A Mississippi troubadour who made his way to New York City in the mid-1970s, Steve Forbert's skillfully crafted songs and unique voice eventually earned him the same adulation and uphill battle that Bruce Springsteen faced—being written up in the press as "the new Bob Dylan."
Like Springsteen, this was only true on the most superficial of levels. He did play acoustic guitar and harmonica and he had a way with words, but Forbert's early albums established him as no mere imitator.
His first, Alive On Arrival, released in 1978, proved Forbert to be a skilled storyteller armed with songs that reflected a young dreamer. Forbert's southern romanticism and bittersweet innocence made for an idiosyncratic folk-pop style that has served him well to the present day. His second album, Jackrabbit Slim, which contained the hit "Romeo's Tune," would establish Forbert's reputation as one of the most talented new singer-songwriter's of that era.