Patrick Ballantyne is a Canadian songwriter, singer and guitarist, best known for co-writing hit songs for Big Sugar, notably "

If I Had My Way ''If I Had My Way'' is a 1940 musical comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Bing Crosby and Gloria Jean. Based on a story by David Butler, the film is about a construction worker who takes charge of the daughter of a friend killed i ...

". He has also released five successful solo albums.

Life

Ballantyne was born in Windsor, ON, where he taught himself to play guitar and began writing songs at age 14. He also grew up with

Gordie Johnson Gordie Johnson (born 22 May 1964) is a Canadian musician, best known as the front man for the blues/reggae rock band Big Sugar, Austin-based blues/gospel band Sit Down Servant, and southern rock band Grady. Johnson is a Grammy nominated pr ...

. While Johnson went on to found Big Sugar, Ballantyne became a lawyer, beginning as a prosecutor, then moving to senior positions with

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

and the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in the ...

. He is now the CEO of the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario. Throughout his corporate career, however, he simultaneously stayed very active in music. Ballantyne and Johnson started writing music in the 1980s, when they were still in high school. In 1985, he released his own EP, ''A Gentleman Lost in the Wild''. But he and Johnson continued to write together, and their collaborations appear on all of Big Sugar's albums. Ballantyne also performed on the albums as a vocalist and guitarist. He has also worked with Colin MacDonald of

The Trews The Trews are a Canadians, Canadian rock music, rock band from Antigonish, Nova Scotia, consisting of vocalist Colin MacDonald, guitarist John-Angus MacDonald, bassist Jack Syperek, and drummer Chris Gormley. The band is currently based in Hamil ...

, co-writing that band's hit "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me", and with

Meredith Shaw Meredith Shaw (born December 4, 1981) is a Canadian radio and television personality, model, body positivity activist, style expert, and singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario. She is the co-host of CityTV's ''Breakfast Television''. Bac ...

, Tim Chaisson, and Shaun Verreault of

Wide Mouth Mason Wide Mouth Mason is a Canadian blues-based rock band, consisting of Shaun Verreault (Lead Vocals, Guitar) and Safwan Javed (Percussion, Backing Vocals). Former bassist Earl Pereira was also co-founder of Wide Mouth Mason. The band hails from S ...

. Patrick has performed at the Toronto Centre for the Arts ( Meridian Arts Centre) as part of the Bare Bones and Up Front Series.

''Patrick Ballantyne'', 2008

In 2008, Ballantyne independently released his debut album, ''Patrick Ballantyne'', which was meant to be a demo tape which he could use to match his songs with artists. Instead, it was cited by music industry executive Ron Harwood as one of the top five independent releases of the year. The Song "No One Came" became the title track of a 2012 album by

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist Shane Chisholm. In 2012, Ballantyne and Tim Chaisson co-wrote two songs, "Beat This Heart" and "Blast Your Way Out", for Chaisson's album ''The Other Side''. At the 2013 East Coast Music Awards, the video for "Beat This Heart" was nominated as the Fan Choice Video of the Year, "Beat This Heart" was nominated as Song of the Year, and the album won Roots/Traditional Solo Recording of the Year.

''Days of Rain'', 2014

In June 2014, Ballantyne released his second album, ''Days of Rain'', with a show at the Toronto music store Musideum. The album differs from the first album in that it has more instrumentation (piano and string). The title track, "King of the Road" was co-written with

and

. The song originally appeared in a different incarnation on

's EP "Place Called Happy". The lyric video for "Wrestling with the Devil" was featured by Snob's Music as a 'Friday Find', and 'Music Moment of the Day' by ''Mute Magazine''. In 2014, Ballantyne signed with Northwood Records, which re-released ''Days of Rain'' in January 2015. Also in 2014, the readership of ''NOW Magazine'' voted Ballantyne Songwriter of the Year.

''Calendar'', 2017

In 2015, Ballantyne started the sardonically titled "hitamonth.com" project, aiming to release a single every month for the year. The 12 songs produced were included on his 2017 Album ''Calendar''. J Williamson of

No Depression (magazine) ''No Depression'' is a quarterly roots music journal with a concurrent online publication. In print, ''No Depression'' is an ad-free publication focused on long-form music reporting and deep analysis that ties contemporary artists with the long ch ...

wrote of ''Calendar'': "With sounds encompassing everything from pop to Americana to psychedelia, Calendar presents the most well rounded picture of Ballantyne’s skills to date, all tied together by his honest, and often heartbreaking, storytelling ability."

''Sky'', 2019

In May 2019, Ballantyne released the album ''Sky'', which premiered on Tinnitist.

''Love / Shadow / Dust'', 2021

In April 2021, Ballantyne released the 20-track album ''Love / Shadow / Dust''.

Discography

*''A Gentleman Lost in the Wild'' (1985, EP), Independent *''Patrick Ballantyne'' (2008), Independent *''Days of Rain'' (2014), Independent, Northwood Music *''Calendar'' (2015), Independent, Northwood Music *''Sky'' (2019), Independent, Northwood Music *''Love / Shadow / Dust'' (2021), Northwood Music

Songwriting Credits

*Co-writer "Gone For Good", "Empty Head", and "

" - Big Sugar, ''

Hemi-Vision ''Hemi-Vision'' is the third album by Canadian blues-rock band Big Sugar. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 1997 Juno Awards. The singles from the album were " Diggin' a Hole", "If I Had My Way", "Gone For Good", and " Up Bab ...

'' (1996) *Co-writer "Cop a Plea," "Girl Watcher," "Kickin' Stones" and "Heart Refuse to Pound" - Big Sugar, '' Heated'' (1998) *Co-writer "All Hell for a Basement" - Big Sugar, '' Brothers and Sisters, Are You Ready?'' (2001) *Co-writer "Poor Ol' Broken Hearted Me" -

, '' Den of Thieves'' (2005) *Writer "Rolling Thunder", Co-writer "Ugly Way To Lose", "Religion Of My Own", "Hope Out On That Stage" and "Riding With Delilah" - Mr. Chill, ''Cold Testament'' (2005) *Co-writer "One of These Days" and "Three Legged Race" - Grady, ''A Cup of Cold Poison'' (2007) *Co-writer "If I Was King" and "I'm A Sinner Too" - Grady, ''Good as Dead'' (2009) *Co-writer "So Good", "King of the Road", "There's No Tellin'", "Breakin'", "Happy", Little Fishy", "Acted Badly" and "Girls Who Believe" -

, ''Place Called Happy'' (2011) *Co-writer "Sweet Little Thing" -

, ''No Bad Days'' (2011) *Writer "No One Came", Co-writer "Love Song for You" and "Living in the Dream/Dreamin' Away" - Shane Chisholm, ''No One Came'' (2012) *Co-writer "Call it a Night" -

, ''Trouble'' (2013) *Co-writer "Beat This Heart" and "Blast Your Way Out" - Tim Chaisson, ''The Other Side'' (2013) *Co-writer "Slide" -

, ''Hardest Goodbye'' EP (2014) *Writer "Last Blank Page" - The East Pointers, ''Secret Victory'' (2015)

As producer

*Co-producer, Mr. Chill, ''Cold Testament'' (2005)

As Performer

*1992 - Big Sugar, ''Big Sugar'' (acoustic guitar, vocals) *1993 - Big Sugar, ''Five Hundred Pounds'' (acoustic guitar, vocals) *1995 - Big Sugar, ''Dear M.F.'' (acoustic guitar) *1998 - Big Sugar, ''Heated'' (vocals) *2001 - Big Sugar, ''Brothers & Sisters, Are You Ready?'' (vocals) *2005 - Mr. Chill – Cold Testament (banjo, acoustic guitar, harmony vocals)

Film/TV placements

*''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', Season 10E26 (Don't Let Me Get Me), “Girls Who Believe”, performed by

(2010) *''Arctic Air'', Episode 109 (New North), "Sweet Little Thing”, performed by

(2012) *''Heartland'', Episode 614 (Lost and Gone Forever), "Til The Sun Comes Up", Co-written and performed by Tim Chaisson (2013)

Awards and nominations

East 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. Its mission is to develop, advance and celebrate East Coast Canadian mus ...

nomination for Song of the Year - “Beat This Heart”, Co-written with Tim Chaisson (2013) *''NOW Magazine'' Reader's Choice Winner for Songwriter of the Year (2014)

References

External links

*
Twitter

Reverbnation

Facebook

Soundcloud

Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballantyne, Patrick Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian singer-songwriters Living people Musicians from Windsor, Ontario Canadian folk rock musicians Year of birth missing (living people)