Roy Charles Forbes (born February 13, 1953) is a Canadian
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
singer-songwriter,
whose music bears heavy influences from classic American genres of
acoustic blues and traditional
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
. Forbes is known for his high soulful voice and percussive guitar playing.
Early life and education
Forbes was born and grew up in
Dawson Creek, British Columbia. He learned to play guitar at age 14,
["Roy Forbes"]
''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', Durrell Bowman, April 9, 2013 and had the childhood nickname, "Bim".
Career
Forbes, calling himself "Bim," began his musical career in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
in 1971 after winning a "Battle of the Bands" competition in Dawson Creek. Initially, he appeared as the opening act for such groups as
Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...
and
Santana
Santana may refer to:
Transportation
* Volkswagen Santana, an automobile
* Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles
* Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer
Boats
* Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...
, but soon came to headline and sell out his own shows. His song "Can't Catch Me", from his first LP ''Kid Full of Dreams'', was released as a single and hit the Top 10 in several major Canadian markets. His third LP "Thistles" was produced by
Emitt Rhodes
Emitt Lynn Rhodes (February 25, 1950 – July 19, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and recording engineer. At 14 years, Rhodes began his career in musical ensembles the Palace Guard as the group's drummer before jo ...
and featured
Mac Cridlin,
David Foster
David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
,
Bob Glaub
Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...
,
Penny Nichols
Penny Nichols (December 26, 1947 – October 29, 2017) was an American folk musician and songwriter.
Career
Nichols began her career in the Southern California folk circuit in Orange County, California, in 1964, singing in a bluegrass band with ...
,
Jeff Porcaro
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...
,
Ron Tutt
Ronald Ellis Tutt (March 12, 1938 – October 16, 2021) was an American drummer who played concerts and recording sessions for Elvis Presley, the Carpenters, Roy Orbison, Neil Diamond, and Jerry Garcia.
Early life
Born in Dallas, Texas, United ...
,
Blue Williams and
Jai Winding
Jai or JAI may refer to:
Abbreviations and codes
* Jaipur International Airport (IATA: JAI), in Jaipur, India
* Jamna Auto Industries, an Indian automotive parts company
* Java Advanced Imaging, an API for the Java platform
* Jet Airways (ICAO ...
. Forbes has appeared as a headliner in most of Canada's major folk music festivals. In 1984, he toured in the US with fellow Canadian
Ferron
Ferron (born Deborah Foisy on 1 June 1952) is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter and poet. In addition to gaining fame as one of Canada's most respected songwriters, Ferron, who is openly lesbian, became one of the earliest and most influential ...
, with whom he performed a duet on the song "Proud Crowd/Pride Cried" for her album, ''Shadows on a Dime.'' In 1987, he began performing and recording as Roy Forbes.
He is also a member of the
supergroup UHF, together with
Shari Ulrich
Sharon "Shari" Ulrich (born 17 October 1951) is a Canadian/American musician and songwriter. She has also worked as a television host, actress, film composer, and educator. A multi-instrumentalist, she plays Violin, Mandolin, guitar, piano, and D ...
and
Bill Henderson.
Songs written by Forbes have been recorded by
Sylvia Tyson,
Garnet Rogers
Garnet Rogers (born May 1955) is a Canadian folk musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He was born in Hamilton, Ontario with roots in Nova Scotia. He began his professional career working with his older brother, folk musician Stan Rogers, an ...
,
Valdy
Paul Valdemar Horsdal, (born 1 September 1945), commonly known as Valdy, is a Canadian folk and country musician whose solo career began in the early 1970s. He is known for "Rock and Roll Song", his first mainstream single. Valdy is the winner o ...
, and
Susan Jacks
Susan Jacks ( Pesklevits; 19 August 1948 – 25 April 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer.
Career
Susan Pesklevits was born on 19 August 1948 to a family of eight children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her family moved t ...
.
Since 2006, Forbes has hosted a weekly radio program called "Roy's Record Room" on the
CKUA Radio Network
The CKUA Radio Network is a Canadian donor-funded community radio network based in Edmonton, Alberta. Originally located on the campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton (hence the UA of the call letters), it was the first public broadcaste ...
in Alberta.
He previously hosted a program known as "Snap Crackle Pop" on
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
across Canada from 1996 to 2009.
Both programs feature songs taken from his extensive collection of vintage records.
Discography
as Bim
* ''Kid Full of Dreams'' (1975) (#72 Canada)
* ''Raincheck on Misery'' (1976) (#59 Canada)
* ''Thistles'' (1978)
* ''Anything You Want'' (1982)
* ''New Songs for an Old Celebration'' with
Connie Kaldor
Connie Isabelle Kaldor, (born 9 May 1953) is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. She is the recipient of three Juno awards.
Early life and education
Kaldor was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She graduated from Campbell Collegiate in Regina in 1972 ...
(1985)
as Roy Forbes
* ''Love Turns to Ice'' (1987)
* ''The Human Kind'' (1992)
* ''Almost Overnight'' (1995)
* ''Crazy Old Moon'' (1998)
* ''Some Tunes For That Mother Of Mine'' (2006)
* ''Strikin' Matches – LIVE!'' (2014)
* ''Edge of Blue'' (2020)
with UHF
* ''UHF'' (1990)
"Artist: Forbes, Roy (aka Bim)"
''The Canadian Pop Encyclopedia''.
* ''UHF II'' (1994)
References
External links
Roy Forbes
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Roy
1953 births
Canadian folk singer-songwriters
Canadian male singer-songwriters
Musicians from British Columbia
Living people
People from Dawson Creek
20th-century Canadian male singers
21st-century Canadian male singers