A legendary Canadian rocker and member of Crowbar has passed away.
Kelly Jay Fordham, 77, died Friday morning at 2 a.m., his son wrote in a Facebook post.
“I just wanted to say I love you dad, and that I look forward now to getting to see you on the other side some day,” his son, Hank Fordham, wrote.
The singer, songwriter, and pianist who helped to co-write the famous 1971 hit Oh, What A Feeling had been in hospital in Calgary since early June after suffering a stroke, which his family had been told he wouldn’t recover from.
Crowbar was formed in 1970 in Hamilton, Ont. The group of musicians, including Fordham, was formerly the backup band for Ronnie Hawkins before being fired. The band’s name was taken from a colourful remark from Hawkins, who noted after firing them they “could (mess) up a crowbar in 15 second.”
Fordham settled in Calgary sometime after Crowbar broke up in 1975.
Oh What a Feeling hit number 10 on the Canadian charts and was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2011.
Fordham told Postmedia in 2009 he believed the misconception that the song was about drugs was why it never received airplay in the United States.
Read more HERE at the Calgary Herald website
