Barbra Amesbury facts for kids

Barbra Amesbury was born in 1948. She is a talented Canadian artist. Barbra is known as a singer, songwriter, and composer. She is also a filmmaker and helps many charities.

In the 1970s, Barbra Amesbury had several popular songs in Canada. These songs reached the Top 40 charts. During her music career, she was known by a different name, Bill Amesbury. After leaving the music business, she shared her true identity as Barbra.

Barbra Amesbury was also the long-time partner of Joan Chalmers. Joan Chalmers was a Canadian philanthropist who passed away in 2016.

Barbra Amesbury's Music Career

Barbra Amesbury's most famous song was "Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do)". It was released in 1974. This song was the very first single put out by Casablanca Records. It became a big hit in Canada, reaching number 14 on the charts.

"Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do)" was written by Barbra Amesbury herself. The song also did well in the United States. It reached number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In Toronto, it made it to number 8 on the CHUM Chart.

Later in 1974, her song "Rock My Roll" reached number 94 in Canada. In 1976, "Can You Feel It" was another song that became a minor hit. The album with the same name, Can You Feel It, reached number 57 in Canada.

Other artists have recorded songs written by Barbra Amesbury. For example, Natalie Cole covered "Nothin' But a Fool". Also, "A Thrill's a Thrill" was recorded by Long John Baldry in 1979. It was also covered by Mitch Ryder with Marianne Faithfull and John Cougar.

In 1976 and 1977, Barbra Amesbury worked as a producer. She produced the song "No Charge" for J.J. Barrie. This song became a number one hit in England. In 1999, her song "Virginia" received a special award from SOCAN. This award was given because the song had been played over 100,000 times on Canadian radio stations.

In 2002, two songwriters, James Collins and Dave Pickell, released a song about Barbra Amesbury. It was called "Do You Mind If We Talk About Bill?".

Filmmaking and Art Projects

Barbra Amesbury is also a filmmaker and has worked on art projects. In 1994, she and her partner, Joan Chalmers, created an art show. It was called Survivors, In Search of a Voice: The Art of Courage.

This exhibition used the stories of people who had survived breast cancer. These stories inspired 24 women artists. They created artworks to help people learn more about breast cancer. The art show traveled all over North America from 1995 to 1998. A book was also made to go along with the exhibition. Barbra Amesbury also filmed a documentary about the tour.

In 2006 and 2007, Barbra Amesbury's documentary film was shown at several film festivals. The film was called The G8 is Coming...The G8 is Coming. It was chosen for festivals like the Rome International Film Festival and the Atlanta Film Festival.

Barbra Amesbury and Joan Chalmers have given a lot of support and donations to charities. They do this through their Woodlawn Arts Foundation.

Barbra Amesbury's Music Albums and Songs

Here are some of the music projects Barbra Amesbury has been involved with:

• Jus' a Taste of the Kid (1974 – an album)
• Can You Feel It (1976 – an album)
• "You Belong to Me", b/w "Harlow" (1977 – a single song)
• "Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do)" (1974 – a single song)
• "Can You Feel It" (1976 – a single song)
• "Nothin' But a Fool" – she wrote this song
• "No Charge" – she produced this song
• "A Thrill's a Thrill" – she wrote this song

See also

In Spanish: Barbra Amesbury para niños