Steve Forbert Media Information
Publicity Contact Information
Sue Schrader / Blonde Ambition PR
Phone: 262.377.4180
Fax: 262.377.4280
Email:
sue@blondeambitionpr.com
Steve Forbert Biography
Meet me in the middle of the night
Let me hear you
say everything's alright
Let me smell the moon in
your perfume
— “Romeo’s Tune”
Singer-songwriter Steve Forbert had his first major hit
in 1979 when he was only 25 years old, shortly after
moving to New York City from his hometown of Meridian,
Miss where he had been working as a truck driver
Thirty-plus years later, he’s still writing acclaimed
songs and has released 14 studio albums, including a
Grammy-nominated tribute to another Mississippi legend,
Jimmie Rodgers. He performs around the world and even
finds time to pursue his latest artistic adventure, this
time in photography: an exhibit of his cell phone
photographs recently opened at a Nashville art gallery.
Born in Meridian in 1954, Forbert began playing on a
plastic guitar, graduating to a real guitar and taking
lessons in a converted chicken shack for $1.50 an hour.
He formed a band called The Epics when he was 14. They
had a steady gig performing at dances at the local
mental institution on Saturday mornings. From those
humble beginnings Steve eventually moved to New York
City to focus on his music, and found that his artful
mixture of introspective pop, rock, folk, country and
soul could not be ignored by the music industry.
In 1978, just months after arriving in the big city,
Forbert signed his first record deal with CBS Records.
His debut album, Alive On Arrival, showcased his
distinctive musicality and became one of the year's most
acclaimed albums. After being compared to folk-based
stars like Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, Forbert
still managed to forge his own, more modern path with
his hit sophomore record Jackrabbit Slim. The highlight
of the album was the #11 Billboard hit Romeo’s Tune: an
upbeat song with timeless lyrics sweetened by a poetic
sensibility, which has since become Steve’s signature
style. Forbert’s intimate verbal imagery, paired with a
roots-rocking musical approach, struck a chord with
millions of people during the transitional period
between ‘70s folk-rock and ‘80s New Wave. His
brash-yet-sensitive take on songwriting and his
unaffected delivery propelled the album up the
charts, leading to sold-out shows and a feature in
Rolling Stone magazine and even a high profile cameo as
Cyndi Lauper’s tux-wearing, flower-toting boyfriend at
the end of the “Girl’s Just Wanna Have Fun” video from
1983.
After a great run on the rock and roll main
stage, Steve went looking for new inspiration and found
it when he relocated to Nashville in the mid-1980’s,
where his new works and his legacy have continued to
attract recognition and new fans. Steve was inducted
into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame in 2006, and
“Romeo’s Tune” was covered by Keith Urban in 2007. More
recently he has written songs for the Occupy Wall St.
movement and has re-released some of his earlier
recordings on CD for the first time. While living in
Music City, Steve has further honed his skills as a
songwriter and performer and continued to blend folk,
rock and country into his unique American sound, and has
released a series of critically-acclaimed recordings.
His most recent release, 2009’s The Place and the Time
(429 Records), was reviewed in The Huffington Post as
“all prime Steve Forbert, who is writing at his best.”
A father of three, Forbert is co-writing and
collaborating in Nashville on a 2012 recording project,
in addition to his regular touring. Still generating the
kind of quality music that resonates with discerning
listeners, Forbert is one of the few artists who can
mesmerize a crowd with nothing but a distinctive voice,
an acoustic guitar and his trusty harmonica slung around
his neck, letting the purity of his music stand on its
own. As one reviewer recently remarked, “Forbert is a
hardcore troubadour who, artistically speaking,
continues to fight the good fight by releasing one
excellent album after another and working his ass off
show after show to earn every single fan’s loyalty.”
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Biography and Press: 1980-2012
