Bobby Gimby, was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 orchestra leader, trumpeter, and singer/songwriter.

Biography

He was born Robert Stead Gimby in Cabri

Cabri, Saskatchewan

The town of Cabri is situated in Southwest Saskatchewan, directly north of Gull Lake and north-west of Swift Current. The word "Cabri", a French word used by the French voyageurs at the time of the fur trade, means "Antelope"...

, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

 where he played in a boys' band. He was a member of the popular radio show The Happy Gang

The Happy Gang

The Happy Gang was a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio lunchtime variety show that ran from 1937 to 1959. The show began on CRCT, a CBC affiliate in Toronto, moved to the CBC network four months later, and ran for 22 years, totalling nearly 4900 broadcasts.The series also served as the...

. In the 1940s he went to Toronto, Ontario where he formed his own orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

, hosted a TV show on CBC Television

CBC Television

CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...

 and founded a music school.

Known as "The Pied Piper of Canada", for his country's 1967 centennial

Canadian Centennial

The Canadian Centennial was a year long celebration held in 1967 when Canada celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Celebrations occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1. 1967 coins were different from previous years' issues, with animals on each...

 celebrations Gimby wrote the bilingual song "Canada

Canada (song)

"Ca-na-da", or "The Centennial Song" was written by Bobby Gimby in 1967 to celebrate Canada's centennial and Expo 67, and was commissioned by the Centennial Commission...

". More than fifty different recordings were made of the song, plus more than two hundred and fifty Canadian school choirs and bands recorded it. In 1971, Gimby donated the song's original manuscript and all future royalties to Scouts Canada

Scouts Canada

Scouts Canada is a Canadian Scouting association that, in affiliation with the French-language Association des Scouts du Canada, is a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement...

. Gimby's compositions include centennial songs for the provinces of Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

 and British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

.

Bobby also wrote "Malaysia Forever

Malaysia Forever

Malaysia Forever is a folk song written by Bobby Gimby in the early 1960s. It was written to celebrate the formation of Malaysian federation in 1963...

" for the celebration for the formation of Malaysian Federation in 1963.

In recognition of his musical contribution to his country, Gimby was made a member of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

 in 1968.

In a Wayne and Shuster

Wayne and Shuster

Wayne and Shuster were a Canadian comedy duo formed by Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster. They were active professionally from the early 1940s until the late 1980s....

 skit about a mail-in record offer, the comedians offer a collection containing the entire works of "Brahms, Beethoven, Strauss, Wagner and Bobby Gimby!"

Gimby died in 1998 in North Bay, Ontario

North Bay, Ontario

North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...

 and was interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto

Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto

Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.In the early 19th century, the only authorized cemeteries within the city of Toronto were limited to the members of either the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England...

.

Multimedia

• Youtube 1985 CBC Television clip looking back at the "Ca-na-da"
  Canada (song)
  "Ca-na-da", or "The Centennial Song" was written by Bobby Gimby in 1967 to celebrate Canada's centennial and Expo 67, and was commissioned by the Centennial Commission...
  
  song, and the 'ruins' of the Expo site. The opening features Bob Gimby performing his song.
• CBC TV archives
• Order of Canada citation
• Expo 67 in Montreal Information, audio clip and a magazine interview featuring Bobby Gimby.