Our Story

Robert Graham didn't even write a song until he was 38 - after he already had a 20 year career as a professional musician under his belt. His entire career consisted of playing other people's music - from Mozart to Motown, Sondheim to Stevie Wonder. When he moved to Toronto in 2010 he vowed to change that. His dream was to form his own band playing original songs that would reflect his eclectic taste in music. That band is "The Fairest and Best".


Combining the best of youth and experience, this six piece band delivers instantly memorable hooks, exhilarating four-part harmonies, and an amazingly varied mix of musical genres – from pure delicious pop, to heart wrenching ballads and driving rock – all wrapped in arrangements packed with genuine emotion.

Their debut EP "When I Feel like This" made quite an impact:

Licensing: Three all-network sync licensing contracts (The Discovery Channel, Fox Sports and The NASCAR Network) plus contracts from thirteen individual shows - including I Am Cait, The Real World, Bad Girls Club, Total Divas and three Kardashian shows (none of which the band has ever watched!)

Radio: added to the playlists of over 100 radio stations across North America.

Awards: Two runners-up awards in the 2015 Dallas Songwriters Association Song Contest, semi-final in the 2016 "Song Of The Year" contest, and being added to the City of Toronto's "Music 311" playlist.
 

Their follow-up single "It Could Be You" - a fundraiser about the plight of refugees - claimed 4th place overall in the 2016 Dallas Songwriters Association Song Contest. Their new single and video "Celebrity" dropped on Jan 1st 2018.

"Ingenious, sophisticated pop music with more twists and turns than the average Agatha Christie thriller..." (BBC Tees)

"It sounded like Huey Lewis and the News were having sex with Supertramp while Steely Dan watched (smoking a cigarette)...... "

.....a trippy, eclectic collection of pop, rock and blues – with hints of jazz and soul – accompanied by some stand-out musicians and vocalists....... a big range of emotional and musical expression .... combines the whimsical poignancy of Beatles storytelling with the dark social commentary of The Police’s “Synchronicity II”.....(Life With More Cowbell)

As well as Graham the band features Caitlin Holland (the lovely one), drummer Nigel Maynard (Mr Handsome 2), guitarists Darryl Wood (Mr Expressive), Brant Garratt (The Young Buck), and bassist Gerry Williams (the Respectable One).


In its short existence the band is already establishing a reputation for wildly entertaining live shows. They have showcased at Canadian Music Week, Indie Week, POP Overthrow, YYX LIVE and performed at several of Toronto's premier venues including The Horseshoe, Lee's Palace, The Silver Dollar, The Cadillac Lounge, and The Cameron House. The songs, which are written by Graham, have already garnered award recognition from the BILLBOARD WORLD SONG CONTEST, and the DALLAS SONGWRITERS ASSOCIATION SONGWRITING CONTEST (among others), secured licensing deals in Australia and Italy, radio airplay in several countries, and were featured in the Canadian feature film"Clean Break", and the Australian feature film "From Parts Unknown" - Fight Like a Girl!"

The Fairest and Best welcome you to their wonderful wacky world of love, hooks and big harmonies! Visit us at www.thefairestandbest.com or www.robertgraham.org