Brent Arthur Titcomb (born August 10, 1940 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

) is a Canadian actor and musician. He plays guitar, percussion, harmonica, and jaw harp.

Music career

Titcomb was the original member of the folk-rock group 3's A Crowd. They began in 1965, in Vancouver, and later moved to Toronto. They played coffeehouses and festivals. In concert, he was the comic of the group where he used an odd-sounding vacuum cleaner as part of the routine. They released an album titled ''Christopher's Movie Matinee'', with the help of

Cass Elliott Ellen Naomi Cohen (September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), known professionally as Mama Cass and later on as Cass Elliot, was an American singer and voice actress. She was a member of the singing group the Mamas & the Papas. After the group bro ...

. In 1968, Titcomb went solo and toured Canada and parts of Europe. His songs were recorded by

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

, Andy Williams,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

, and The Osmond Brothers. He was a member of Murray's touring band. He performed with the

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to cou ...

. Starting in 1976, Titcomb became a mainstay performer at

Festival of Friends The Festival of Friends is an annual three-day free summer music festival held in Gage Park in Hamilton, Ontario, on the first weekend in August. History 1976 Festival of Friends was started in 1976 by artist Bill Powell Jr. as an independent fo ...

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a Canada 2016 Census, population of 569,353, and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington, ...

. Over the years, he has appeared there twenty five times and has headlined the event a record five times. He also appeared at the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

World's Fair and in Mexico in 1984. Titcomb became involved in environmental and human rights causes. He sang before the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

during one of the religious leader's rare Toronto visits. He also played at the Jacques Cousteau Festival in Hamilton. In 1980, he released the album ''Time Traveler'', which gained attention as far away as Australia. In 1993, he released a greatest hits CD titled ''Healing Of Her Heart''. In 2001, he released ''Beyond Appearances''. These two CDs have different versions of his song ''Tibetan Bells''. He did Tibetan throat singing in both versions. In many of his songs, he used his own unique musical language. He also performed the songs of Doug Carpenter and Ian Tamblyn. In 2009, he joined the folk rock group

Lee Harvey Osmond Lee Harvey Osmond, stylized as LeE HARVeY OsMOND, is a Canadian psychedelic folk project fronted by musician Tom Wilson. History The act first took shape with Wilson in his LeE HARVeY OsMOND persona, backed by Michael Timmins of Cowboy Junkie ...

, with Tom Wilson as frontman. He is on two of the group's CDs.

Other Work

For one season, he hosted ''The Brent Titcomb Show'' on CBC television. The program featured fellow folk singers. He also did voice-over work in animated films and videos, including ''

The Care Bears Movie ''The Care Bears Movie'' is a 1985 animated musical fantasy film directed by Arna Selznick from a screenplay by Peter Sauder. This was the second feature film from the Canadian animation studio Nelvana (after the 1983 film ''Rock & Rule''), ...

'' and '' Clifford's Fun with...''. He wrote several radio jingles and appeared in TV commercials for Casino Rama, Contact C, Tim Horton's, and Canadian Tire.

Personal life

He is married to artist Cheryl Russell. They lived in Toronto for several years. In 2014, he moved to Vancouver, to help care for his father. He stayed until his father died in February 2016. He now lives in Stratford, Ontario. His son is musician and actor

Liam Titcomb Liam Russell (born Liam Russell-Titcomb August 16, 1987) is a Canadian musician and actor. He released his self-titled album on Sony Music Canada in 2005. He released his second album Can't Let Go on Double Dorje Records and his 3rd Cicada on N ...

Awards

Titcomb appeared in an ad for Canadian Tire, which won an award. He also appeared on a Canadian postage stamp which honoured Canadian Tire's 75th anniversary. In 2013, he was honoured at Winterfolk, in Toronto.

Discography

This section contains only solo work. See also discographies of 3's a Crowd and

. This discography is probably incomplete. * ''May All Beings Be Happy'' (1977) * ''Time Traveler'' (1980) * ''Healing Of Her Heart'' (1993) (greatest hits) * ''Beyond Appearances'' (2001)

References

External links

*
Interview with Brent Titcomb on Songwriting
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titcomb, Brent 1940 births Living people Male actors from Vancouver Musicians from Vancouver Canadian male voice actors Canadian folk singer-songwriters Canadian male singer-songwriters