Biography

There is an old saying "Imitation is a form of flattery". If this is true then Elvis Presley must be one of the most flattered entertainers ever. Down through the years many recording artists have tried to emulate the Presley sound. Contemporaries of Elvis back in the fifties copied his vocal technique and appearance. The sixties saw Ral Donner and Terry Stafford each having hits utilizing Presley's material and style. From the seventies to the present, Elvis imitators have moved far beyond their predecessors as they sing his songs while clad in Presley attire and perform using his stage mannerisms.

The most talented Elvis imitator on the scene today is Robert (Bobby) Fisher. Fisher possesses the rare ability of being able to sound like Elvis Presley down through the years. Unlike most performers who can only mimic the Elvis of the fifties; Fisher handles the Elvis of the fifties, sixties and seventies with equal ease. It is Robert Fisher's ability to reproduce the Elvis sound of each era that makes him unique. Sounding like Elvis comes naturally to Robert Fisher - even his speaking voice resembles that of Elvis.

Robert Fisher was born in Toronto Ontario. His interest in Elvis Presley began at age ten when he would sing along with his idol's records. In 1968 he formed a group and with the help of a fake I.D. expanded his hobby into a professional nightclub act in the Toronto area. In 1970 he branched out and toured throughout Ontario. Although he was beginning to build a following he retired from the nightclub circuit for several years returning in the mid-seventies with a polished show and a large repertoire of songs. Robert's first recording was in 1968 - an Elvis style rendition of "Amazing Grace". This song was included on a various artist TV album issued in the early seventies that went "gold" in Canada.

In 1968 Robert wrote his first song titled "Follow". This was recorded and released in 1975 as his second single and was issued on both the Sundown and Periwinkle labels - this 45 was highly successful in Canada (a top10 chart entry) and is now a much sought after collector's item. Robert recorded his first album later the same year following the success of the second single. The album "Bobby Fisher - Canada's Own Elvis" (see album review) featured 17 songs including "Follow". This album is now extremely hard to find due to the limited number of original pressings and to the fact it was only distributed in Canada. The master tapes have since been lost.

By 1977 his show took him to Hawaii, Alaska, New York and coast to coast in Canada. Bobby has always pursued a career in songwriting beginning in 1968 when he wrote "Follow". Boosted by his initial writing success Bobby broke into the jingle market. By 1974 he wrote and sang on a variety of jingles for radio and television utilizing his talents as a celebrity impressionist for voice overs. In 1978 Bobby was involved as a singer/songwriter on a special compilation of various artists for the first picture disc ever produced in the world. The disc "To Elvis - Love Still Burning" sold over 250,000 copies internationally. In 1980 he recorded four songs which were leased to Attic Records and issued on two singles. "Joneen" became a turntable hit and received over ten months of airplay.

In 1980, following the release of the two Attic singles, Bobby took a hiatus from performing to concentrate on his songwriting skills. By 1988 he built up a catalogue of over 150 songs and has collaborated with some of North America's top songwriters. Bobby also wrote two movie scripts in the eighties. In 1988 he wrote "A Little Girl Needs Her Daddy" and returned to the studio for the first time in eight years to record it. The song is very special to Bobby as it is a true story from his own life. He donated all his artist and writer's royalties to "Child Find", an organization that searches for missing children.

Nowadays, Robert entertains audiences throughout Ontario with his "Showcase of Stars" show that is not to be missed! Plans are being made for the show to travel to other cities and towns in North America. He will soon begin working on a new CD to be released in 2002. Robert also entertains at private functions, if you are interested in booking him please click the following link to e-mail Robert directly for more information >> legendtributes@yahoo.ca

by Terry Wilson (Dec 2001) - with thanks to Jack Winter, former Music Director at CKFH radio, Toronto Ontario

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