Sam Roberts
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- For similarly named people, see Samuel Roberts.
| Sam Roberts | |
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Sam Roberts singing at Lollapalooza in 2007.
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| Background information | |
| Born | October 2, 1974 Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Canada |
| Origin | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Genre(s) | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals Guitar |
| Years active | 2000 - present |
| Label(s) | MapleMusic Recordings Universal Music Canada |
| Website | samrobertsband.com |
Sam Roberts (born October 2, 1974) is a Juno Award winning Canadian rock singer-songwriter, whose 2002 debut release, The Inhuman Condition, became one of the bestselling independent releases in Quebec and Canadian music history.
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Born in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, to South African parents, he attended Loyola High School and McGill University. Roberts formed the band that was eventually known as William in 1993. The band's name was changed to Northstar in 1996. Although the band gained some notice in independent rock circles, they couldn't break through to a national audience, and broke up in 1998. Roberts' bandmate George Donoso went on to significant success in indie rock circles with The Dears, but Roberts struggled for several years afterward.
After disbanding Northstar in 1998, Roberts promptly recorded the full-length and now very collectible independent debut Brother Down at home. In 2001, Roberts recorded and released a six-song EP, The Inhuman Condition, on MapleMusic Recordings. The EP sold slowly at first, but by the summer of 2002 his first single "Brother Down" had become one of the biggest Canadian hits of the year, and the follow up single "Don't Walk Away Eileen" quickly followed suit.
Roberts then signed to Universal Music, releasing his full-length major label debut, We Were Born in a Flame, in 2003. That album's singles, "Where Have All the Good People Gone?" and "Hard Road", received, once again, a large amount of success, mainly in Canada.
The band's new album Chemical City, was released in Canada on April 11, 2006, and in the United States on May 16, 2006. In Canada, the first single was "The Gate" which quickly shot to number one on Canadian rock radio. The second single in Canada was "Bridge to Nowhere". The third single in Canada is "With a Bullet".
Bandmates are Eric Fares (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Dave Nugent (guitar, vocals), James Hall (Bass), and Josh Trager (drums).
Sam Roberts is bilingual, speaking both English and French. He married his high school sweet heart of 13 years, Jen and they have a baby girl Miriam Rose Roberts (born Jan 2007).[citation needed]
In October of 2006, Sam Roberts and his band went on a US tour with Ben Kweller and Hymns (band).
- Brother Down (2000)
- The Inhuman Condition (EP) (2001)
- We Were Born in a Flame (2003)
- Chemical City (2006)
For the following, only "Where Have All The Good People Gone?" was released as a commercial CD single. An edited version of the "The Gate" was made available for download from iTunes and other online retailers.
- "Brother Down" (2002) [radio and video only]
- "Where Have all the Good People Gone?" (2003) [commercial single with video]
- "Hard Road" (2003) [radio and video only]
- "Dead End/Every Part of Me" (2003) [double radio-only]
- "Don't Walk Away Eileen" (2003) [radio and video only]
- "The Gate" (2006) [radio and video only]
- "Bridge to Nowhere" (2006) [radio and video only]
- "With a Bullet" (2006) [radio only]
- Piranha (1997) [EP released on 7" yellow vinyl with the band William]
- Northstar (1998) [self-titled EP released on CD with the band Northstar]
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Juno Awards | Single Of The Year | "Brother Down" | Nominated |
| New Artist Of The Year | Nominated | |||
| MuchMusic Video Awards | Best VideoFACT | "Brother Down" | Won | |
| Best Pop Video | Nominated | |||
| Best Independent Video | Nominated | |||
| People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Artist | Nominated | |||
| 2004 | Juno Awards | Album Of The Year | We Were Born in a Flame | Won |
| Rock Album Of The Year | Won | |||
| Artist Of The Year | Won | |||
| MuchMusic Video Awards | Best Director | "Hard Road" | Won | |
| Best Cinematography | Won | |||
| Best Post-Production | Won | |||
| Best Video | Nominated | |||
| Best Pop Video | Nominated | |||
| People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Artist | Nominated | |||
| 2006 | MuchMusic Video Awards | Best MuchMoreMusic Award | "The Gate" | Nominated |
| People's Choice-Favourite Canadian Artist | Nominated | |||
| 2007 | Juno Awards | Video of the Year | "Bridge to Nowhere" | Won |
| Rock Album of the Year | Chemical City | Nominated |
- Sam Roberts Band - Official Site
- Sam Roberts Band - The band's MySpace website
- Chemical City - Chemical City Official Site
- Sam Roberts Maple Music - Maple Music Site
- Sam Roberts Universal Music Canada - Official Universal Music Canada Site
- Official Sam Roberts Lost Highway Artist Page
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since July 2007 | 1974 births | Canadian rock singers | Canadian singer-songwriters | Quebec musicians | People from Montreal | Canadian male singers | Living people | Canadians of South African descent | Canadians of British descent | Juno Award winners | McGill University alumni