Ron Hynes born 7 December 1950

Ron Hynes (December 7, 1950 – November 19, 2015) was a folk singer-songwriter from Newfoundland and Labrador. Commonly refered to as The Man of a Thousand Songs, he was especially known for his composition "Sonny's Dream", which has been recorded worldwide by many artists and was named the 41st greatest Canadian song of all time on the 2005 CBC Radio One series 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version. 

Ron Hynes was born in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador in December 1950, and raised in Ferryland. He began his career in the late 1960s on the St. John's and Toronto pub and coffeehouse circuits. His first solo album, Discovery (1972), was the first album of entirely original material by a Newfoundland artist. From 1974 to 1976, Hynes was the composer-in-residence for the Mummers Troupe, a St. John's theatre company. 

He was a founding member of The Wonderful Grand Band, one of Newfoundland's most popular performing groups, and has released seven solo albums. His debut album, Discovery, released in 1972, was the first album composed of totally original content by a Newfoundland artist.  In 1976, Hynes released the folk classic “Sonny's Dream.” The song has been covered by many artists, including Emmylou Harris, Stan Rogers and Great Big Sea. From 1978 to 1983, Hynes performed with the Wonderful Grand Band, a successful folk-rock and comedy collective he formed with a number of Newfoundland musicians and comedians. 

                                     

By 1992, Hynes had amassed an extensive collection of original songs and had signed a recording contract with EMI Music Canada. Although his two EMI-endorsed albums, Cryer's Paradise (1993) and Face to the Gale (1996), achieved little commercial success, they were critically acclaimed and allowed him to establish a national fan base. Despite his growing success, Hynes was dropped by the label. He independently released his next three albums: 11:11 Newfoundland Women Sing (1997), Standing in Line in the Rain (1998), and The Sandcastle Sessions (2002). In 2002, Hynes signed with the folk label Borealis. He subsequently released Get Back Change (2003), Ron Hynes (2006), and Stealing Genius (2010). 

Hynes became a seven-time East Coast Music Awards winner, and past Juno and Canadian Country Music Awards nominee. He was named Artist of the Year ('92) and in 2002, Hynes received an honorary Doctor of Letters from Memorial University in St. John's in recognition of his original songwriting and his contribution to the cultural heritage of Newfoundland. In 2004 he was presented with the prestigious Arts Achievement Award  by the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council. 

In 2006, Hynes was honored as the recipient of the St. John's Folk Arts Council's Lifetime Achievement Award. Hynes picked up more awards including Entertainer of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Folk/Roots Artist of the Year. In 2007 he was the winner of Male Solo Recording of the Year at the East Coast Music Awards. 

Widely regarded as one of Canada's premier singer-songwriters with a career spanning over 30 years, Hynes' songs have become part of the fabric of Newfoundland culture. His work is also known outside the province; Hynes' songs have been covered worldwide by over 100 artists, including Emmylou Harris, Valdy and Christy Moore. Hynes narrated two audio books and also had occasional acting roles, including in the films The Adventure of Faustus Bidgood, Secret Nation, Anchor Zone, Violet and The Bingo Robbers, and the television series Dooley Gardens and Emily of New Moon. 

A documentary on Hynes, entitled Man of a Thousand Songs and directed by William D. MacGillivray, debuted at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. In July 2012, it was announced that Ron Hynes was diagnosed with throat cancer. On August 11, 2012, Hynes performed to a sold-out crowd of more than 3,000 at the Mile One Centre in St. John's. This was his last performance before undergoing cancer treatment. The concert included a reunion of Hynes' old band, The Wonderful Grand Band. In the fall of 2013, he was in remission and back on tour, including participation in a Vinyl Cafe tour broadcast on CBC Radio. Hynes died at a hospital in St. John's on November 19, 2015, at the age of 64. 

After Hynes' death, actor and writer Joel Thomas Hynes, his nephew, announced on Facebook that Hynes suffered from drug addictions that led to his demise.He said,  "He remained a hardcore addict right to his final days. And it killed him."

He was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame during the East Coast Music Awards in July 2020. 

(Edited from Wikipedia & The Canadian Encyclopedia)