Classic Canadian singer/songwriter, pop / folk – Toronto, Ontario
Ron Sexsmith is a St. Catharines-born, double Juno award winning contemporary singer-songwriter, acclaimed for his insight into the human heart and a melodic purity. A self-motivated musician since the age of 14, Ron has amassed a sizable and consistently enthralling body of work since making his major label debut in 1995, including his 11th album and most recent release this year, Long Player Late Bloomer.
Ron began playing at a local bar at age 17 where he earned the reputation of “The One-Man Jukebox” for his aptitude for playing requests, but 4 years later, after the birth of his first child, he decided to start writing songs. He moved to Toronto in 1985 and formed a band called The Uncool. In 1991, the limited cassette release Grand Opera Lane, an album recorded with the drummer of The Uncool, attracted Interscope/Warner’s interest and resulted in them signing Ron to a songwriting deal. Four years later, the label recognized that not only had they a great songwriter on their books but a singer and guitarist of rare accomplishment too. Ron’s 1995 self-titled “proper” debut represented the cream of nearly 200 songs that had been road-tested for years in the bars of Ontario and was acclaimed by fans from Elvis Costello (for whom Sexsmith later opened) down as an instant classic.
As legendary record producer, Daniel Lanois, told Love Shines, the documentary about the making of Ron’s new album, “Not a lot of people have Ron’s gift: the ability to see a tiny snapshot of a feeling, then expand upon it and deliver a beautiful song. The songs are like Polaroids.”
Among the artists who have covered Ron’s songs are: Rod Stewart, Michael Bublé, k.d. lang, Nick Lowe, Feist, The Brodsky Quartet, Curtis Stigers, Anne Sofie von Otter and Mary Black.
ronsexsmith.com
myspace.com/ronsexsmith