltz"
5. The Once - "Atlantic Blue"
6. Jodee Richardson - "Cryer's Paradise"
7. Mallory Johnson - "River of No Return"
8. Joel Thomas Hynes - "Last Chance Avenue"
9. Ennis Sisters - "Lonely Song"
10. Matthew Byrne - "1962"
11. Barry Canning - "Where Do You Get Off"
12. Cory Tetford - "Shine Like Diamonds"
13. Glenn Simmons - "Picture of Dorian Grey"
14. Yvette Lorraine - "Where Does Love Go Wrong"
15. Rum Ragged - "House"
16. Shanneyganock - "If I Left You Alone with My Heart"
17. Fortunate Ones - "No Change in Me"
18. Silver Wolf Band - "Dry"
19. Mick Davis - "Get Back Change"
20. Kellie Loder - "Sonny's Dream"
