A chronicle of Roy Forbes songs interpreted and recorded by other artists
UPDATED: November 30, 2022
As it turns out, songs written by Roy Forbes have been regularly performed and recorded by quite a few other artists over his fifty-plus year career. This page will be a work-in-progress as we gather information and facts about these renditions of Roy’s work.
In July 1971, a few weeks after arriving in Vancouver from his home in Dawson Creek, 18-year-old Roy Forbes was invited to write something for the group Skylark, led by up-and-coming piano player, David Foster. The Band was gathering material for their first album. Roy came through with the rockin’ “She Won’t Give Me Her Love”, which was quickly taken into consideration. Roy even sang the number with the group during a basement rehearsal. Although Skylark ended up not recording “She Won’t Give Me Her Love”, this is the first known cover of a Bim|Roy Forbes song.
As Roy began to build his career in the early seventies, playing coffeehouses like the Hovel in Edmonton and the Riverboat in Toronto, appearing on radio stations like CKUA and CBC, and more touring throughout Canada, a few of his early songs were picked up and performed by other young artists on the circuit. For instance, singer-songwriter Betty Chaba (Edmonton) the jazzy vocal group Phat Chants (Edmonton) and Regina’s old-timey Everyday Dirt, all added Roy’s numbers to their own coffeehouse sets.
Roy’s very first officially recorded and released covers appeared in 1975, when Casino label-mate, Susan Jacks cut two of his tunes for her “Dream” LP.
Note that Roy has never worked with a dedicated song publisher. So, most of these interpretations of his works have resulted from live performances at festivals and concerts, late-night guitar pulls, radio broadcasts, his albums, and other organic word-of-mouth situations.
We want to thank Chris White, host of Ottawa’s long-running CKCU folk show, Canadian Spaces, for inspiring this page by putting together a two-hour radio special in April 2022, highlighting Roy’s songs sung by other singers.
Click here to check out that show ‘on demand’.
https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/129/55796.html
JUST ANNOUNCED!
2022 | Suzie Vinnick | Let Me Make It Up To You Tonight | Fall Back Home | Self
https://royforbes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Suzie-Vinnick-Let-Me-Make-It-Up-To-You-Tonight.mp3
NOW, ON WITH THE LIST …
Date | Artist | Song | Album | Label
1975 | Susan Jacks | Sometimes It’s Hard To Know | Dream | Casino Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRU_e0pdGHg
1975 | Susan Jacks | Dirty Blues | Dream | Casino Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQyuwu4Wqug
1979 | Sylvia Tyson | Right After My Heart | Sugar For Sugar, Salt For Salt | Salt Records
https://royforbes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Sylvia-Tyson-Right-After-My-Heart.mp3
1980 | Matt Minglewood | Me And My Baby | Movin’ | RCA Victor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lJmuuM5kf4
1982 | Shari Ulrich | Love Turns To Ice | Talk Around Town | MCA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dmyOF34lAo
1982 | Shari Ulrich | Talk Around Town | Talk Around Town | MCA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f24vjZS5qco
1984 | Garnet Rogers | Woh Me | Garnet Rogers | Snow Goose Songs
https://garnetrogersmusic.bandcamp.com/track/woh-me
1985 | Valdy | Dance All Night | Notes From Places | Duke Street Records
1985 | Valdy | This Feeling | Notes From Places | Duke Street Records
1986 | Tony Trischka & Skyline | Tender Lullaby | Skyline Drive | Flying Fish Records
1986 | Tony Trischka & Skyline | Woh Me | Skyline Drive | Flying Fish Records
1989 | Shawn Colvin | Talk Around Town | Live At The Bottom Line 88 | Fast Folk Musical Magazine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RsBX9aI5_Y
1989 | Great Western Orchestra (Cindy Church) | Your Image Of Me | GWO | Centerfire Records
http://citizenfreak.com/titles/281442-great-western-orchestra-gwo
1993 | Laurie Lewis | Still A Fool | True Stories | Rounder Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikh2wy2YOHw
1994 | Suzie Vinnick | Keep Lightin’ That Fire | Angel in the Sidelines | Eizusagous Rox Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sde6L1nS6bk
1994 | Suzie Vinnick | Do I Love You | Angel in the Sidelines | Eizusagous Rox Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LKwaUdLEwY
1994 | Heather Bishop | Waitin’ For You, Mama | Daydream Me Home | Mother Of Pearl
https://www.youtube.com|watch?v=8oHCp98cOHc
1994 | Heather Bishop | Let Me Make It Up To You Tonight | Daydream Me Home | Mother Of Pearl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wc-PannyF8
1995 | Cindy Church | Still A Fool | Just a Little Rain | Stony Plain Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGb8tBdYbk0
1995 | Kathy Kallick | Smelly Feet | Use A Napkin (Not Your Mom) | Sugar Hill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udjttfYfL38
1996 | Kathy Kallick | Ring The Bells At Midnight | Tinsel Tunes | Sugar Hill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ColYfD2RClY
1997 | Hart Rouge | Lifting My Heart | Beaupré’s Home | Red House Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhUKw7EMnWo
1998 | Hart Rouge | Night on a Hill | Nouvelle France | Red House Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwCswB1sktI
2002 | Suzie Vinnick | I’m On The Edge | 33 Stars | Eizusagous Rox Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZtCuMHKWB8
2007 | Tracey Brown | Let Me Make It Up To You Tonight | Alone | Rip Roar
https://royforbes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Tracey-Brown-Let-Me-Make-It-Up-To-You.mp3
2000 | Norman Foote | Smelly Feet | Shake a Leg | Casablanca Kids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATXb-nL8w50
2010 | Jane Mortifee | Nothing Like Lonesome | Give Me Something Real | Self
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgyDWqw621k
2011 | Suzie Vinnick | Crazy ‘Bout Lovin’ Me | Me ‘N’ Mabel | Eizusagous Rox Records
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykT_W-di1fc
2011 | Denise Withnell (of Cowboy Celtic) | Let Me Make it Up to You Tonight | Rose Petal Pie
2013 | The Hot Club of Mars | Lifting My Heart | Kiss of Fire | Self
https://royforbes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Hot-Club-Of-Mars-Lifting-My-Heart.mp3
2020 | Shaye Zadravec | The Slider | Now And Then | Indelible Music
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA0m_3xhKbE
2021 | Connie Kaldor | Ring The Bells at Midnight | Prairie Christmas
https://conniekaldor1.bandcamp.com/track/ring-the-bells
2021 | Jef Leeson | Me And My Baby | Vocalings: The Canuckness | Self
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0WJQgyDkl4
2022 | Suzie Vinnick | Let Me Make It Up To You Tonight | Fall Back Home | Self
https://royforbes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Suzie-Vinnick-Let-Me-Make-It-Up-To-You-Tonight.mp3