# Forrest (singer) > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Forrest_(singer) > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Forrest_(singer).md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_(singer) > Source revision: 1237710622 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{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 = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = Forrest Melvill Thomas Jr. | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1953|04|21}} | birth_place = [Galveston, Texas](/source/Galveston%2C_Texas), United States | death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|09|09|1953|04|21}} | death_place = [Tilburg](/source/Tilburg), Netherlands | genre = {{hlist|[Soul](/source/Soul_music)|[funk](/source/funk)|[post-disco](/source/post-disco)|}} | occupation = Singer-songwriter | instrument = Vocals | years_active = 1982–2013 | label = [Ariola](/source/Ariola) | associated_acts = [The Limit](/source/The_Limit) | website = }} '''Forrest Melvill Thomas Jr.''' (April 21, 1953 – September 9, 2013),{{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}} known professionally as '''Forrest''', was an American singer, based in the Netherlands. ==Life and career== Born in [Galveston, Texas](/source/Galveston%2C_Texas), where he sang in [church](/source/Church_service) 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](/source/hit_record) in 1983 with the song "[Rock the Boat](/source/Rock_the_Boat_(The_Hues_Corporation_song))", a [cover](/source/cover_version) of [the Hues Corporation](/source/the_Hues_Corporation)'s 1974 No. 1 US hit. His version peaked at No. 4 on the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart) and in his native United States at No. 9 on the [Hot Dance Club Play](/source/Hot_Dance_Club_Songs) chart. A second single, "[Feel the Need in Me](/source/Feel_the_Need_in_Me)" (originally by [the Detroit Emeralds](/source/the_Detroit_Emeralds)), was a hit in the UK, reaching No. 17. A third single, "One Lover (Don't Stop the Show)", peaked at No. 67 in the UK.{{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}} 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](/source/soul_music). He was asked by [DJ Roog](/source/DJ_Roog) to [front](/source/frontman) the band Planet Hardsoul, who had a minor hit with their cover of "[Where Did Our Love Go](/source/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](/source/Tilburg), Netherlands, aged 60. ==Discography== ===Albums=== * ''One Lover'' ([Ariola](/source/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](/source/Music_recording_sales_certification) |- ! style="width:45px;"|[US Dance](/source/Hot_Dance_Club_Songs)
{{cite web|url=https://www.musicvf.com/Forrest.art|title=Forrest Top Songs / Chart Singles Discography|work=Music VF|access-date=May 16, 2020}} ! style="width:45px;"|[AUS](/source/Kent_Music_Report)
{{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}} ! style="width:45px;"|[UK](/source/UK_Singles_Chart)
{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/20152/forrest/|title=FORREST – full Official Chart History|work=[Official Charts Company](/source/Official_Charts_Company)|access-date=May 16, 2020}} ! style="width:45px;"|[NLD](/source/Dutch_Single_Top_100)
{{Cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/search.asp?search=forrest&cat=s|title=Dutch Charts |website=Dutchcharts.nl|access-date=July 2, 2021}} |- |rowspan="1"| 1983 | "[Rock the Boat](/source/Rock_the_Boat_(The_Hues_Corporation_song))" | align=center | 9 | align=center | 33 | align=center | 4 | align=center | 7 | * [BPI](/source/British_Phonographic_Industry): Silver{{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}} |- |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](/source/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 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Forrest (singer)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_(singer)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forrest_(singer)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.