STEVE FORBERT

Steve Forbert (b. 1954, Meridian, Mississippi) achieved fame for his song Romeo's Tune, which reached #9 on the Billboard chart in 1980.

The song, although "dedicated to the memory of Florence Ballard" on the sleeve of the album Jackrabbit Slim, is not about Supremes singer Ballard who died in 1976. "Forbert admits that Ballard became a timely connection for "Romeo's Tune", written about a girl from Meridian. "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" because of a similar vocal timbre and thoughtful songwriting. The front cover of Jackrabbit Slim encourages such comparisons with its simplicity: a black and white photo of Steve Forbert playing a well-worn Martin acoustic guitar with a capo on it, his shirt tinted green. The record was recorded in Nashville and produced by John Simon who had worked with The Band.