2003

RON IRVING

Ron Irving was born in Powell River, B.C., and was first exposed to music in high school through an award winning swing band program. He began teaching guitar when he was 14 years old and at 16 was playing weekends at the local legion, dances and weddings. By age 21 Ron had already been on the road playing with a pop group throughout western Canada before moving to Vancouver where he was soon working six nights a week with various pick-up bands. Days were spent woodshedding on his Baldwin jazz guitar with the ambition to become the new Lenny Breau. As a fledgling songwriter Ron learned soon enough how rocky the road can be. On a shoestring budget he traveled to Hollywood with a reel-to-reel demo of his new songs and was making the rounds of publishers, managers, anyone who would listen. Sure enough, returning to his room at the Starlight Motel he found he'd been broken into and robbed of most of his meagre possessions. Nevertheless, back in Canada Ron formed a new band, Bootleg, and in no time two of his songs, "In My Arms Tonight" and "Ordinary People", were number one hits across the nation. Over the next five years Bootleg recorded six more Ron Irving compositions that charted top ten. "In My Arms Tonight" received further recognition with an award from the Canadian Music Publishers Association. By the mid 90s Ron was a regular visitor to popular music's last, great songwriters' Mecca, Nashville, home to some of the best material being written at that time. Before you could say 'Printer's Alley' Anne Murray decided she had to have Ron's "Bluebird Lullabye" as her next single. It was a hit in both the U.S. and Canada and spent an impressive 19 weeks on the Billboard chart. "Bluebird" also garnered numerous awards including Song of the Year from both SOCAN and The Canadian Music Publishers Association. The phone began to ring and other covers of Ron's songs soon followed. From Lee Greenwood in the U.S. to Karel Gott in Germany, Ron began developing his international reputation. BMG International heard Ron's work and was first through the door with a songwriting contract. In no time Ron was invited to appear with fellow hitmakers Randy Bachman and Shirley Eckhard and took the initiative to organize the first, wildly successful Canadian Songwriters Night showcase at Nashville's famed Bluebird Cafe. BMG International also provided Ron the opportunity to co-write with some of the world’s leading songwriters, collaborations that have resulted in numerous recordings globally. Highlights include Asian superstar Jackie (Hong Kong King) Cheung performing Ron's material in his 30 consecutive sold out shows at the Hong Kong Coliseum while the German pop band Trademark and Swedish songbird Monia have both enjoyed success with Irving compositions.