{{Short description|American singer (1953–2013)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Forrest | honorific_suffix = | image = Forrest-thomas-1378923078.jpg | image_upright = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Forrest Melvill Thomas Jr. | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1953|04|21}}<ref name="thedeadrockstarsclub1"/> | birth_place = Galveston, Texas, United States | death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|09|09|1953|04|21}}<ref name="thedeadrockstarsclub1"/> | death_place = Tilburg, Netherlands | genre = {{hlist|Soul|funk|post-disco|}} | occupation = Singer-songwriter | instrument = Vocals | years_active = 1982–2013 | label = Ariola | associated_acts = The Limit | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} or {{Official URL}} --> }}
'''Forrest Melvill Thomas Jr.'''<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums"/> (April 21, 1953 – September 9, 2013),<ref name="thedeadrockstarsclub1">{{cite web|author=Doc Rock|url=http://www.thedeadrockstarsclub.com/2013b.html#sthash.HUQwBoRz.yrfkMcEd.dpbs|title=July to December 2013|publisher=The Dead Rock Stars Club|access-date=September 14, 2013}}</ref> known professionally as '''Forrest''', was an American singer, based in the Netherlands.
==Life and career== Born in Galveston, Texas,<ref name="thedeadrockstarsclub1"/> where he sang in church during childhood, he moved to Los Angeles, California as a teen and won several contests there as a singer. After this stage in his career, he moved to the Netherlands, where he had a hit in 1983 with the song "Rock the Boat", a cover of the Hues Corporation's 1974 No. 1 US hit. His version peaked at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart<ref name="UK"/> and in his native United States at No. 9 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart.<ref name="VF"/>
A second single, "Feel the Need in Me" (originally by the Detroit Emeralds), was a hit in the UK, reaching No. 17.<ref name="UK"/> A third single, "One Lover (Don't Stop the Show)", peaked at No. 67 in the UK.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book|first=David|last=Roberts|year=2006|title=British Hit Singles & Albums|edition=19th|publisher=Guinness World Records Limited|location=London|isbn=1-904994-10-5|page=208}}</ref>
He and his wife, {{ill|Manon Thomas|nl}}, a television presenter had two sons, but later separated, after which he began to concentrate again on music. He sang in ''R.E.S.P.E.C.T.'', a theatre show, in 2001, dedicated to 1960s soul music. He was asked by DJ Roog to front the band Planet Hardsoul, who had a minor hit with their cover of "Where Did Our Love Go".{{Citation needed|date=September 2013}} In December 2012, Thomas married again, to Diana van Lippen.
==Death== On September 9, 2013, Forrest died of a stroke in a hospital in Tilburg, Netherlands, aged 60.<ref name="thedeadrockstarsclub1"/>
==Discography== ===Albums=== * ''One Lover'' (Ariola, 1983)
===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" |- ! scope="col" rowspan="2"|Year ! scope="col" rowspan="2"|Single ! scope="col" colspan="4"|Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2"|Certifications |- ! style="width:45px;"|<small>US Dance</small><br><ref name="VF">{{cite web|url=https://www.musicvf.com/Forrest.art|title=Forrest Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography|work=Music VF|access-date=May 16, 2020}}</ref> ! style="width:45px;"|<small>AUS</small><br><ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|authorlink=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=116}}</ref> ! style="width:45px;"|<small>UK</small><br><ref name="UK">{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/20152/forrest/|title=FORREST – full Official Chart History|work=Official Charts Company|access-date=May 16, 2020}}</ref> ! style="width:45px;"|<small>NLD</small><br><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=forrest&cat=s|title=Dutch Charts |website=Dutchcharts.nl|access-date=July 2, 2021}}</ref> |- |rowspan="1"| 1983 | "Rock the Boat" | align=center | 9 | align=center | 33 | align=center | 4 | align=center | 7 | * BPI: Silver<ref>{{cite web|title=Forrest - Rock the Boat|url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/5586-345-1|website=bpi.co.uk|access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref> |- |rowspan="3"| 1983 | "Dancing with My Shadow" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | |- | "One Lover (Don't Stop the Show)" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | 67 | align=center | 37 | |- | "Feel the Need in Me" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | 17 | align=center | 20 | |- |rowspan="2"| 1984 | "Dance All Night" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | |- | "She's So Divine" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | 98 | align=center | — | |- |rowspan="1"| 1986 | "She's So Free" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | |- |rowspan="1"| 1987 | "Valerie" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | |- |rowspan="3"| 1989 | "You Got What It Takes" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | |- | "Rock the Boat '89" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | |- | "Feelin' Alright" | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | align=center | — | |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Discogs artist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest (Singer)}} Category:1953 births Category:2013 deaths Category:20th-century African-American male singers Category:20th-century American male singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:American emigrants to the Netherlands Category:American dance musicians Category:American male pop singers Category:Dutch pop singers Category:Singers from Los Angeles Category:Singers from Texas Category:Musicians from Galveston, Texas Category:Post-disco musicians Category:21st-century African-American musicians Category:Ariola Records artists