Ronald Eldon (Ron) Sexsmith (born January 8, 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He is known as a songwriter's songwriter, with a gift for melody, insightful and understated lyrics, and an expressive, affecting voice. Sexsmith started his first band at 14. After moving to Toronto he formed the Uncool and released his cassette Out of the Duff, and a year later, There's a Way. Meanwhile, he worked as a courier, and released Grand Opera Lane in 1991. On the strength of this album he earned a contract which led to the self-titled album Ron Sexsmith of 1995. Between 1997 and 2001, Sexsmith released three more albums before the acclaimed Cobblestone Runway in 2002. 2004's album, Retriever, a more pop-oriented album than those before, is dedicated to Elliott Smith and Johnny Cash. In 2004 he was invited by Grammy-Award-Winner Bill Frisell to perform at the German RuhrTriennale in the renowned concert series Century of Song together with songwriter Jesse Harris. In 2005, he released a collection of songs recorded with drummer Don Kerr during the production of Retriever, called Destination Unknown. The same year, he also won a Juno Award for songwriter of the year, for the song "Whatever it Takes". His first five albums are generally melancholic folk-pop with simple, elegant melodies, accentuated use of guitars and economic application of other instruments. On his sixth album, Cobblestone Runway, producer Martin Terefe changed the style to include a more lavish use of synthesizers. Retriever is considered his most "poppy" album. With Time Being, however, he has proven that he hasn't forgotten his roots as a folky singer-songwriter.Top songs are Secret Heart (well covered by Feist) and Strawberry Blonde(sublime economic evocative narrative lyrics). Time Being was released in 2006 and he's since releasedExit Strategy For The Soul in 2008. For photographs and additional information visit Ron Sexsmith's website, www.RonSexsmith.com.
