Bobby Gimby is a Canadian bandleader-composer whose biggest claim to fame in the nation's collective memory is a centennial song which was a huge success in 1967 when we celebrated 100 years as a nation. It was an adequately insipid jingle that we all sang. 'Caaaa-naaaa- daaaa'.
Bob Ezrin's father played bass with the Bobby Gimby Band. His mother was a classical pianist who always had classical records around the house. It's a typical story, really. Son becomes interested in music at an early age. Takes lessons on one instrument or another. Ends up in the rock biz making more than a few bucks.
It was in 1970 that Bob Ezrin first became active in production, at that time an associate of Jack Richardson in the then- fledging Nimbus Nine Productions which handles the Guess Who. It all started by being in the right place at the right time.
'Aside from playing just for fun at home and listening to records, I never had eyes to be in music professionally. I was always heading toward something else; music was just a sideline,' says Ezrin now, still a young man, trim and good-looking. He has a cocky air of self-confidence and a dead- ahead attitude that is hard to sidetrack. His beliefs are strong. He's learned the craft of being behind the boards the hard way and has a realistic outlook on his particular job function.
'The way I got this job in production was pure accidernt. I happened to be working on a stage show as a script editor. I went through every phase of show business in one form or another. I started off in television, floor- directing, joe-jobbing, doing graphics and all that crap. I directed educational TV for a very...
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