Ken Tobias

Kenneth Wayne Paul Tobias (July 25, 1945 – October 2, 2024) was a Canadian singer-songwriter. He is noted for penning the 1971 chart-topping hit for The Bells, "Stay Awhile", and for several top-selling recordings of his own.

Ken Tobias
Tobias in 1973
Background information
Birth name	Kenneth Wayne Paul Tobias
Born	(1945-07-25)July 25, 1945 Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Died	October 2, 2024(2024-10-02) (aged 79) Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
Genres	Folk rock
Occupations	Musician songwriter producer
Instruments	Vocals guitar
Years active	1961–2024
Labels	MGM Attic

Early career

Born and raised in Saint John, New Brunswick, Tobias worked as a draftsman in the early 1960s while also appearing as a musician at local venues in Saint John. He joined a folk group named the Ramblers in 1961, playing guitar, and he later played drums in a rock band called the Badd Cedes. He moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1965 and became a cast member for a local CBC Television show called Music Hop. He was a regular performer from 1966 to 1968 on the national variety program called Singalong Jubilee, which was also produced in Halifax. His duets with fellow cast-member and later recording star Anne Murray were well regarded. Also appearing on the show were such recognized performers as Gene MacLellan and John Allan Cameron. After three seasons in Halifax and Montreal, in 1968, Tobias met Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers who invited him to Los Angeles to record and write as a salaried songwriter. Under the management of Medley's company, Tobias recorded his first single "You’re Not Even Going to the Fair" on Bell Records; like many of his early releases it was credited just to "Tobias". The song won him his first Canadian BMI award for airplay. This was the first of many BMI, Procan and SOCAN awards.

In 1970, he penned "Stay Awhile". Though originally conceived as a country-tinged solo piece, the song would emerge as a sensual duet by The Bells and became a soft rock classic of the early 1970s, peaking in 1971 at No. 1 in Canada and No. 7 on the US Billboard charts. "Stay Awhile" sold more than two million copies worldwide.

Solo artist

After travelling back and forth between Los Angeles and Montreal, in 1972, Tobias settled in Toronto where he played as a backing musician with various bands. With his brother Tony Tobias, he established Glooscap Music and released several solo recordings that enjoyed extensive airplay in Canada, including "Fly Me High", and "Lady Luck". Ken Tobias is one of the few Canadians to receive the Socan Classics Award for 100,000 airplays of a given song, of which he has five awards, for "Stay Awhile", "I Just Want to Make Music", "Every Bit of Love", "Give a Little Love" and "Dream #2". To date, Ken Tobias has released eight albums and one radio sampler on various record labels. He has also released about twenty singles.

In 1978, he toured Europe, and while there he collaborated on the soundtrack of the Italian Spaghetti Western Sella d'Argento (Silver Saddle/They Died with Their Boots On), directed by Lucio Fulci.

Later life and death

Tobias lived in Toronto through the 1990s before returning to his native Saint John, where he remained, painting and continuing to write and perform music, and encouraging younger talents through the Songwriters Association of Canada. In 2002, he produced the debut album for Canadian artist Kim Jarrett. He also collaborated with local Saint John artist Jessica Rhaye.

In 2008, Tobias released From a Distance, his first new album in 24 years.

Tobias died from brain cancer in Saint John, on October 2, 2024, at the age of 79.

Discography

Year	Title	Label	Chart RPM
1972	Dream No.2	MGM / Verve	68
1973	The Magic's in the Music	MGM	74
1975	Every Bit of Love	Attic	80
1976	Siren Spell	Attic
1977	Street Ballet	Attic	89
1978	The Ken Tobias Collection – So Far... So Good	Attic
1984	Gallery	CBC Enterprises
	Friends: A Kid's Album of Pop Songs	Kiddin' Round Records / CBS Records
1993	Pangaea (Radio Sampler)	Pangaea Records
2008	From a Distance	The Pangaea Music House
2011	Secrets (EP)	Self-Published

Singles

• "You're Not Even Going to the Fair" (Bell, 1969) (#78 CAN)
• "Now I'm in Love" (1971) (#70 CAN)
• "I'd Like to Know" (1971)
• "Dream #2" (MGM/Verve 1972) (#23 CAN)
• "I Just Want to Make Music" (1973) (#9 CAN)
• "Fly Me High" (1973) (#24 CAN)
• "On the Other Side" (1974)
• "Lover Come Quickly" (1974)
• "Lady Luck" (1975) (#31 CAN)
• "Run Away with Me" (1975) (#52 CAN)
• "Every Bit of Love" (1975) (#17 CAN)
• "Give a Little Love" (1976) (#21 CAN)
• "Oh Lynda" (1976)
• "Lovin' Fever" (1976)
• "Dancer" (1977) (#53 CAN)
• "Lovelight" (1977) (#54 CAN)
• "I Don't Want to Be Alone" (1978) (#80 CAN)
• "New York City" (1978) (#88 CAN)
• "Here You Are Today" (1983)

Further reading

• Dave Bidini, On a Cold Road: Tales of Adventure in Canadian Rock (1998) Toronto: McClelland & Stewart

External links

• Official website
• Canadian Encyclopedia
• Ken Tobias at AllMusic
• CanConRox bio
• CHUM Chart positions
• RPM Chart positions
• Ken Tobias discography at Discogs
• Ken Tobias at IMDb
• Original version (sample) of "Stay Awhile"
• Kim Jarrett