Biography

The concept is bizarre -- four a cappella vocalists who call themselves "Bob" and cover rock & roll numbers -- yet it somehow works for people, even people in high places; in addition to developing a loyal following, the Bobs received a Grammy nomination for their arrangement of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." The band was founded in 1981, when Gunnar Bob Madsen and Matthew Bob Stull lost their jobs with a singing telegram company (one can only wonder why). Together with Richard Bob Greene, they began to perform a cappella in the San Francisco Bay Area, adding Janie Bob Scott to their lineup in 1982. The following year saw the release of their eponymous debut album with the liner notes containing the classic "Warning: All the sounds on this recording were produced by the mouth or other parts of the body." Covers included the abovementioned Beatles cut as well as Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" and a number of probingly intelligent and blissfully witty original numbers. Released in 1987, My, I'm Large continued in the same vein, mixing covers and madcap originals, while Songs for Tomorrow Morning, released the following year, featured a five-song sequence about laundry written for their artistic partners, the dance troupe ISO. In 1989, Joe Bob Finetti replaced founder Gunnar Bob Madsen for the recording of Sing the Songs of.... This lineup remained intact for several more years, when, in 1997, Janie Bob Scott was replaced by Lori Bob Rivera, who was then replaced by Amy Bob Engelhardt in 1998, leading to the release of Coaster. The 2000s brought two additional Bobs releases, Rhapsody in Bob in 2005 and Get Your Monkey Off My Dog in 2007. The most recent incarnation of the Bobs includes founders Matthew Bob Stull and Richard Bob Greene along with Amy Bob Engelhardt and Dan Bob Schumacher, the latter of whom replaced Joe Bob Finetti in the quartet. ~ Leon Jackson, Rovi