Bob Gibson (musician)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Robert Gibson (November 16, 1931 – September 28, 1996) was a folk singer who led a folk music
revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was known for playing both the banjo and the 12-string guitar
. He introduced a then largely unknown Joan Baez
at the Newport Folk Festival
of 1959. He produced a number of LPs in the decade from 1956 to 1965. His best known album, Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn, was released in 1961. His songs have been recorded by, among others, Peter, Paul and Mary
, Simon & Garfunkel, the Byrds
, the Smothers Brothers
, and the Kingston Trio
. His career was interrupted by his addiction to drugs. After getting sober in 1978, he attempted a comeback, but the musical scene had changed and his traditional style of folk music was out of favor with young audiences. He did, however, continue his artistic career with albums, musicals, plays, and television performances. In 1993 he was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy
(PSP). He died from PSP on September 28, 1996 in Portland, Oregon.
, Yorktown Heights
, and Tompkins Corners, Putnam County, New York
. He had two siblings - an older sister, Anne, and a younger brother, Jim. His early interest in music was, primarily, vocal. He left high school in his senior year and hitchhiked around the country. Eventually returning to New York City, Gibson became a partner in a firm that taught speed reading where he was responsible for sales and public relations. In 1953 Gibson met Pete Seeger
, helping Seeger to complete rebuilding his home. Gibson was so impressed with Seeger and his music, he "took the money I had set aside for rent" and bought a banjo. After deciding to leave his job, Gibson taught himself to play the banjo over the next year, became immersed in the study of folk music, and became a performer at the age of 22. After performing briefly in New York City, he traveled to Miami, Florida and played in various clubs. Next, Gibson performed from Cleveland to New York and was eventually hired at the Green Door in Michigan City, Indiana (50 miles east of Chicago). He then found an agent in Chicago and was booked into the Offbeat Room in Chicago.
Gibson was soon tapped as house singer at Chicago's Gate of Horn
where he was often joined by partner, Bob (later comic actor, Hamilton) Camp
. Shel Silverstein
, then a cartoonist at Playboy
, was a regular fan and captured Gibson's attention when he (Silverstein) completed lyrics to a previously forgotton Gibson tune.
Gibson and Camp were such a resounding success that the owner soon decided to open a similar place in New York named The Village Gate
. He discovered two brilliant young talents, later to be known as Peter
and Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary
fame. Art then asked Gibson and Camp to "sing with a girl." They refused and thus was born the legendary trio of Peter, Paul and Mary. Peter Yarrow said of his friend Bob Gibson: "When you listen to PPM, you are hearing Bob Gibson".
They (Gibson and Silverstein = "GibStein") became lifelong best friends as well as writing partners producing over 231 songs over the next thirty five years. Their last production was in Nashville in 1993 entitled "Makin' A Mess" for Kyle Lhenning at Asylum records. The last cut; " Whistlers and Jugglers and Singers of Song" is the only song that today gets air play and was a last minute substitution when Shel realized how ill his friend really was. It was written about the relationship of what Silverstein referred to as "The trio from out of our past" about a girl who always loved the singer and with whom he got together several years prior to his passing.
while performing at the Offbeat Room. Grossman had an idea for a folk club on the near north side of Chicago and, in 1956, opened the Gate of Horn
. In the third week after opening, Grossman booked Gibson into the club. He began a continuous performing streak that lasted eleven months. Beginning as an opener for many of the acts, by the end of his eleven-month stay, Gibson was the headliner, closing for everyone.
Grossman had a knack for finding talent. This list of performers he booked into The Gate of Horn included Josh White
, Glenn Yarborough, Odetta
, Joan Baez
(which led to Gibson's inviting the then unknown performer to join him at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival
), Hamilton Camp
, and Judy Collins
. Grossman had "scouted" Bob Gibson for his club, but he could not imagine the headline act that Gibson would become.
Bob Gibson was on his way to becoming a legend in Chicago in the early 1960s, helped along by a talented singer and songwriter, Hamilton Camp
. In 1961 their debut album was released on Elektra Records, Gibson and Camp at the Gate of Horn. A watershed album, it influenced singers from John Lennon
to Gordon Lightfoot
to John Denver
.
. "Drugs were never recreational for me. My use of them from the beginning was abusive." His drug use escalated when he discovered heroin. Gibson was in and out of jails in Canada (which led to his hilarious Christmas carol "Box of Candy and a Piece of Fruit"), Chicago, and Cleveland for various drug-related charges. In the mid-1960s, Gibson began a three-year period of complete isolation where drugs were his only priority. From 1969 to 1978, Gibson tried repeatedly to restart his career, but his addictions made it impossible. During this period he tried often, but unsuccessfully, to get sober. He knew that he needed structure, but, at first, disavowing God he rejected AA
. In 1978 he attended an AA meeting in Cleveland and learned to live a life without alcohol and drugs. He regained his sobriety through AA and became both an advocate as well as a sponsor to much of the young, upcoming talent across America. One of his proudest moments was receiving his twenty year "chip" before he became too ill to comprehend the importance of that success. He had indeed become "A Living Legend".
in Jacksonville, Florida where he was diagnosed with Progressive supranuclear palsy
(PSP). With only 20,000 people in the United States with PSP, there was very little research money available for study of the disease. Bob moved from "my favorite place to live (Gibson, page 211)" to Portland, Oregon where some research was being done on PSP.
Failing from his illness, Gibson invited many of his friends to a farewell concert on September 20, 1996 in Chicago. His letter to his friends included this paragraph.
The concert was held. Gibson tired early, struggled to rise and say goodnight, and received a standing ovation. One week later, on September 28, 1996, Gibson died at the home of his daughter, Susan, in Portland, Oregon.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
revival in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He was known for playing both the banjo and the 12-string guitar
Twelve string guitar
The twelve-string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with 12 strings in 6 courses, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar...
. He introduced a then largely unknown Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
at the Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
of 1959. He produced a number of LPs in the decade from 1956 to 1965. His best known album, Gibson & Camp at the Gate of Horn, was released in 1961. His songs have been recorded by, among others, Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
, Simon & Garfunkel, the Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
, the Smothers Brothers
Smothers Brothers
The Smothers Brothers are Thomas and Richard , American singers, musicians, comedians and folk heroes. The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs , which usually led to arguments between the siblings...
, and the Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio
The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds...
. His career was interrupted by his addiction to drugs. After getting sober in 1978, he attempted a comeback, but the musical scene had changed and his traditional style of folk music was out of favor with young audiences. He did, however, continue his artistic career with albums, musicals, plays, and television performances. In 1993 he was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
(PSP). He died from PSP on September 28, 1996 in Portland, Oregon.
The road to Chicago
Bob Gibson was born on November 16, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in various communities outside New York City - TuckahoeTuckahoe, Westchester County, New York
Tuckahoe is a village in the town of Eastchester in Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village's population was 6,486....
, Yorktown Heights
Yorktown Heights, New York
Yorktown Heights is a census-designated place in the town of Yorktown in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Yorktown Heights is located at ....
, and Tompkins Corners, Putnam County, New York
Putnam County, New York
Putnam County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the lower Hudson River Valley. Putnam county formed in 1812, when it detached from Dutchess County. , the population was 99,710. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. The county seat is the hamlet of Carmel...
. He had two siblings - an older sister, Anne, and a younger brother, Jim. His early interest in music was, primarily, vocal. He left high school in his senior year and hitchhiked around the country. Eventually returning to New York City, Gibson became a partner in a firm that taught speed reading where he was responsible for sales and public relations. In 1953 Gibson met Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
, helping Seeger to complete rebuilding his home. Gibson was so impressed with Seeger and his music, he "took the money I had set aside for rent" and bought a banjo. After deciding to leave his job, Gibson taught himself to play the banjo over the next year, became immersed in the study of folk music, and became a performer at the age of 22. After performing briefly in New York City, he traveled to Miami, Florida and played in various clubs. Next, Gibson performed from Cleveland to New York and was eventually hired at the Green Door in Michigan City, Indiana (50 miles east of Chicago). He then found an agent in Chicago and was booked into the Offbeat Room in Chicago.
Gibson was soon tapped as house singer at Chicago's Gate of Horn
Gate of Horn
For writings, including the Greek myth involving a "Gate of horn", see Gates of horn and ivory.The Gate of Horn was a 100-seatfolk music club, located in the basement of the Rice Hotel on the southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Dearborn Street, on the near north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the...
where he was often joined by partner, Bob (later comic actor, Hamilton) Camp
Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
. Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein , was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books...
, then a cartoonist at Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, was a regular fan and captured Gibson's attention when he (Silverstein) completed lyrics to a previously forgotton Gibson tune.
Gibson and Camp were such a resounding success that the owner soon decided to open a similar place in New York named The Village Gate
The Village Gate
The Village Gate was a nightclub at the corner of Thompson and Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York.Art D'Lugoff opened the club in 1958, on the ground floor and basement of 158 Bleecker Street. The large 1896 Chicago School structure by architect Ernest Flagg was known at the time as...
. He discovered two brilliant young talents, later to be known as Peter
Peter Yarrow
Peter Yarrow is an American singer who found fame with the 1960s folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote one of the group's most famous songs, "Puff, the Magic Dragon"...
and Paul of Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
fame. Art then asked Gibson and Camp to "sing with a girl." They refused and thus was born the legendary trio of Peter, Paul and Mary. Peter Yarrow said of his friend Bob Gibson: "When you listen to PPM, you are hearing Bob Gibson".
They (Gibson and Silverstein = "GibStein") became lifelong best friends as well as writing partners producing over 231 songs over the next thirty five years. Their last production was in Nashville in 1993 entitled "Makin' A Mess" for Kyle Lhenning at Asylum records. The last cut; " Whistlers and Jugglers and Singers of Song" is the only song that today gets air play and was a last minute substitution when Shel realized how ill his friend really was. It was written about the relationship of what Silverstein referred to as "The trio from out of our past" about a girl who always loved the singer and with whom he got together several years prior to his passing.
The glory years
Gibson first met Albert GrossmanAlbert Grossman
Albert Bernard Grossman was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music scene and rock and roll. He was most famous as the manager of Bob Dylan between 1962 and 1970.-Biography:...
while performing at the Offbeat Room. Grossman had an idea for a folk club on the near north side of Chicago and, in 1956, opened the Gate of Horn
Gate of Horn
For writings, including the Greek myth involving a "Gate of horn", see Gates of horn and ivory.The Gate of Horn was a 100-seatfolk music club, located in the basement of the Rice Hotel on the southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Dearborn Street, on the near north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the...
. In the third week after opening, Grossman booked Gibson into the club. He began a continuous performing streak that lasted eleven months. Beginning as an opener for many of the acts, by the end of his eleven-month stay, Gibson was the headliner, closing for everyone.
Grossman had a knack for finding talent. This list of performers he booked into The Gate of Horn included Josh White
Josh White
Joshua Daniel White , better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names "Pinewood Tom" and "Tippy Barton" in the 1930s....
, Glenn Yarborough, Odetta
Odetta
Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
(which led to Gibson's inviting the then unknown performer to join him at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival
Newport Folk Festival
The Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
), Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
, and Judy Collins
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
. Grossman had "scouted" Bob Gibson for his club, but he could not imagine the headline act that Gibson would become.
Bob Gibson was on his way to becoming a legend in Chicago in the early 1960s, helped along by a talented singer and songwriter, Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp
Hamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
. In 1961 their debut album was released on Elektra Records, Gibson and Camp at the Gate of Horn. A watershed album, it influenced singers from John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
to Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Lightfoot
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
to John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
.
The demons
Bob was an abuser of alcohol even in his teens. He had also experimented with drugs. By the time of his rise to success in Chicago he was a heavy user of speedAmphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
. "Drugs were never recreational for me. My use of them from the beginning was abusive." His drug use escalated when he discovered heroin. Gibson was in and out of jails in Canada (which led to his hilarious Christmas carol "Box of Candy and a Piece of Fruit"), Chicago, and Cleveland for various drug-related charges. In the mid-1960s, Gibson began a three-year period of complete isolation where drugs were his only priority. From 1969 to 1978, Gibson tried repeatedly to restart his career, but his addictions made it impossible. During this period he tried often, but unsuccessfully, to get sober. He knew that he needed structure, but, at first, disavowing God he rejected AA
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
. In 1978 he attended an AA meeting in Cleveland and learned to live a life without alcohol and drugs. He regained his sobriety through AA and became both an advocate as well as a sponsor to much of the young, upcoming talent across America. One of his proudest moments was receiving his twenty year "chip" before he became too ill to comprehend the importance of that success. He had indeed become "A Living Legend".
Sobriety and comeback
In 1978 Gibson gave up drugs for good. A musical comeback, however, was not to be. In the early 1960s, Bob Gibson was at the center of the folk music universe, influencing everyone around him. By 1978 there was an audience that was an entirely new generation. Although many remembered Gibson, he was never again to capture the mass public appeal of his early 1960s period. He did embark, however, on one of the most productive periods of his career.Illness
Starting about 1990, Gibson started to experience the symptoms of an illness that would not be diagnosed until four years later. Loss of balance and falling backwards were among Gibson's first symptoms. Later, his vision and then his voice were affected. Doctors throughout the country were unsuccessful in diagnosing or treating him. In 1994 he entered the Mayo ClinicMayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
in Jacksonville, Florida where he was diagnosed with Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
(PSP). With only 20,000 people in the United States with PSP, there was very little research money available for study of the disease. Bob moved from "my favorite place to live (Gibson, page 211)" to Portland, Oregon where some research was being done on PSP.
Failing from his illness, Gibson invited many of his friends to a farewell concert on September 20, 1996 in Chicago. His letter to his friends included this paragraph.
"This may be the last chance I have to see many of you. I am finding it increasingly difficult to do the simplest things and traveling is really a challenge. I won't be able to play and sing with you, but I'm really looking forward to being an audience of one!"
The concert was held. Gibson tired early, struggled to rise and say goodnight, and received a standing ovation. One week later, on September 28, 1996, Gibson died at the home of his daughter, Susan, in Portland, Oregon.
Discography
Legend: CD (compact disc); CS (cassette); LP (33 1/3 long play)- Offbeat Folksongs (Riverside, 1956) LP
- I Come for to Sing (Riverside, 1957) LP
- Carnegie Concert (Riverside, 1957) LP
- Folksongs of Ohio (Stinson Records, 1957) 10" LP - Note: Released without Bob Gibson's permission
- There's A Meetin' Here Tonight (Riverside, 1958) LP
- Ski Songs (Elektra, 1959) LP
- Yes I See (Elektra, 1961) LP
- Bob Gibson and Bob CampHamilton CampHamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
at The Gate of Horn (Elektra, 1961) LP - Folksongs of Ohio (Stinson Records, 1963 reissue of earlier 10" LP) LP - Note: Re-released also without Bob Gibson's permission
- Hootenanny at Carnegie (Riverside, 1963 reissue of Carnegie Concert) LP
- Where I'm Bound (Elektra, 1964) LP
- Bob Gibson (Capitol, 1970) LP
- Funky in the Country (Legend Enterprises, 1974) LP
- Gibson & Camp, Homemade Music (Mountain Railroad Records, 1978) LP
- The Perfect High (Mountain Railroad Records, 1980) LP
- Uptown Saturday Night (Hogeye Records, 1984) LP
- Best of Friends (1984, on CD, Appleseed Records, 2004), with Tom PaxtonTom PaxtonThomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
and Anne HillsAnne HillsAnne Hills is an American folk singer-songwriter.Hills was born in October, 1953, to a family of missionaries in India and grew up in Michigan. She studied at Interlochen, where she played in a band with Chris Brubeck and Peter Erskine. In 1976, she moved to Chicago and was a co-founder of the... - Gibson & Camp, The Gate of Horn — Revisited! (B*G Records, 1986) CS
- A Child's Happy Birthday Album (B*G Records, 1989) CS
- Bob Gibson 5/91 - I Hear America Singing (Snapshot Music, 1991) CS
- Stops Along the Way (B*G Records, 1991) CS
- Gibson & Camp, The Gate of Horn — Revisited! (Folk Era Productions, 1994) CD
- Makin' a Mess, Bob Gibson Sings Shel Silverstein (Asylum Records, 1995) CD
- Joy, Joy! The Young and Wonderful Bob Gibson (Riverside, 1996) CD
- Perfect High (re-release of earlier album, 1998) CD
- Bob Gibson and Bob CampHamilton CampHamilton Camp was an English-American singer, songwriter, actor and voice actor.-Early life:Camp was born in London, England, and was evacuated during World War II to the United States as a child with his mother and sister. He became a child actor in films and onstage...
at The Gate of Horn (Collector's Choice, 2002 - re-release of 1961 Elektra LP) CD - Where I'm Bound (Collector's Choice, 2002 - re-release of 1964 Elektra LP) CD
- The Living Legend Years (Bob Gibson Legacy, 2008 - compilation with selections from Funky in the Country, Homemade Music, The Perfect High, Uptown Saturday Night) CD
- Funky in the Country (Bob Gibson Legacy, 2008 - re-issue of 1974 Legend LP) CD
- Homemade Music (Bob Gibson Legacy, 2008 - re-issue of 1978 Mountain Railroad LP) CD
- The Perfect High (Bob Gibson Legacy, 2008 - re-issue of 1980 Mountain Railroad LP) CD
- Uptown Saturday Night (Bob Gibson Legacy, 2008 - re-issue of 1984 Hogeye LP) CD
- Ski Songs (Collector's Choice, 2008 - re-issue of 1959 Elektra LP) CD
- Yes I See (Collector's Choice, 2008 - re-issue of 1961 Elektra LP) CD