Ryan Cook (musician)
Encyclopedia
Ryan Cook is a Canadian
country music
singer-songwriter
. He has released two albums, Hot Times in 2008, and Peaks & Valleys in 2010.
. When he was a teenager, he tried to escape the cliches of cowboy
culture by playing in punk rock
and heavy metal
garage bands. He graduated from Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School
in 2000. While in college, he worked part-time at a retirement home and began taking requests to perform traditional country music.
award and named the eighth Best Canadian Country Album of 2008 by Country Music News
.
during the CMA Music Festival
, Cook caught the attention of John Walker from WSM Radio. They established a partnership which brought many of Nashville's past performers to record on his upcoming album at Quad Studios. The album features Lloyd Green
, Andy Leftwich, Guthrie Trapp, Bruce Bouton and Alison Brown
. It was named the Best Canadian Country Album of 2010 by Country Music News
beating some of Canada's most recognized country stars including Gord Bamford
, Johnny Reid
, Deric Ruttan
, Carolyn Dawn Johnson
, and Dean Brody
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. He has released two albums, Hot Times in 2008, and Peaks & Valleys in 2010.
Early life
Cook grew up on a dairy farm in Yarmouth County, Nova ScotiaYarmouth County, Nova Scotia
For the ship built in Yarmouth County, see County of YarmouthYarmouth County is a rural county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It has both traditional Anglo-Scottish and Acadian French culture as well as significant inland wilderness areas, including over 365 lakes and several major rivers...
. When he was a teenager, he tried to escape the cliches of cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
culture by playing in punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
garage bands. He graduated from Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School
Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School
Yarmouth Consolidated Memorial High School is a secondary school located in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is part of the Tri-County Regional School Board and is the only high school in the town of Yarmouth...
in 2000. While in college, he worked part-time at a retirement home and began taking requests to perform traditional country music.
2008-2009: Hot Times
In 2008, Ryan entered the studio with his then touring band Sunny Acres and released his debut LP Hot Times. The record won a Music Nova Scotia Country/Bluegrass Recording of the Year award, was nominated for an East Coast MusicEast Coast Music Association
The East Coast Music Association is a non-profit association that hosts an annual awards ceremony based in Atlantic Canada for music appreciation on the East Coast of Canada...
award and named the eighth Best Canadian Country Album of 2008 by Country Music News
Country Music News
Country Music News is a Canadian monthly periodical published in Ottawa by Larry Delaney and Joanne Delaney. It calls itself the "The Voice Of Country Music in Canada".- Publishers :...
.
2009-2011: Peaks & Valleys
In 2009, while performing in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
during the CMA Music Festival
CMA Music Festival
The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered around country music hosted each June by the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee...
, Cook caught the attention of John Walker from WSM Radio. They established a partnership which brought many of Nashville's past performers to record on his upcoming album at Quad Studios. The album features Lloyd Green
Lloyd Green
Lloyd Green is an American steel guitarist. Green is most notable for his session work, having played on records with artists such as Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, Lynn Anderson, Don Williams, Paul McCartney, Charley Pride and many others.-Early life:Lloyd Green was born on October 4, 1937 in Leaf,...
, Andy Leftwich, Guthrie Trapp, Bruce Bouton and Alison Brown
Alison Brown
Alison Brown is an American banjo player and guitarist known for a soft nylon-string banjo sound. She has won and has been nominated on several Grammy awards and is often compared to another banjo prodigy, Béla Fleck for her unique style of playing...
. It was named the Best Canadian Country Album of 2010 by Country Music News
Country Music News
Country Music News is a Canadian monthly periodical published in Ottawa by Larry Delaney and Joanne Delaney. It calls itself the "The Voice Of Country Music in Canada".- Publishers :...
beating some of Canada's most recognized country stars including Gord Bamford
Gord Bamford
Gord Bamford is a Canadian country music singer. He has released four albums and charted more than 20 singles on the Canadian country charts from 2000 to present. This total includes 8 songs that have charted on the Canadian Hot 100 chart, which began publication in 2007.-Early years:Bamford was...
, Johnny Reid
Johnny Reid
Johnny Reid is a country music artist who has charted several hit singles in Canada. Reid moved to Canada in July, 1988 when he was 13. His father, a diesel mechanic, wanted to give Reid and his brother opportunities he did not think they would have in Scotland...
, Deric Ruttan
Deric Ruttan
Deric J. Ruttan is a Canadian country music artist from Bracebridge, Ontario. Signed to Lyric Street Records in 2003, he made his chart debut on the U.S. and Canadian country music charts that year with the release of his single "When You Come Around"...
, Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Carolyn Dawn Johnson is a Canadian Juno Award winning country music singer-songwriter. Johnson first rose to fame by co-writing Chely Wright's 1999 Number One single, "Single White Female," which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in September 1999...
, and Dean Brody
Dean Brody
Dean Brody is a Canadian country music artist. Signed to Broken Bow Records in 2008, Brody made his debut later that year with the single "Brothers"...
.
Studio Albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Hot Times (as Ryan Cook & Sunny Acres) |
|
| Peaks & Valleys |
|
External links
- RyanCook.com official website