Bobby Bare Sr. | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Bare performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Robert Joseph Bare (1935-04-07)April 7, 1935 (age 90) Ironton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1956–present |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | Old Dogs |
| Website | bobbybare |
Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935), known asBobby Bare, is an Americancountry music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", "Detroit City", and "500 Miles Away from Home".[2] He is the father ofBobby Bare Jr., also a musician.
Bare was born inIronton, Ohio,[3] on April 7, 1935.[4]In the 1950s, he repeatedly tried and failed to sell his songs.[5] He finally got a record deal, withCapitol Records, and recorded a few unsuccessfulrock and roll singles.[2] Just before he was drafted into theUnited States Army, he wrote a song called "The All American Boy"[6] and did a demonstration tape (demo) for his friend, Bill Parsons, to learn how to record. Instead of using Parsons' later version, the record company,Fraternity Records, decided to go with Bare's original demo.[2] The record reached number two on theBillboard Hot 100, but Fraternity erroneously credited Bill Parsons on the label.[7][8] The same track, with the same billing error, peaked at number 22 in theUK Singles Chart in April 1959.[9] In 1965, an album of older recorded material,Tender Years (JM-6026), was released on the Hilltop label. That same year, the material was repackaged by Sears and released under the titleBobby in Song (SPS-115).
Bare's big break incountry music came whenChet Atkins signed him toRCA Victor. His debut single for the label was 1962's "Shame on Me". Follow-up "Detroit City" reached number six on the Country[8] and number 16 on the Hot 100 charts,[7] and in 1964 earned him aGrammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. Then, a surge of hits followed, including "500 Miles Away from Home" (based on a traditional folk ballad written byHedy West as "500 Miles")[7] andIan Tyson's "Four Strong Winds". In 1965, he received two further Grammy nominations for Best Country & Western Vocal Performance and Best Country & Western single for the latter song. In 1966, he received a yet another Grammy Nomination for Best Country & Western Male Vocal Performance for his song "Talk Me Some Sense". He also recorded two duet albums withSkeeter Davis[2] and recorded six tracks as a trio withNorma Jean andLiz Anderson, which produced a major hit with "The Game of Triangles", a wife-husband-other woman drama that hit number five on theBillboard chart and earned the trio a Grammy nomination. In 1968, he recorded an album with a group from England called The Hillsiders.[10][11] In 1969, he had a top-five hit withTom T. Hall's "(Margie's At) The Lincoln Park Inn".[8]
Bare moved toMercury Records in 1970 and immediately scored a top-three hit with "How I Got to Memphis",[2] and also had two top-10 hits with earlyKris Kristofferson compositions, "Come Sundown" and "Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends" (both 1971).[2][8] He also scored a number-12 hit in 1972 with a version ofDr. Hook and the Medicine Show's pop hit "Sylvia's Mother", written byShel Silverstein.
Bare returned to RCA in 1973, after two years at Mercury.[2] and scored once more withBilly Joe Shaver's "Ride Me Down Easy", which nearly made the top 10. He started to releasenovelty songs recorded live with selected audiences. One such song, "Marie Laveau", topped the country chart in 1974; the song was Bare's only number-one hit.[2] It was co-written by his friends Silverstein and Baxter Taylor, who received a BMI Award for the song in 1975. In 1977, Bare released an entire album of songs by songwriterBob McDill calledMe and McDill, which contained the popular hit "Look Who I'm Cheatin' on Tonight".[12]
Silverstein penned other songs for Bare, including a Grammy-nominated hit, "Daddy What If", which he recorded with his five-year-old son,Bobby Bare Jr.[2] The song was an immediate success, as well, not only reaching number two on the country charts, but nearly reaching the top 40 on the pop charts. Bare's album,Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies, became his most commercially successful album, finding him a new audience, with pop radio once again playing his songs and also gaining a new following with college kids.[2] These songs, all 14 written or co-written by Shel Silverstein, however, became Bare's last top-10 hits. In 1975, Bare recorded a children's album with his family, mainly of Silverstein songs, calledSingin' in the Kitchen.[4] It was nominated in Best Group category in Grammy Awards.
His biggest hits during this time included "Alimony" (1975), "The Winner" (1976), and "Drop Kick Me, Jesus (Through the Goalposts of Life)" (an unusualChristian-footballwaltz and a 1976Grammy nominee for Best Country Song).[13] In 1977, he recorded "Redneck Hippie Romance"[14] and "Vegas" (a duet with his wife Jeannie).
Bare signed withColumbia Records and continued to have hits including "Sleep Tight Good Night Man", which barely cracked the top 10 in 1978, alongside continuing to score critical acclaim with his releasesBare andSleeper Wherever I Fall.[2] In 1979, he started offRosanne Cash's career in a big way by being her duet partner on the top-20 hit "No Memories Hangin' Round".[2] In 1980, he almost cracked the top 10 with "Numbers", which came from his albumDown and Dirty.[2] On that album, Bare started to experiment withSouthern rock, which continued with his following album,Drunk and Crazy (1980).[2] The next year, Bare returned to his country roots with hisRodney Crowell-produced albumAs Is, featuring the single "New Cut Road". Bare was still doing well chartwise into the early 1980s. In 1983, his duet withLacy J. Dalton, "It's a Dirty Job", hit the top 30. His last foray into the top 30 came that summer with the novelty song "The Jogger". He also released "Used Cars", the theme song from thefilm of the same name.
Bare was also given an opportunity to star in movies. He acted in aWestern withTroy Donahue,A Distant Trumpet, and had a memorable scene being branded for desertion, and a few episodes of the TV seriesNo Time for Sergeants. He turned his back onHollywood to pursue his country music career.
From 1983 to 1988, Bare hostedBobby Bare and Friends onThe Nashville Network, which featured him interviewing songwriters who sang their hit songs on the show. In 1985, he signed withEMI America Records, where he scored three low-charting singles. In 1998, he formed the bandOld Dogs, withJerry Reed,Mel Tillis, andWaylon Jennings. As of 2023, he is the last surviving member of the group.
In 2005, he released his first new album in two decades,The Moon Was Blue, produced[15] by his son Bobby Bare Jr., who is also a musician. He continues to tour today. In 2012, Bare performed a duet of the song "I'd Fight the World" on theJamey Johnson albumLiving for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran.[citation needed]
On April 10, 2013, the CMA announced that Bare would be a 2013 inductee into theCountry Music Hall of Fame. Other 2013 inductees includedCowboy Jack Clement andKenny Rogers.[16]
After being inducted in the 1960s, but gradually drifting away, Bare was reinstated as a member of theGrand Ole Opry on April 7, 2018, byGarth Brooks.[17]
In January and February 2012, Bare joined Petter Øien at the2012 Melodi Grand Prix to compete forNorway's entry to the2012 Eurovision Song Contest to be held inBaku,Azerbaijan, in May. His song "Things Change" got through to the Norwegian final, in which Øien and Bare finished third.
| Year | Organization | Award | Nominee/Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Grammy Awards | Best Country & Western Recording | "Detroit City" | Won |
| 1965 | "Four Strong Winds" | Nominated | ||
| Best Country & Western Vocal Performance - Male | "Four Strong Winds" | Nominated | ||
| 1966 | "Talk Me Some Sense" | Nominated | ||
| 1968 | Best Country & Western Performance Duet, Trio or Group (Vocal or Instrumental) | "The Game of Triangles" | Nominated | |
| 1975 | Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal | "Daddy What If" | Nominated | |
| 1999 | Country Music Association Awards | Musical Event of the Year | "Old Dogs" | Nominated |
