Bob Livingston (musician) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Bob Livingston is a musician from Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. He is a singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

, bass

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

player, and a founding member of The Lost Gonzo Band

Lost Gonzo Band

The Lost Gonzo Band was founded in 1973 and toured and recorded with many of Texas' most colorful musicians including Jerry Jeff Walker, Michael Martin Murphey, and Ray Wylie Hubbard. The original members of the band were, Bob Livingston, Gary P. Nunn, John Inmon, Kelly Dunn, Tomas Ramirez and...

. Livingston was a key figure instigating the cosmic cowboy, progressive country

Progressive country

Progressive country is a subgenre of Texas country music started in the early 1970s in Austin, Texas. The term was coined by programmers at Austin's KOKE-FM in 1972 as a way to differentiate the style of country music in Austin from that being made in Nashville...

and outlaw country

Outlaw country

Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...

music movements that distinguished the Austin, TX music scene in the 1970s. Over the years, Bob Livingston has gained a reputation as a band leader, solo artist, session musician

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

and sideman

Sideman

A sideman is a professional musician who is hired to perform or record with a group of which he or she is not a regular member. They often tour with solo acts as well as bands and jazz ensembles. Sidemen are generally required to be adaptable to many different styles of music, and so able to fit...

in country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

. He has toured without stop for 42 years, and is one of the most experienced and recorded musicians in all of Texas music. Livingston's newest CD, Gypsy Alibi, released by New Wilderness Records in 2011, won the "Album of the Year" at the Texas Music Awards 2011.

Early life

Born Robert Lynn Livingston in San Antonio, Texas

Texas

, Bob grew up in Lubbock

Lubbock, Texas

Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...

. By the mid-1960s, he was active on the Lubbock music scene that was blossoming at the time along with several other Texas music artists such as Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely

Joe Ely

Joe Ely is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist whose music touches on honky-tonk, Texas Country, Tex-Mex and rock and roll....

, Butch Hancock

Butch Hancock

Butch Hancock is a country/folk music recording artist and song writer. He was born July 12, 1945 in Lubbock, Texas. Hancock is a member of The Flatlanders along with Joe Ely and Jimmie Dale Gilmore, but he has principally performed a solo career....

, Terry Allen

Terry Allen

Terry Allen may refer to:*Terry Allen , American Big Band singer*Terry Allen , American country singer and artist*Magnum T.A...

, Jesse Taylor

Jesse Taylor

Jesse Marcus Taylor is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7, winning his entry, preliminary, quarterfinal and semi-final matches, and then became the only fighter to ever be removed from finals due to events that occurred...

and David Halley. Bob sharpened his skills as a guitarist and singer while attending Lubbock High and Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University

Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...

. In 1968, he opened a folk club in Lubbock called The Attic, and shortly afterwards left Lubbock to pursue his own career in music.

American music career

One of Bob's first shows was to play for tips, room and board

Room and board

Room and board describes a situation where, in exchange for money, labor or other considerations, a person is provided with a place to live as well as meals on a comprehensive basis...

in Red River

Red River (New Mexico)

The Red River of New Mexico, USA, is a short, perennial river that flows down the north slope of Mount Wheeler in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, flows west past the towns of Red River and Questa and then south into the Rio Grande just south of the La Junta Campground.The Red River is noted for its...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

. There, he met a folk group called Three Faces West, whose members included Texas artist Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard

Ray Wylie Hubbard is an American Texas Country singer and songwriter.-Early life:Hubbard grew up in southeastern town of Hugo, Oklahoma. His family moved to Oak Cliff in south Dallas, Texas in 1954. He attended W. H. Adamson High School with Michael Martin Murphey, who had his own band at the time...

. While playing in Aspen

Aspen

Populus section Populus, of the Populus genus, includes the aspen trees and the white poplar Populus alba. The five typical aspens are all native to cold regions with cool summers, in the north of the Northern Hemisphere, extending south at high altitudes in the mountains. The White Poplar, by...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

in 1969, Livingston was discovered by talent scout Randy Fred and was signed to Capitol Records

Capitol Records

Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...

. After meeting fellow Texas musician Michael Murphey

Michael Martin Murphey

Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, Country music, and Popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including Cowboy Songs, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter...

in California, Livingston moved to Wrightwood, California and collaborated in a songwriting venture with Murphey, forming a music publishing company called Mountain Music Farm with other songwriters Roger Miller

Roger Miller

Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...

and Guy Clark

Guy Clark

Guy Clark is an American Texas Country artist. In his career, he has released more than twenty albums, primarily on major labels. He has also written singles for other artists, including Ricky Skaggs, Steve Wariner and Rodney Crowell....

. Bob's Capitol Records contract was cancelled due to a company personnel change, and he subsequently opted to join Michael Murphey's band and play bass, touring and recording together on Murphey's classic albums Geronimo's Cadillac

Geronimo's Cadillac

Geronimo's Cadillac is Michael Martin Murphey's first album.- Track listing :# "Geronimo's Cadillac"# "Natchez Trace"# "Calico Silver"# "Harbor for My Soul"# "Rainbow Man"# "Waking Up"# "Crack Up in Las Cruces"# "Boy from the Country"...

and Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir

Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir

- Track listing :# "Cosmic Cowboy, Pt. 1"# "Alleys of Austin"# "South Canadian River Song"# "Blessings in Disguise"# "Temperature Train"# "Drunken Lady of the Morning"# "Prometheus Busted"# "Honolulu"# "Rolling Hills"# "Michael Angelo's Blues"...

.

By 1971, Bob had relocated to Austin

Austin

Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...

, Texas and was playing in a backing band that switched between Michael Murphey and Jerry Jeff Walker

Jerry Jeff Walker

Jerry Jeff Walker is an American country music singer and songwriter. He is probably most famous for writing the song "Mr. Bojangles.-Biography:...

.
Eventually, Murphey and Walker's interchangeable band condensed into their own group, called The Lost Gonzo Band

Lost Gonzo Band

. With Murphey and Walker, The Lost Gonzo Band almost single handedly brought about the progressive country

Progressive country

genre, and along with the redneck rock and outlaw country

Outlaw country

Outlaw country is a subgenre of country music, most popular during the late 1960s and the 1970s , sometimes referred to as the outlaw movement or simply outlaw music...

movements, defined a distinct "Austin Sound". The band lent their talents to Jerry Jeff Walker for his seminal album Viva Terlingua

Viva Terlingua

¡Viva Terlingua! is a live progressive country album by Jerry Jeff Walker and The Lost Gonzo Band recorded August 18, 1973 at the legendary Luckenbach Dancehall in Luckenbach, Texas and released later that year on MCA Nashville Records...

, among many other records in Walker's career. Within time, the group achieved success in their own right and pursued a career for several years, signing contracts for three albums with Capitol Records and MCA

MCA Records

MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

. The original Lost Gonzo Band members were Bob Livingston, John Inmon, Gary P. Nunn

Gary P. Nunn

Gary P. Nunn is a Texas Country singer/songwriter. Nunn was born in Oklahoma and moved to Brownfield, Texas as a sixth grader. He was a member of Lubbock, Texas rock band The Sparkles during the 1960s. In 1995, Nunn was inducted into the West Texas Walk of Fame, and in 2004, into the Texas Hall of...

, Tomas Ramirez, Kelly Dunn and Donny Dolan. Dubbed "The Phoenix Band of Austin", The Lost Gonzo Band has reappeared time and again for 40 years under their own name (as well as backing up various Texas artists) at the Armadillo World Headquarters

Armadillo World Headquarters

The Armadillo World Headquarters was the premier music hall and entertainment center in Austin, Texas, United States from 1970 to 1980.-History:...

, Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits is an American public television music program recorded live in Austin, Texas by Public Broadcasting Service Public television member station KLRU, and broadcast on many PBS stations around the United States...

, Texas Connection, Kerrville Folk Festival

Kerrville Folk Festival

The Kerrville Folk Festival is a music festival held for 18 consecutive days in the late spring/early summer at Quiet Valley Ranch near Kerrville, Texas. The event has run on a yearly basis since 1972. In November 2008, the Kerrville Folk Festival and Kerrville Wine & Music Festival were acquired...

, Willie Nelson's 4th of July Picnic, South by Southwest Music Festival and Austin Aqua Fest.
Bob Livingston and The Lost Gonzo Band helped Austin, Texas to win national recognition as the premier place to watch live music performances, a city now known as "The Live Music Capital of the World."

Cosmic Cowboy

Livingston and Murphey were largely responsible for the "Cosmic Cowboy" term that arose in the Austin music scene. Predominantly known as "Robert" Livingston in this stage of his career, Bob gradually became known by the nickname "Cosmic Bob", perhaps due to the mystical nature of some of the earlier songs of Murphey's work, and in reference to Murphey's song "Cosmic Cowboy". According to several accounts, Bob and Michael Murphey were on a roof at night, and Bob stared up at the stars and said "I just want to be a cosmic cowboy." Not long after, Murphey penned the lyrics: "I just want to be a cosmic cowboy, I just want to ride and rope and hoot. I just want to be a cosmic cowboy, a supernatural country rockin' galoot."

Songwriting success

Bob Livington's songs have appeared in The Lost Gonzo Band's albums, his solo records, and in Jerry Jeff Walker's albums throughout Walker's career. Songs for Walker include "Public Domain" (1975 Ridin' High), "Head Full of Nothin'", and "It's a Good Night for Singing" (1976 It's a Good Night for Singing), "Roll on Down the Road" (1977 A Man Must Carry On), "Bittersweet" (1981 Reunion), "Gonzo Compadres" (1993 Viva Luckenbach), "Life's Too Short" (1996 Scamp), "Wanted for Love" (1998 Cowboy Boots and Bathing Suits).

In 2004, American rap

Rap

Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...

artist Lloyd Banks

Lloyd Banks

Christopher Charles Lloyd , better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. in 2008...

of G-Unit

G-Unit

G-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City formed by 50 Cents. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mix tapes...

recorded a song titled "Warrior" on his debut album The Hunger for More
The Hunger for More
The Hunger for More is the debut album by G-Unit rapper Lloyd Banks, released June 29, 2004 on G-Unit Records and Interscope Records. Banks had been featured on 50 Cent's multi-platinum 2003 album Get Rich or Die Tryin, and on G-Unit's Beg for Mercy in November of the same year...

. The rapper's song contained a music sample of "Hold On", a song written and recorded by both Bob Livingston and Ray Wylie Hubbard, but never formally released. "Warrior" reached #1 on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

charts and went platinum.

Bob's song "Love Cannot Be Broken" was in the soundtrack of Nobelity

Nobelity

Nobelity is a feature documentary which looks at the world's most pressing problems through the eyes of Nobel laureates, including Desmond Tutu, Sir Joseph Rotblat, Ahmed Zewail and Wangari Maathai. The film was premiered at the 2006 SXSW Film Festival and was the first of several sold-out...

- a documentary about the world as seen through the eyes of various Nobel laureates, directed and produced by Turk Pipkin

Turk Pipkin

Turk Pipkin is the co-founder of The Nobelity Project, an education and action non-profit which seeks to find solutions to many pressing global problems, and which advocates for basic rights for children everywhere...

International music career

Beginning in 1985, Livingston began a series of music tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department and the USIS

USIS

USIS may refer to:* United States Information Service, the overseas name for the United States Information Agency* United States Immigration Service, a name sometimes used in the past, possibly both formally and informally at different times, to refer to at least one of the many U.S. federal...

. Acting as an ambassador of American music, he has been sent repeatedly to over 25 different countries throughout the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, with an aim to promote goodwill and cross-cultural understanding through musical exchange. Bob has toured Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

, Bahrain

Bahrain

' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...

, Oman

Oman

Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

, Doha

Doha

Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...

, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, Kuwait

Kuwait

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, Tunisia

Tunisia

Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...

and Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

, among others. These tours began as a solo act, but eventually included such musicians as long-time associate and guitarist John Inmon, fiddler Richard Bowden, and Bob's son, Tucker. They gave performances and workshops on the art of guitar playing, songwriting craft, and a history of Texas music and folklore

Folklore

Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

. In each tour, he regularly invited local musicians onstage to collaborate with their indigenous instruments. What followed were concerts that demonstrated to royalty, state figures and public audiences alike a sense of unity and brotherhood through music. Editing and production funding for a documentary film of Livingston's Eastern travels are currently being sought after. His tours abroad have yielded a kaleidoscope of imagery in which Livingston teaches audiences around the world how to yodel, sing Hank Williams songs, and perform Buddy Holly's

Buddy Holly

Charles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...

"Not Fade Away

Not Fade Away (song)

"Not Fade Away" is a song credited to Buddy Holly and Norman Petty and first recorded by Holly's band The Crickets in Clovis, New Mexico, on May 27, 1957...

" renditions with groups as diverse as Nepal's Sur Sudha, The Royal Oman

Oman

Orchestra, Ood

Ood

The Ood are a fictional alien species with telepathic abilities from the long running science fiction series Doctor Who. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future ....

players in Yemen

Yemen

, Syrian flamenco

Flamenco

Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

guitar players, Geisha

Geisha

, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...

singers in Vietnam, sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

and tabla

Tabla

The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...

players in India and Angola

Angola

n drum and choir ensembles.

Texas Music International (TMI) and Cowboys & Indians

In 2000, Bob created his own company, Texas Music International, an organization dedicated to bringing different musics of the world together for human and cultural harmony

Harmony

In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...

. His first venture was to create a multi-cultural group of musicians from Texas and India called Cowboys & Indians. Cowboys & Indians is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

supported by the Texas Commission on the Arts that gives educational and entertaining workshops and performances in Texas schools and theaters, with emphasis on children’s interaction and participation. Mixed instrumentation, music and cultural lore

Lore

Lore may refer to:* Loré , a city and subdistrict in Lautém District* Lore , the region on each side of a birds face between eye and bill* Lore , a fictional android* Lore Sjöberg, an internet humourist...

fuse with Native American

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

, Texas folk

Folk

The English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun, *fulka meaning "people" or "army"...

and Indian themes that include Bharatanatyam

Bharatanatyam

Bharata Natyam or Chadhir Attam, is a classical dance form from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, practiced predominantly in modern times by women. The dance is usually accompanied by classical Carnatic music...

dance, Native American flute and story song, Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

and cowboy

Cowboy

A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...

yodeling

Yodeling

Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...

. Based in Austin, members of Cowboys & Indians have included John Inmon, Oliver Rajamani, Richard Bowden, Tucker Livingston, Bradley Kopp, Karen Mal

Karen Mal

Karen Mal is an American singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. She is best known for her strikingly open, child-like voice and her poetic and somewhat didactic songwriting. She is also known in the industry as a first-call session singer with a gift for harmony...

, Paul Pearcy and Bharatnatyam dancer Anu Naimpally.

Recent ventures

Livingston's discography spans beyond progressive country, singer-songwriter and rock music to such myriad recordings as film music for the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, environmental

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...

and peace

Peace

Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...

activist albums, and a children's record on Gentle Wind's record label, called Open The Window. During his career, Bob has performed with a long list of musicians that reads as a who's who

Who's Who

Who's Who is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biographical information on a particular group of people...

list in Texas music, like Willie Nelson

Willie Nelson

Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...

, Willis Alan Ramsey

Willis Alan Ramsey

Willis Alan Ramsey is an American singer/songwriter, a cult legend among fans of Americana and Texas country. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama and raised in Dallas, Texas. Ramsey graduated from Highland Park High School in 1969, and was a prominent baritone in the High School's Lads and Lassies...

, Leon Russell

Leon Russell

Claude Russell Bridges , known professionally as Leon Russell, is an American musician and songwriter, who has recorded as a session musician, sideman, and maintained a solo career in music....

, and Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks

Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...

. He has acted as Chairman of the Austin Music Commission, and served on the Board of Directors at the Texas Music Museum.
In 2009, Bob Livingston completed another tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

and several nations in Africa. He currently lives in Austin and continues his work with Cowboys & Indians, The Lost Gonzo Band and his solo career. Livingston's newest CD, Gypsy Alibi was co-produced by Livingston and Lloyd Maines

Lloyd Maines

Lloyd Maines is an American Grammy Award-winning country music record producer, musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas and is now based in Bulverde, Texas....

and released on January 27, 2011 on New Wilderness Records. On July 9, 2011, Gypsy Alibi, won "Album of the Year" at the Texas Music Awards 2011.

Solo

Waking Up (Wilderness); 1981
Signs of Life (Wilderness); 1988
Open the Window (Gentle Wind); 1996
Mahatma Gandhi & Sitting Bull (Vireo); 2003
Everything Is All Right (TMI); 2004
Cowboys & Indians (Vireo); 2007
Original Spirit (Vireo); 2008
Gypsy Alibi (New Wilderness Records); 2011
Bob Livingston at the Kerrville Folk Festival (FestivaLink); 2011

With The Lost Gonzo Band

The Lost Gonzo Band (MCA); 1972
Thrills (MCA); 1976
Signs of Life (Capitol); 1978
Rendezvous (Vireo); 1991
Hands of Time (Vireo); 1995
Dead Armadillos (Demon/Edsel); 1998

With Jerry Jeff Walker

Jerry Jeff Walker (MCA); 1972
Viva Terlingua! (MCA); 1973
Walker’s Collectibles (MCA); 1974
Ridin’ High (MCA); 1975
It’s a Good Night for Singin’ (MCA); 1976
A Man Must Carry On (MCA); 1977
Great Gonzos (MCA); 1991
Gypsey Songman (Tried ‘n True); 1986
Navaho Rug (Rycodisk); 1991
Hill Country Rain (Rycodisk); 1992
Viva Luckenbach (Rycodisk); 1993
Christmas Gonzo Style (Rycodisk); 1994
Night After Night (Tried ‘n True); 1995
Scamp (Tried ‘n True); 1996
Cowboy Boots and Bathing Suits (Tried ‘n True); 1997
Lone Wolf: The Best of Jerry Jeff Walker (1998)
Gypsy Songman (Tried ‘n True); 1999
Gonzo Stew (Tried ‘n True); 2001
Too Old to Change (2003)

With Michael Martin Murphey

Geronimo’s Cadillac (A&M); 1972
Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir (A&M); 1973

With Ray Wylie Hubbard

Something About the Night (Renegade); 1979
Loco Gringos Lament (1994)

With Bobby Bridger

Seekers of the Fleece (Golden Egg); 1975
Ballad of the West (Golden Egg); 2001
Complete Works (Golden Egg); 2004

With Bill Oliver

Texas Oasis 1980 (Live Oak)
Better Things to Do 1986 (Live Oak)
Audubon Adventures 1987 (Live Oak)
Have to Have a Habitat 1995 (Live Oak)
Friend of the River 2001 (Live Oak)

With Butch Hancock

Yella Rose (with Marce Lacouture) 1985 (Rainlight)
Own & Own (1989)
Own the Way Over Here (1993)

Other artists

Peter Caulton: Hard Road Tough Country (1998)
Cory Morrow: Outside the Lines (2002)
Mark David Manders: Highs and Lows (2002)
Owen Temple: General Store (1997)
Owen Temple: Two Thousand Miles (2007)
Larry Joe Taylor: Heart of the Matter (2000)
Various Artists Kerrville Folk Festival: Early Years 1972-1981
Various Artists: Stranger Than Fiction (1999)
Chris Wall: Cowboy Nation (1999)

External links

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