Ian Tyson, half of Ian & Sylvia folk duo, dead at age 89

Ian Tyson, the Canadian folk singer who wrote "Four Strong Winds" as one half of Ian & Sylvia, died Thursday at age 89 following a series of health complications, his manager said.

Tyson was a part of the influential folk movement in Toronto with his first wife, Sylvia Tyson. He was also seen as a throwback to more rustic times and devoted much of his life to living on his ranch and pursuing songs about the cowboy life.

"He put a lot of time and energy into his songwriting and felt his material very strongly, especially the whole cowboy lifestyle,″ Sylvia Tyson said of her former husband.