My tribute to NL Music Legend Ron Hynes 1950-2015

I am completely shocked and saddened that we lost Ron Hynes last night. When I moved to NL in 2007, I was told that if I liked the Eagles and Gordon Lightfoot, that I should grab Hynes' Cryer's Paradise CD. This record totally blew me away. Perhaps the most amazing piece of music I have ever heard. Weeks later, after buying Face to the Gale, Get Back Change, and Standing In Line in the Rain, I was hooked. This was now one of my top 5 favourite music artists in the entire world.

I would be fortunate enough to see him play live concerts 7 times between 2007-2013 and met and chat with him on numerous occasions. While I was told he could sometimes be in a foul mood, he was also great to me, and was always totally 100% accepting of me.

One of my favourite comments Ron made on stage one night, was when he was asked at the last-minute to open a show for Steve Miller Band at the Mile One Centre. He said "I missed a chance to fly to Toronto tonight to see the Eagles play, but it is worth it to be here with you all tonight!"

Another classic joke he once told from the stage was "If you have a request, just jot it down on a 50 dollar bill and bring it up to the stage and we'll be happy to play it for you".

When I was going through some very tough times in 2009, including losing my job and my apartment, I often contemplated leaving NL. It even came to me making a list of pros and cons to staying vs leaving, and being able to continue to see and hear Ron play live concerts at the Fat Cat blues club made my list of reasons to stay.. I'm glad I did!

(Photos: me with Ron in 2013, and Ron on the Fat Cat stage in 2009).

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