Bill Amesbury

Amesbury quickly landed a solo deal in the early 70s on the Yorkville label where he had a hit a with novelty song called "Frogman Bradley".

As the first signing to Neil Bogarts Casablanca Records in the US (and on Warner Music in Canada), Amesbury set about recording his debut album Jusa Taste Of The Kid with Mel OBrien (bass) and Wally Cameron (drums). The lead-off single was a moderate radio-friendly tune called "I Wont Let No One Get That Close To Me" in 1974. Though this first single failed to hit pay dirt, the self-penned follow-up, "Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do)", scored a Top-10 hit in Canada and has gone on to be a classic AM staple on radio to this day.

In 1976 Amesbury moved on to Capitol Records for his sophomore release, Can You Feel It, which was recorded at Phase One Studios and utilized a cast of seasoned studio players like Barry Keene, Doug Riley, Shawne Jackson, Colina Philips, and Wally Cameron among others.

The albums title track spawned a minor Top-40 hit in Canada in 1977. His biggest success came through England with singles released on the Power Exchange Records label in the UK like "Every Girl In The World, Tonight", "Saturday Night (Ill Be Waiting)" and "I Remember" throughout 1976-1977.

By the 1980s Amesburys song began to get discovered by other artists including Natalie Cole ("Nothin But A Fool"), and Mitch Ryder ("A Thrills A Thrill") among others. He soon quit the music business and is currently a social activist.

In November 1999 "Virginia (Touch Me Like You Do)" was awarded a SOCAN "Classics" designation for having reached 100,000 airplays on Canadian radio. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.