Bobby Bare - Songs

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Bobby Bare (April 7, 1935) is a highly acclaimed and veteran country music singer and songwriter with a wry sense of humor and a great deal of crossover appeal who became famous beginning in the late 1950s. A versatile performer, his long string of hits on both the Pop/Rock and Country charts is a unique mix of pop, folk, classic country, and novelty tunes. His best known songs include the mostly spoken "The All American Boy" (1958), the homesick "Detroit City" (1963), the wistful "500 Miles Away From Home" (1963), the laid back "Miller's Cave" (1964), and the supernatural "Marie Laveau" (1974).

Born Robert Joseph Bare in Ironton, Ohio, he formed a band while in his teens that performed on a local radio show in nearby Springfield. By the late 1950s, he had relocated to Los Angeles and landed his first recording contract with Capitol. Just before he was drafted into the Army, he made a demo with Bill Parsons of a song he wrote, "The All American Boy," which soon after became Bare's first hit although it was credited erroneously to Parsons. During his military service, Bare entered several talent competitions and made an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show with an instrumental group known as the Latin Five. After his two-year stint was complete, he resumed his career and by late 1961, was signed to RCA Victor by Chet Atkins.

Bobby Bare's first charting song came in late 1958 with "The All American Boy," which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and made the R&B Top 20. He made his debut on the Country charts in 1962 with "Shame On Me," a Top 20 hit which also made the Pop/Rock Top 40, and his fame took off the following year with his rendition of the Mel Tillis/Danny Dill-penned "Detroit City" (1963), which won him a Grammy for Best Country & Western Recording. Bare's many other top Country chart hits that also became Pop/Rock crossover favorites include "500 Miles Away From Home" (1963), "Miller's Cave" (1964), "Have I Stayed Away Too Long" (1964), "Four Strong Winds" (1964), and "Daddy What If" (1974), the latter performed with his five-year-old son, Bobby Bare Jr. He topped the Country charts in 1974 with "Marie Laveau," and his very long string of Country hits, which continued through 1986, also includes "A Dear John Letter" (1965, with Skeeter Davis), "It's Alright" (1965), "The Streets Of Baltimore" (1966), "The Game Of Triangles" (1966, with Norma Jean and Liz Anderson), "(Margie's At) The Lincoln Park Inn" (1969), "How I Got To Memphis" (1970), "Come Sundown" (1970), "Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends" (1971), and the waltzy, tongue-in-cheek "Dropkick Me, Jesus" (1976).

A longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry, Bobby Bare's numerous honors and accolades also include being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. He has continued to perform and record actively to the present day.

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SONGS

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Bobby Bare

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