Mel Hynes & The Kootenay Legends - The Yellow Monster

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Released July 2009

Mel Hynes and the Kootenay Legends are the heart and soul of Columbia Valley heritage music. Based in Invermere, British Columbia, the group—led by veteran musician Mel Hynes and his wife Sharon—has spent decades preserving and performing the stories, people, and logging culture of the Kootenays through music. Their songs are rich with the imagery of mountain roads, rugged trains, and hard-earned pay, steeped in first-hand knowledge of the region’s past.

Mel was born in Invermere and raised on his family’s land in Harrogate, where his grandfather settled after arriving from Ontario around 1900. A lifelong resident of the East Kootenay region, Mel experienced much of the logging and railway culture that now inspires his songwriting. As a youth, he traveled gravel roads and bumpy train lines to school in Golden, worked with the CPR, and later joined the booming sawmill trade in Parson. His lived experience gives his music a rare authenticity, from tales of riding the rough Kootenay Cannonball to earning a logger’s wage in the 1950s.

Mel’s musical journey began in the 1950s, backing up rockabilly legend Ricky Nelson in Banff and playing in bands like The Whirlwinds, who were active into the late 1960s. A multi-instrumentalist with a deep love for danceable rhythms, Mel embraced country, folk, polka, and jive styles. His performances recall a time when community dances filled local halls and stories were shared in song.

Mel met Sharon Hynes in the Cariboo during his time as a forestry fire crew foreman. They reconnected in the late 1990s, married in Parson in 1999, and together formed the duo Kootenay Legends. Sharon brings vocals, warmth, and historical storytelling to their performances, often drawing reactions from audiences who personally remember the events described in their songs. Their music includes originals and adaptations of Columbia Valley lore, delivered with humor, heart, and reverence.

The duo’s 2009 CD History in the Making: Part One, produced by Marty Beingessner and re-released in a remastered edition in 2012, reflects Mel’s songwriting rooted in logging tales, regional history, and poetic narratives by local legend John Kehoe. Tracks like “The Yellow Monster,” “Logger’s Lament,” and “Race Up Old White Swan” feature collaborators such as Bud DeCosse, Jim Miller, and Franz Grasegger, and have become folk staples throughout the valley.

Kootenay Legends have performed across the region, including festivals like Steamboat Mountain Music Festival, where they shared stages with some of the area’s finest musicians. Their music is now part of Library and Archives Canada, preserving the cultural memory of the Columbia Valley for generations to come.

Whether singing about the Bugaboos, riding the rails, or recalling a time when roads were rough and wages were 92 cents an hour, Mel and Sharon Hynes continue to bring the history of the Kootenays to life—one heartfelt song at a time.
-Robert Williston

Re-mastered by Richard Harrow

Special Thanks to Marty Beingessner for his work and dedication to this and past album History in the Making. As well, we are fortunate to have the talent of Poet John Kehoe and cousin Jack Brock to provide the inspiration for the songs.

History provides insight to the future for those who have not been around the logging industry in the early days. Logging today is still a dangerous occupation regardless of the changes that have taken place.

Special thanks for the artistry of Bud DeCosse on Lead Guitar, to Jim Miller on the Steel Guitar, Franz Grasegger on the Accordian, Poet John Kehoe, and last but not least, Producer, Marty Beingessner on Lead and Bass Guitar.
Without you, this album would never have happened.
We, Mel and I, thank the Lord for bringing all of us together.

Thank you, John Kehoe for a great book of Poetry that all but two of these songs were derived !
Extra Track: Running the Kootenays: Author is Larry Mottram
Special thanks to Eda Mottram for allowing us to record the song.

Kokamo Joe
The lyrics and music by Mel Hynes is about a "tongue-in-cheek"
Faller! Jim Miller Steel Guitar, Mel Hynes Rythem, Franz Grasegger, Accordian, Marty B. on Bass and Lead.

Moose Tamer by John Kehoe is a true account of this event in "every word" says the Poet! Music by Mel Hynes, also on Rythem guitar. Marty B. Lead and Bass guitar.

Logger's Lament by John Kehoe, Music by Mel Hynes on Rythem guitar, Accordian by Franz Grasegger, Jim Miller on Steel guitar, and Marty Beingessner on Lead and Bass guitar.

Race Up Old White Swan by John Kehoe. Music by Mel Hynes. Typical of the Logging truck driver's to Race to and from the Mill ! Some of Marty’s BEST in Lead and Bass Guitar.

The Old Logger
Tells just how tough it was and still is "to be a logger." Lyrics by John Kehoe, Music by Mel Hynes with Jim Miller on Steel, Marty Beingessner on Bass and Bud Decosse on Lead Guitar.

Dirty Dale & Slippery John
Music by Mel Hynes.
John Kehoe before the days of weight scales, describes how the truckers tried to dodge the law to bring in big loads. Marty Beingessner on Lead and Bass guitar.

Jypo John
"Jypo" is a term used for the hard working logger who was paid "by the thousand" meaning the more timber brought to the sawmill meant a bigger pay. Music by Mel Hynes, Lead guitar, with Marty B. on Bass.

Overload to Make it Pay
tells how the big paychecks came with big loads ! Lyrics by John Kehoe, Music by Mel Hynes. Jim Miller on the Steel guitar with Marty B. again doing some of his best Lead guitar.

Home in the Rockies
Author Unknown
Music by Mel Hynes with Jim Miller on Steel Marty on Lead guitar and Bass.

Yellow Monster
by John Kehoe
Music by Mel Hynes
The logging trucks of the fifties were big, ugly and yellow with manual steering and many gears to shift continually up and down the mountains. Bud Decosse Lead Guitar, Marty B. on Bass.

Photo's, Graphics by Sharon Hynes
Jubilee Mtn. Graphic
Harrogate B.C.
(250) 346 - 3136
email: smhynes@cyberlink.bc.ca
Thanks to W. Beauditer for cover photo

Living Room Music Productions
Producer: Marty Beingessner
Invermere, B.C.
(250) 342-6685

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