Forum

Formed in 1966 as a trio delivering easy listening vocals infused with sunshine pop accents, The Forum reached number 45 on the charts with their 1967 single "The River Is Wide," a track that later climbed into the Top 40 for the Grass Roots. Phil Campos supplied the lead voice, whose deep, faintly operatic delivery gave the performance an easy listening twist reminiscent of the Righteous Brothers. Les Baxter, the renowned easy listening producer, handled the sessions for both the single and the accompanying album of the same name while contributing roughly half the songs himself. The resulting LP featured meticulously crafted arrangements and lush California-style harmonies, yet remained firmly at the sweetest extreme of sunshine pop, even incorporating faint psychedelic flourishes on the follow-up single "Trip on Me."

Phil Campos assembled the lineup with his eventual wife Rene Nole and young vocalist Riselle Bain after his own earlier appearances on multiple hootenanny folk collections from the revival era. The group dissolved shortly after their breakthrough, prompting Bain to launch a solo career while Campos and Nole wed and continued as a duo. In 2002 the album The River Is Wide resurfaced on CD, augmented by alternate takes, previously unheard material, and B-sides.