Here is a recent picture of our family.
From left to right:

Becky Campos(Wife of Teddy)
Ben Campos
Ted Campos
Renee Campos
Craig Fortson (Husband of Bonnie)
Bonnie Fortson
Lonny Campos
Anna Campos (Ex-Wife of Lonny)

and here is a better picture of our family.
From left to right:

Ben Campos
Jenni Campos (Wife of Ben)
Renee Campos
Bonnie Fortson
Craig Fortson (Husband of Bonnie)
Becky Campos (Wife of Teddy)
Andrew Campos (Son of Teddy)
Ted Campos (Me)
Lonny Campos
~~bottom row of kids~~
Zoe Fortson (Daughter of Bonnie)
Zane Fortson (Son of Bonnie)
Jereme Campos (Son of Teddy)

Forum CD review...

The folks at Rev-Ola have really done us a favor by reissuing a handful of 1960s soft pop recordings, that until this year have been lost to the digital breeze. The Forum's only album The River is Wide was a blip on the map in 1967, and while it and the group were soon swallowed by time's evil hand, what the Forum left behind (and Rev-Ola have lovingly restored in its entirety plus a slew of bonus tracks) is a melting pot of incredible musical influences.

The Forum originally started out as Les Baxter's Balladeers, a singing folk group, who were transformed into the Forum in the haze of the folk rock boom of 1966/1967. Co-produced and arranged by Les Baxter himself (who also wrote a number of the songs too) and Norm Ratner, The River is Wide has a whole host of influences: from the Mamas and the Papas harmonies, Sergio Mendes' provocative rhythms; from the Phil Spector produced group the Righteous Brothers' soulful male vocals, to the Troggs angsty delivery and fuzzed arrangements; from the tripped out soul sunshine of the 5th Dimension and the girl groups' sweetness. All of this was swirled together with the decorative touch of Les Baxter's loungehand.

Amazingly, The River is Wide all holds together really well - and perhaps the people at Mira Records who originally released the album in 1967 didn't really know what to do with it. The original artwork (recreated herein) contains an odd river scene front cover and even stranger backcover photos of The Forum's Phil Campos, Riselle Bain, and Rene Nole looking like a lounge act smirking at their own little in-joke. Decidedly square and indistinct in a market filled with the saucy Mamas and Papas delivering themselves in a swimming pool and Sgt Pepper's daft art. So while the single version of The River is Wide single bubbled into the top 100, it actually took another version by The Grass Roots to reach the top 40 with their rendition of the tune in 1969. And what a tune. The River is Wide is included in the album version and single versions (both vastly different arrangements) and as two bonus alternate takes - and wow what a wild song (The Forum did the more exciting version). It was definitely a creative musical environment to produce such an ebb and flow in a song. Other highlights on this cd reissue include the moody sounds of I Like What I See and The Time Is Now both with a mix of folk sounds and loungey percussive piano elements, the sweet girl group harmonies of Girl Without a Boy and I Fall in Love (All Over Again) (a bonus track), and the trippy lounge of Trip on Me and Look the Other Way. The Forum were lost in a river of pop music in 1967 - but thanks to Rev-Ola, they are riding high again in 2003. The Time is indeed now for The Forum.

---Patrick

The Forum were a one-man, two-woman easy listening vocal group with sunshine pop overtones, landing a number 45 hit with "The River Is Wide" in 1967 (the song also became a Top 40 hit for the Grass Roots a couple of years later). "The River Is Wide" sounded something like an easy listening spin on the Righteous Brothers, particularly in Phil Campos' deep and slightly operatic vocals. An album of the same name also appeared featuring (as had the single) production by easy listening maestro Les Baxter, who also wrote about half of the material. While intricately produced and boasting creamy soft California pop harmonies, the songs and arrangements were at the most saccharine end of sunshine pop, complete with oh-so-slight psychedelic touches on "Trip on Me" (which became the follow-up single to "The River Is Wide").

Comprised of Phil Campos, his future wife Rene Nole, and teenager Riselle Bain, the Forum were formed in 1966 by Campos, who had appeared on numerous hootenanny folk albums during the folk revival. The group didn't last long after "The River Is Wide," with Bain going solo while Campos and Nole married and formed a duo. The album The River Is Wide was reissued on CD in 2002 with numerous alternate takes, unreleased tracks, and B-sides appended as bonus cuts. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide