Steve Forbert
Encyclopedia
Steve Forbert is an American
pop music singer-songwriter
. He is best known for his song
"Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
in 1980.
Even though the sleeve of the album
Jackrabbit Slim (1979) states that "Romeo's Tune" is "dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard
," the song is not really about the Supremes
singer who died in 1976. The song was actually written about a girl from Forbert's home town of Meridian, Mississippi
, but was dedicated to Ballard because, as Forbert explains, "That seemed like such bad news to me and such sad news. She wasn't really taken care of by the music business, which is not a new story."
Critics hailed him at the time as the "new Bob Dylan
", given a similar vocal timbre
and thoughtful songwriting
. The front cover of his second album, Jackrabbit Slim, encourages such comparisons with its simplicity: a black-and-white photo of Forbert playing a well-worn Martin acoustic guitar
with a capo
on it, his shirt tinted green. The record
was recorded
in Nashville, Tennessee
and produced
by John Simon
, who had worked with The Band
. On the comparison to Dylan, Forbert said, "You can't pay any attention to that. It was just a cliche back then, and it's nothing I take seriously. I'm off the hook — I don't have to be smarter than everybody else and know all the answers like Bob Dylan." Forbert has a cameo appearance in Cyndi Lauper
's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video, playing her boyfriend. [He appears at 3:44 in the official Sony video]
In 1984, Forbert had a disagreement with his record company (Nemperor), which apparently did not want to release a recording he made. The record was shelved, and contractual issues prevented Forbert from recording for a number of years afterwards. Although he has never again recorded a song as commercially successful as "Romeo's Tune", his first recording for Geffen Records
, 1988's Streets of This Town, has been credited with "intelligence and maturity that bested most of his previous work". His The American in Me follow-up in 1992 was praised as "equally strong". Both Geffen releases however were ineptly promoted, and Forbert's work there has been called under appreciated. Although his fame has subsequently waned, Forbert has made music "steadily ever since, writing songs and singing them, on CDs and on the road". His songs have been recorded by several artists, including Rosanne Cash
, Keith Urban
, Marty Stuart
and Webb Wilder
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pop music singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. He is best known for his song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
"Romeo's Tune", which reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in 1980.
Even though the sleeve of the album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Jackrabbit Slim (1979) states that "Romeo's Tune" is "dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard
Florence Ballard
Florence Glenda Ballard Chapman was an American singer and a founding member of the Motown group The Supremes. From 1963 until 1967, Ballard sang on 16 Top 40 hit Supremes' singles, ten of which hit number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1967, Motown CEO Berry Gordy decided to remove Ballard from...
," the song is not really about the Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
singer who died in 1976. The song was actually written about a girl from Forbert's home town of Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
, but was dedicated to Ballard because, as Forbert explains, "That seemed like such bad news to me and such sad news. She wasn't really taken care of by the music business, which is not a new story."
Critics hailed him at the time as the "new Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
", given a similar vocal timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
and thoughtful songwriting
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. The front cover of his second album, Jackrabbit Slim, encourages such comparisons with its simplicity: a black-and-white photo of Forbert playing a well-worn Martin acoustic guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
with a capo
Capo
A capo is a device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. It is frequently used on guitars, mandolins, and banjos. G.B...
on it, his shirt tinted green. The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
was recorded
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by John Simon
John Simon (record producer)
John Simon is an American musician, record producer, and composer. He is best known for his work with The Band as producer and musician on Music from Big Pink and The Band.-Biography:...
, who had worked with The Band
The Band
The Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
. On the comparison to Dylan, Forbert said, "You can't pay any attention to that. It was just a cliche back then, and it's nothing I take seriously. I'm off the hook — I don't have to be smarter than everybody else and know all the answers like Bob Dylan." Forbert has a cameo appearance in Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" video, playing her boyfriend. [He appears at 3:44 in the official Sony video]
In 1984, Forbert had a disagreement with his record company (Nemperor), which apparently did not want to release a recording he made. The record was shelved, and contractual issues prevented Forbert from recording for a number of years afterwards. Although he has never again recorded a song as commercially successful as "Romeo's Tune", his first recording for Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, 1988's Streets of This Town, has been credited with "intelligence and maturity that bested most of his previous work". His The American in Me follow-up in 1992 was praised as "equally strong". Both Geffen releases however were ineptly promoted, and Forbert's work there has been called under appreciated. Although his fame has subsequently waned, Forbert has made music "steadily ever since, writing songs and singing them, on CDs and on the road". His songs have been recorded by several artists, including Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash
Rosanne Cash is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of the late country music singer Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian Liberto Cash Distin....
, Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
, Marty Stuart
Marty Stuart
John Martin "Marty" Stuart is an American country music singer-songwriter, known for both his traditional style, and eclectic merging of rockabilly, honky tonk, and traditional country music...
and Webb Wilder
Webb Wilder
There are Roots-Rockers, and then there's Webb Wilder.Hardly a purist, he has described the music he and his band, The Beatnecks, make as, "Rock for Roots fans and Roots for Rock fans." In essence: Rock and Roll. There’s nothing new about combining R & B, Rock and Roll, Country, Blues, Pop and Rock...
.
Studio albums
- Alive on ArrivalAlive on ArrivalAlive on Arrival is the first album by American popular singer Steve Forbert.-Track listing:All songs written by Steve Forbert#"Goin' Down to Laurel" – 4:39#"Steve Forbert's Midsummer Night's Toast" – 2:49#"Thinkin'" – 3:25...
Nemperor/CBS RecordsCBS RecordsCBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
, 1978 - Jackrabbit Slim Nemperor, 1979
- Little Stevie OrbitLittle Stevie OrbitLittle Stevie Orbit is the third album by American popular singer Steve Forbert.-Track listing:All songs written by Steve Forbert#"Get Well Soon" - 3:53#"Cellophane City" - 5:33#"Song For Carmelita" - 1:55#"Laughter Lou " - 3:10...
Nemperor, 1980 - Steve Forbert Nemperor, 1982
- Streets of This TownStreets Of This TownStreets of This Town is a 1988 album by singer-songwriter Steve Forbert. Streets of This Town was Forbert's first album in six years and his first with Geffen Records.-Track listing:All Songs Written by Steve Forbert...
Geffen RecordsGeffen RecordsGeffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
, 1988 - The American In Me Geffen Records, 1992
- Mission of the Crossroad Palms Giant/Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
, 1995 - Rocking Horse Head Giant/Warner Bros. 1996
- Evergreen Boy 2000
- Any Old Time (Songs of Jimmie RodgersJimmie Rodgers (country singer)James Charles Rodgers , known as Jimmie Rodgers, was an American country singer in the early 20th century known most widely for his rhythmic yodeling...
) 2002 - Just Like There's Nothin' to It 2004
- Strange Names & New Sensations 2007
- The Place And The Time 2009
Live albums
- Be Here Now: Solo Live 1994
- King Biscuit Flower Hour: New York, 1982 1996
- Here's Your Pizza 1997
- Be Here Again: Solo Live 1998
- Acoustic Live: The WFUV Concert 2000
- Live at the Bottom Line 2000
- Solo Live in Bethlehem 2002
- Good Soul Food - Live at the Ark Rolling Tide Records 2004
- It's Been A Long Time: Live Acoustic With Paul Errico 2006
Compilation albums
- Best of Steve Forbert: What Kinda Guy? 1993
- Young Guitar Days 2001
- More Young Guitar Days Valley EntertainmentValley EntertainmentValley Entertainment is a United States music distributor and independent record label based in New York City. The company was founded in 1996 by Barney Cohen, president and CEO. In 2001, they acquired the prestigious back catalogue of space, ambient, and New Age music from Hearts of Space Records...
, 2002 - Rock While I Can Rock: The Geffen Years 2003
- Best of the Downloads Vols. 1 + 2 (Live compilation) 2008
- Down in Flames Rolling Tide, 2009
Soundtrack albums
- Knockaround Guys, 2001 - performed Romeo's Tune
- Margot at the Wedding, 2007 - performed Romeo's Tune
DVD releases
- The Steve Forbert DVD Anthology: You Cannot Win If You Do Not Play, 2005
- On Stage at World Cafe Live, 2007
- Steve Forbert In Concert, 2007