This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view .(November 2012) |
The Bobs | |
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Origin | San Francisco, California, United States |
Genres | New wave, a cappella |
Years active | 1980–2017 |
Members | Richard Greene Matthew Stull Dan Schumacher Angie Doctor |
Past members | Gunnar Madsen Janie Scott Joe Finetti Lori Rivera Maureen Smith Amy Engelhardt |
The Bobs were an a cappella vocal group founded in San Francisco, California, in the early 1980s. They moved to Seattle, Washington, and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell show at the Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA, on October 21, 2017. [1]
Founding members Gunnar Madsen and Matthew Stull decided to form an a cappella group when they left their jobs as deliverers of singing telegrams in San Francisco. [2]
Members of the group are always credited with "Bob" as their middle name. The name is often described as an acronym for "Best of Breed", an award given out at dog shows. [3] Another story that the Bobs give is the name was shortened from "The Oral Roberts" in the first months the group performed together.[ citation needed ]
Instead of singing more traditional doo-wop songs, The Bobs started out with original arrangements of their own songs and songs like "Helter Skelter" and "Psycho Killer". Although two of their albums are dominated by songs written by others, the overwhelming majority of their repertoire is original, with songs discussing a diverse array of humorous subjects.
The Bobs have broken with a cappella tradition several times by including instruments. The majority of the 1995 album Plugged is backed by toy drums. Plugged also made heavy use of studio equipment to make the voices sound more like guitars and bass guitars. Coaster includes a rock rhythm section on one song. Rhapsody in Bob features their arrangement of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with pianist Bob Malone playing most of the original piano concerto as The Bobs become a vocal orchestra. But this original "band without instruments" usually uses just their mouths, hands, feet and "other body parts".
Several anniversary concerts were held in Berkeley, California in January 2006 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Bobs.[ citation needed ] These concerts featured seven of the eight singers who have ever been in the band.
The Bobs gave their final performance on October 21, 2017, at The Barns at Wolf Trap, Virginia. It was broadcast live at Acaville.org.
The Bobs performed "Psycho Killer" on the revival of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1988. The Bobs supplied the opening music for the documentary "I'm from Hollywood" starring inter-gender wrestling champion Andy Kaufman, directed by Lynne Margulies and Joe Orr. The song was played at the beginning of the Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon
The Bobs' recording of the Jimmy Cliff/Guilly Bright song "Sittin' In Limbo" was featured in the 1991 movie Cool As Ice .
The Bobs' recording of the song "Barbara Ann" was used in the 1993 movie Surf Ninjas .
In the 1995 Jason Alexander movie For Better or Worse , the Bobs performed most of the soundtrack, including the background music that occasionally interacted with the story. During the 1995 Emmys they performed a medley of television themes with Alexander.
In 1996, the Bobs performed several original songs and provided the character voices for the online video game Castle Infinity .
Their arrangement of "Helter Skelter" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1984. [4]
A documentary about the group, called Sign My Snarling Movie: 25 Years of The Bobs was released in summer 2007.
"Helter Skelter" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 album The Beatles. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. The song was McCartney's attempt to create a sound as loud and dirty as possible. It is regarded as a key influence in the early development of heavy metal. In 1976, the song was released as the B-side of "Got to Get You into My Life" in the United States, to promote the Capitol Records compilation Rock 'n' Roll Music.
"I'm Free" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by the Who on the album Tommy. The song has since been released as a single, becoming one of the best known tracks from Tommy.
"Psycho Killer" is a song by American rock band Talking Heads, released on their debut studio album Talking Heads: 77 (1977). The group first performed it as the Artistics in 1974.
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The Bobs is the debut studio album by American a cappella vocal group the Bobs, released in 1983 by Kaleidoscope Records. The group's music is sometimes referred to as New Wave A Cappella. The vocal arrangement of "Helter Skelter" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1984.
Leon Roger Payne, "the Blind Balladeer", was an American country music singer and songwriter.
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"Tommy Gun" is a song by the British punk rock band The Clash, released as the first single from their second album Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978).
Obediah Donnell "Obie" Jessie was an American R&B, rock and roll and jazz singer and songwriter. He recorded as Young Jessie in the 1950s and 1960s, and was known for his solo career, work with The Flairs and a brief stint in The Coasters. He later performed and recorded jazz as Obie Jessie.
From the Beginning is the first compilation album by the English rock band Small Faces. It was released by Decca Records of group material after the band had left the record label; it consisted of the band's Decca hit singles combined with various unreleased recordings. The album rose to Number 17 in the UK Album Chart.
The Tufts Beelzebubs, frequently referred to as "The Bubs", is a male a cappella group of students from Tufts University that performs a mix of pop, rock, R&B, and other types of music while spreading their motto of "Fun through Song". Founded in 1962, they have toured in Europe, Asia, South America, and North America, and they competed on NBC's The Sing-Off in December 2009, finishing in second place.
"Golden Slippers" is a spiritual popularized in the years following the American Civil War by the Fisk Jubilee Singers. The song is also known by its opening line, "What Kind of Shoes You Gwine (Going) To Wear". The song became the basis for a minstrel show parody song, "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers", which itself became an American musical standard. The parody song is also frequently referred to as "Golden Slippers".
Rendezvous is the fourth and final studio album by English folk rock singer-songwriter Sandy Denny, released on Island Records in May 1977, and the final album released during her lifetime.
Gunnar Madsen is an American composer and vocalist. He was the founder and leader of The Bobs before leaving the group in 1991, and has released several albums as a solo artist since then.
The Summer Live '09 tour was the fourth North American concert tour of the 21st century by Paul McCartney. The tour began on 11 July 2009 at the Halifax Common in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and closed at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on 19 August 2009. It visited 7 cities across North America, earning $36 million from ten shows.
"Walking the Floor Over You" is a country music song written by Ernest Tubb, recorded on April 26, 1941 in Fort Worth, Texas, and released in the United States that year.
The Up and Coming Tour was a concert tour by Paul McCartney. The tour began on 28 March 2010, at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As with McCartney's other concert tours as a solo artist, the setlist for the Up and Coming Tour was composed of songs by his former bands the Beatles and Wings, as well as songs from his solo career. The tour included two concerts at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, followed by concerts in Miami and San Juan, the latter marking both McCartney's first concert in Puerto Rico and the first visit by a member of the Beatles. The tour ended on 10 June 2011 with a show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
On the Run was a concert tour by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney. The tour began on 15 July 2011, with McCartney's first two concerts at Yankee Stadium in New York City. McCartney's appearances at Yankee Stadium occurred nearly two years to the day after his 17, 18, and 21 July 2009 concerts at Citi Field, documented on the Good Evening New York City CD/DVD.
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Helter Skelter is a 1992 rock opera by Fred Frith and François-Michel Pesenti. It was their first collaborative album and was recorded in Marseille, France, in February 1992. The music was composed by Frith, with libretto by Pesenti, and was conducted by Frith and Jean-Marc Montera. Frith and Pesenti do not perform on this album.