Information/Write-up
In the early 1970s, Toronto singer, songwriter, and producer Robert Tennison quietly built one of the most refined and self-contained pop productions of the Canadian studio era. Working at a time when the city’s recording scene revolved around RCA Studios, Jack Richardson’s Nimbus 9, and the small network of independents orbiting Yorkville Avenue, Tennison chose to do things differently. In 1974 he established his own label, Tentam Records, and assembled a hand-picked studio collective he called The Robert Tennison Troupe—a polished ensemble featuring Gord Fleming, Jack Zaza, Dave Browne, Jim Morgan, and a full string section arranged by Neil Pooley.
Tentam’s debut single, “I Can See (You Won’t Remember)” b/w “Don’t Forget You Cared” (TNT-100), was tracked at Zaza’s 8-track Studio and produced and vocally arranged by Tennison himself. Issued in early 1974, it caught programmers’ attention almost immediately, earning heavy rotation across Ontario and the western provinces. RPM chronicled his improbable rise, describing how Tennison had “cracked the national barrier” without a distributor by personally mailing promos to every radio station in Canada. The success of the single led to sessions at RCA Toronto, where engineer George Semkiw and arranger Neil Pooley helped Tennison complete a full album of original material titled Two Words, Three Words (Tentam TNT-102).
The LP captured a sleek balance of soft-rock and pop sophistication—graceful vocal blends, crisp guitar lines, and strings that hovered somewhere between mellow rock and MOR elegance. Tracks such as “Just Like a Fool,” “Don’t Be Afraid,” and “My World of Make Believe” revealed a melodic sensibility comparable to contemporaries like Skylark or Ken Tobias, yet framed within a uniquely Toronto studio sound. Throughout 1974, RPM followed every development: the record’s initial U.S. radio interest, a prospective U.K. export deal, and finally a national distribution agreement through London Records of Canada, which began promoting “Just Like a Fool” as the key single.
By year’s end Tennison had returned to RCA to begin work on a follow-up album, while maintaining Tentam as a boutique label for his productions. In 1975, after months of negotiation, he signed a long-term contract with United Artists Records of Canada, transferring Tentam’s entire catalogue to UA in the process. The first release under the new arrangement was a remixed, radio-ready version of “I Can See (You Won’t Remember)”, mastered again at RCA Toronto and distributed nationally through UA’s network. The single was heavily promoted to CHUM, CKFH, CKLG, and other key stations, with UA reporting “substantial national airplay” and even cross-border rotation in Detroit and Buffalo.
Through the summer of 1975, RPM detailed each step of the rollout—UA’s marketing push, Tennison’s preparation of a full LP, and the planned second single, “Just Like a Fool,” backed with “Don’t Forget You Cared.” His dual identity as producer and performer was central to the campaign, positioning him as one of the few Canadian independents to move from self-run imprint to major-label artist within a year.
Although a second album never surfaced, Two Words, Three Words endured as a quietly stunning example of mid-’70s Toronto studio craftsmanship—an album that bridged the intimacy of songwriter pop with the polish of professional session work. Decades later, collectors rediscovered the record through Japanese and European reissue lists, culminating in a 2013 Big Pink Records release in South Korea (BIG PINK 239), issued in a paper-sleeve CD edition under the title Don’t Forget You Cared.
Today the album stands as a testament to Robert Tennison’s meticulous vision: music conceived, arranged, and produced entirely on his own terms, independent in spirit yet executed with major-label precision. In the vast landscape of 1970s Canadian pop, Two Words, Three Words remains one of its most gracefully crafted and quietly enduring achievements.
-Robert Williston
Robert Tennison: vocals, arrangements, production
Gord Fleming: keyboards
Jack Zaza: woodwinds, reeds
Dave Browne: guitar
Jim Morgan: bass
String section arranged and conducted by Neil Pooley
Written and produced by Robert Tennison
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