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

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, 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,

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, Blue Williams and

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. 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

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, 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 ...

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, and

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. 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