Ronald Eldon “Ron” Sexsmith (born 8 January 1964) is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario.[1] He was the songwriter of the year at the 2005 Juno Awards.[2] He began releasing recordings of his own material in 1985 at age 21, and has since recorded fifteen albums. He was the subject of a 2010 documentary called Love Shines.[3]
Sexsmith was seventeen when he started playing at a bar, the Lion’s Tavern, in his hometown. He gained a reputation as “The One-Man Jukebox” for his aptitude in playing requests. However, he gradually began to include original songs and more obscure music, which his audience did not favour.[1] He decided to start writing songs after the birth of his first child[4] in 1985. That same year, still living in St. Catharines, he collaborated on recording and releasing a cassette, Out of the Duff, with a singer-songwriter friend named Claudio. Side one of the cassette contained five songs written and performed by Sexsmith; side two featured Claudio.[citation needed]
A year later, Sexsmith and his family moved to Toronto, living in an apartment in The Beaches neighbourhood. Sexsmith recorded and released the full-length cassette There’s a Way, which was produced by Kurt Swinghammer.[5][1] Meanwhile, he worked as a courier and befriended Bob Wiseman, whom he met at an open stage. They became friends, and Wiseman agreed to produce and arrange Sexsmith’s next release in between his tours with the band Blue Rodeo. Because of Wiseman’s busy schedule, work on the album stretched out over several years.
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