Joshua Keeler Ramsay is a Canadian singer, songwriter, producer, recording engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for being the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Marianas Trench.[1] He has produced and has written songs for a wide array of artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, Nickelback,[2] Jessica Lee, Faber Drive, and Suzie McNeil.[3]
Josh Ramsay | |
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 Ramsay in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joshua Keeler Ramsay |
| Born | June 11, 1985 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | |
| Member of | Marianas Trench |
Early life
editJosh Ramsay was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, although he currently has dual citizenship in Canada and the United States. He went to high school at Magee Secondary School, where he was later expelled due to his heroin addiction at the time.[4] He grew up in a musically inclined family, in which his mother was a vocal teacher and his father owned a recording studio (Little Mountain Sound Studios).[5] Ramsay inherited that love of music by initially starting his own solo career at the age of 14. He decided later that he needed a supporting band. Ramsay got together with his sister, Sara Ramsay, and formed the band Ramsay Fiction. After that ultimately did not work out, Ramsay joined high school friend Matt Webb in hopes of creating a new band. They found Ian Casselman in an ad in the newspaper, who introduced them to Mike Ayley, Ian's roommate at the time. The four members went through many names before finally settling on Marianas Trench.
Career
editMarianas Trench
editRamsay formed the band Marianas Trench in 2001 and released their first self-titled EP, which contained songs that would appear on their limited-edition video single, the Say Anything EP, their second EP Marianas Trench, and debut album Fix Me. The band later signed with 604 Records, through the assistance of owner Chad Kroeger and co-owner Jonathan Simkin.
Ever After, the third studio album from Marianas Trench, went gold in its first week. The first single on the album, entitled "Haven't Had Enough" was released in July 2011, and reached the No. 1 spot on iTunes Canada Top of the Charts and Pop Downloads.
On April 22, 2013, at the annual Juno Awards, Marianas Trench won the 2013 Juno Award for Group of the Year.[6]
On October 23, 2015, their fourth album, Astoria, was released. This album includes the singles "One Love", "This Means War", "Who Do You Love", "Shut Up and Kiss Me", and "Astoria". In 2017, they released "Rhythm of Your Heart". The story-theme album was recorded in Josh's home.[7]
On March 1, 2019, their fifth album, Phantoms, was released, including singles such as "I Knew You When", "Only the Lonely Survive", and "Echoes of You". The band uses the idea of closely linked emotions attached to love and death throughout the album.[8]
Songwriting and solo music
editRamsay plays 13 instruments, and often plays all of the instruments on the songs he produces for other artists. Ramsay was featured on the Carly Rae Jepsen song "Sour Candy" in 2008.[9] He also worked on her song "Call Me Maybe"[10] which was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards,[11] and "Hit Me Up" by Danny Fernandes.[12] He released a non-album single with Emily Osment titled, "Hush" on May 10, 2011 and the song peaked at number 90 on the Canadian Hot 100.[13][14] He also provided vocals for the opening theme song for The Hub's Transformers: Rescue Bots.
On April 8, 2022, he released a solo album titled The Josh Ramsay Show. It included features from other Canadian artists such as his sister Sara Ramsay, Ria Mae, Serena Ryder, and Fefe Dobson.
Personal life
editOn March 20, 2020, Ramsay posted a photo of himself and the Canadian actress-writer Amanda McEwan to his Instagram feed announcing their marriage.[15] They have one child together.[16] Based on the song "Nights Like These", released in 2024, their child is seemingly a son with lyrics stating, "Brought him home in the third night" [17]
Discography
editThe discography of Marianas Trench, a Canadian pop rock band, consists of four studio albums, two extended plays, 18 singles and 18 music videos. The band have been certified multi-platinum by Music Canada for their CD and digital download sales.
Albums
edit| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2022 | The Josh Ramsay Show
|
Singles
editAs lead artist
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [14] |
CAN AC [19] |
CAN CHR [20] |
CAN Rock [21] | ||||
| "Baby Please Come Home" | 2010 | — | 34 | — | — | A 604 Records Christmas[22] | |
| "Hush" (with Emily Osment) | 2011 | 90 | — | 36 | — | Non-album singles | |
| "We Should Be Friends" | 2018 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Lady Mine" (with Chad Kroeger) | 2021 | — | — | — | 47 | The Josh Ramsay Show | |
| "Best of Me" (featuring Dallas Smith) |
2022 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Can't Give It Up" (featuring Tyler Shaw) |
— | — | — | — | |||
| "Perfect Mistake" (featuring Ria Mae) |
2023 | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
As featured artist
edit| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certification | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN [14] |
CAN HAC [23] |
CAN CHR [20] | |||||
| "Sour Candy" (Carly Rae Jepsen featuring Josh Ramsay) |
2009 | — | 36 | — | Tug of War | ||
| "Hit Me Up" (Danny Fernandes featuring Josh Ramsay and Belly) |
2011 | 22 | 22 | 13 |
|
AutomaticLUV | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||
Other appearances
edit| Year | Title | Artist | Album | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | "Always You"[25] | Brian "Hoot" Gibson | Vocals | |
| 2002 | "Beautiful Blue" | Holly McNarland | Home Is Where My Feet Are | Backing-vocal |
| 2009 | "Give Him Up" | Faber Drive | Can't Keep A Secret | Songwriter |
| "Forever" | ||||
| 2010 | "Wavin' Flag" | Young Artists for Haiti | Backing-vocal | |
| "Witness" | Jakalope | Things That Go Jump In The Night | Songwriter and backing-vocal | |
| "Hate Love" | Girlicious | Rebuilt | Songwriter and producer | |
| 2011 | "Passenger Window" | Melissa Rae Barrie | Breakaway | Songwriter and producer, drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, backing vocals |
| "Call Me Maybe" | Carly Rae Jepsen | Curiosity | Songwriter and producer, guitars, bass, backing vocals | |
| "Landslide" | Matt Webb | Coda and Jacket | Songwriter, producer, mixer, programmer, drummer | |
| "Stage I Remember" | Songwriter, producer, backing-vocal, mixer, programmer, drummer | |||
| 2012 | "Guitar String / Wedding Ring" | Carly Rae Jepsen | Kiss | Songwriter and producer |
| "Drama Queen" | Suzie McNeil | Dear Love | Songwriter and producer | |
| "Tough Love (featuring Anami Vice)" | ||||
| "Take Your Shirt Off" | Anami Vice | Are You Serious | Producer | |
| "Here's to the Times" | By Starlight | Antics | ||
| 2013 | "Save Your Breath" | Jessica Lee | "Carried Away" | Songwriter and producer |
| "Stop and Go" | ||||
| 2014 | "Satellite" | Nickelback | "No Fixed Address" | Songwriter, backing vocals |
| "She Keeps Me Up" | Songwriter, backing vocals, guitar | |||
| 2015 | "Story of Another Us" | 5 Seconds of Summer | Sounds Good Feels Good | Songwriter |
| 2020 | "Lean On"[26] | ArtistsCAN | Backing-vocal |
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Kyle XY | Performance with Marianas Trench | Season 2 Episode 3 – "The List is Life" |
| 2007 | Social Code - "He Said, She Said" | Baseball player | Music Video |
| 2007 | Video on Trial | Judge | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | The Next Star | Vocal Coach | 4 episodes |
| 2012 | Born to Be: Marianas Trench | Himself | MuchMusic documentary |
| 2012–2013 | Today's Top 10 | Co-Host | 3 Episodes |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | INDIES.ca: Independent Music Awards | Songwriter of the Year | Himself | Won | [27] |
References
edit- ^ Stevenson, Jane (February 8, 2012), "Trench singer has music in DNA Archived 10 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine", London Free Press. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
- ^ Arbour, Mallory. "Marianas Trench's Josh Ramsay Talks New Music, His 'Biggest Fear' & More". The Music. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "Producer Biography". Simkin Artist Management. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ Derdeyn, Stuart (16 August 2018). "In and out of the trenches with Josh Ramsay". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ Usinger, Mike (13 January 2016). "Marianas Trench makes art from real life". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ "Jepsen, Marianas Trench winners at Juno Awards". Global News. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Astoria: Marianas Trench Album Review and Q&A". 15 March 2016.
- ^ "Building New Worlds: Marianas Trench on Their Immersive 5th Album 'Phantoms'". Atwood Magazine. 12 March 2019.
- ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen - Sour Candy ft. Josh Ramsay". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Marianas Trench's Josh Ramsay On Band's U.S. Breakthrough, Crafting 'Call Me Maybe'". Billboard. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "ARTIST CARLY RAE JEPSEN". 23 November 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Hit Me Up (feat. Josh Ramsay & Belly) - Single". 13 December 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Hush - Single by Emily Osment & Josh Ramsay". Apple Music. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ a b c "Josh Ramsay Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Amanda McEwan". IMDb. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/arts/q/marianas-trench-s-josh-ramsay-recalls-how-call-me-maybe-changed-his-life-1.7300946
- ^ https://www.genius.com/Marianas-trench-nights-like-these-lyrics
- ^ "The Josh Ramsay Show (CD) - Josh Ramsay". 604 Records. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ "Josh Ramsay Chart History: Canada AC". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ a b "Josh Ramsay Chart History: CHR/Top 40". Billboard. Archived from the original on 14 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Josh Ramsay Chart History: Canada Rock". Billboard. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "A 604 Records Christmas". Amazon. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
- ^ Peak chart positions for Josh Ramsay on Canada Hot AC charts:
- "Sour Candy":"Carly Rae Jepsen Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- "Hit Me Up":"Danny Fernandes Chart History (Canada Hot AC)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum – January 2005". Cria.ca. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
- ^ Air Bud 3 (Video 2000) - IMDb, retrieved 26 June 2021
- ^ "ArtistsCAN". Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "2013 Indie Awards Nominees/Winners". Retrieved 7 August 2023.
