Artist: Ian Tamblyn, Album: Through The Years, Song: Turlutte

"Swing your partners round and round, listen to romancing.  Swing your partners round and round.  Well now I do not know why I'm laughing but I'm laughing once again."  Ian Tamblyn is a folk singer originally from Thunder Bay.  The title of folk singer though doesn't seem to cover everything this remarkable individual has done.  He started recording in the early seventies and by 1976, had won his first Juno.  To date, he's recorded over 1500 songs and 29 albums.  As a playwright, he has written 6 plays.  He's also worked as a teacher and guide on missions to places like Antarctica.  He released an album called Antarctica in 1991.  It was the third in a string of albums that garnered him recognition as a new age musician as a result of his incorporation of field recordings from his wilderness exploits.  He was also nominated for a Juno that year but lost out to Ofra Harnoy.  The song, Turlutte, was actually released in 1980 on his album, When Will I See You Again.  He describes the song as "a celebration of nonsense song and dance that used to be held on the north shore of the St.Lawrence towards the end of winter."  In 1992, Ian released the album, Through The Years, a compilation of his work which includes this song as well.  Between guiding in the Arctic and playing across the country, Ian is one busy guy.  You can follow him at http://www.tamblyn.com/.  You can purchase the original album, When Will I See You Again, on Itunes.  Through The Years is a bit tougher to find and at the time of this blog, there was one copy available on Ebay for $20.  You can hear the song, Turlutte, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTOIVYOaVDY).  Thanks for reading and enjoy!