Gord Bamford

Biography

Gord Bamford came into the world in Traralgon, Victoria, Australia. When he was five, his parents split up, and he and his mother, Marilyn, left Australia for Lacombe, Alberta, Canada. Marilyn had been a singer in an Australian country band, and she pushed him to give music a shot. In 1995, he took part in the Nornet Radio Network's "Search for the Stars" and came out on top.

With Rob Bartlett of Sundae Sound producing, he headed to Calgary to cut his first single, "Forever Starts Today," a song written by Dean McTaggart. Canadian country radio gave it a warm welcome the next year. Come January 2001, Bamford put out his first album, God's Green Earth, on his own label, GWB Records. Bart McKay produced it at Sound Edge Productions in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

2000–2002: God's Green Earth and hiatus

Bamford had a hand in writing just two of the tracks. Five songs from the project got released as singles: "God's Green Earth," "24 x 24," "Where a Cowboy Likes to Roam," "Man of the House," and "Classic Country Song." The album didn't meet his hopes, and feeling let down, he stepped away from the music business. By 2003, he was spending time in Nashville, Tennessee, writing songs with Steve Fox, Tim Taylor, and Byron Hill.

2003–2006: Life Is Good and nominations

Those three would later co-produce his second record. That album, Life Is Good, dropped on October 19, 2004. Bamford either wrote or co-wrote ten of its eleven songs. Six singles came off it, with five—"Heroes," "My Heart's a Genius," "All About Her," "Life Is Good," and "I Would for You"—landing in the top 20.

A music video for "All About Her" hit number 8 on CMT Canada's Chevy Top 20. In the years that followed, he opened shows for big names like Tim McGraw, Kenny Rogers, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Don Williams, and Terri Clark. He scored nominations at the Canadian Country Music Awards in 2005 and 2006 for Independent Male Vocalist of the Year, Independent Song of the Year, and the Chevy Trucks Rising Star Award. On June 4, 2007, he was one of just two Canadian acts asked to perform at the Global Artist Party during the CMA Music Festival in Nashville.