Bobby Barth
Encyclopedia
Bobby Barth is an American singer, songwriter
and record producer
.
in Salina, Kansas
and finished his formal education at Fountain-Fort Carson High School
in Fountain, Colorado
. He began playing drum
s in 1960, working weekend and one-night shows in 1963. Barth learned guitar
basics from his stepfather, and in 1968 he left home and began to play music full time.
group Wakefield
in 1969, as lead guitarist and singer. Wakefield was made up of Pueblo, Colorado
natives Charlie Ferrill on drums, Carl Marcon on bass, Mike Carrol on trumpet
, Ron Struthers on sax
and flute
and San Francisco native Paul Zamucen on conga
s and timbale
s. The band performed in clubs across the country until parting company around 1973.
Barth launched Babyface
around the same time, with Colorado drummer Bobby Miles, California bass
ist Mike Turpin, and Wisconsin keyboardist Edgar Riley, Jr. This band went through a few member changed and recorded their first and only record for now-defunct ASI Records. Although the band felt betrayed by the producer, who changed the direction of the record after the band left the studio, the record produced a top 20 song on the Billboard A/C charts. The band, which considered itself to be a cerebral rock band, but was stuck performing for crowds that expected to hear its top 20 hit, was forced to disband in 1978.
After a short time Barth, Turpin and Riley joined forces with guitarist Michael Osborne and drummer Teddy Mueller to reform the Babyface concept without the intrusion of ASI Records and emerged in Gainesville, Florida
as Alien
. In 1979 MCA Records
penned a deal with pop music label Curb Records
to form a company that would co-produce rock bands. Alien was the first band to sign with the MCA-Curb label and after a quick name change to Axe
, due to the release of the motion picture Alien
gave birth to two records, Axe and Living on the Edge. Barth recounts that both records were a poor representation of the band (despite the top hit off Axe, Rock and Roll Party in the Streets), due to their lack of studio experience and "dreadful" choice of producers. After the industry-wide bloodbath of 1980, like so many other bands, Axe found itself without a label. Working with Roger Probert of Atlantic Records
, the band set a deal with Atlantic. Details are confusing, but overnight the band managed by Jim Dawson
and Arnakata Management and produced by Thom Allom of Judas Priest
, found itself on Atco Records
instead of Atlantic, with a new manager and producer. Albums produced under that contract included Offering and Nemesis. Offering brought the band to the attention of American radio, with "Rock and Roll Party in the Streets", when the single, without any real support from Atco, made the Billboard Top 100 songs for their year ending charts, and the album making the Billboard top 75 albums of the year charts, both for 1981.
The band continued to tour and record, until in 1984 Osborne and Barth were involved in a fatal car crash. Barth escaped with only spinal injuries, but Osborne was killed in the crash. Barth recorded his solo record, Two Hearts One Beat, as a tribute to Osborne in 1985.
Barth joined Blackfoot
, another Atco/Nalli band, in 1984 after recovering from the crash. He played with Blackfoot until their breakup in 1986. After the breakup of Blackfoot, Bobby continued to tour with Blackfoot's Ricky Medlocke until leaving in late 1986. Barth moved back to Los Angeles and partnered with UFO drummer Andy Parker to open Satellite Sound Recording in Burbank
. Barth started to engineer and produce projects with the help of the producer of his solo record 2 Hearts, Was Not Was bassist Bruce Nazarian
. The two became involved with writing and producing for major films until, in 1990, Barth was recruited to play guitar for Angry Anderson
. After recording Angry's record Blood From Stone, Barth moved to Australia
to tour with Anderson. The record garnered 2 top 10 hits and a tour with Aerosmith
. Upon Barth's return to the USA, he and his wife left Los Angeles
and moved to Denver, and started NEH Records. Barth produced several records for MTM, Toshiba-EMI, and Japan's Zero Corporation Label, as well as countless indie projects. In mid-2001, Barth and his business partner Michael McPherson separated the label's retail sales from the studio and Barth moved the studio to New Orleans.
In 2004, the original members of Blackfoot (minus Medlocke) asked Barth to reunite and to tour again. From 2004 till 2010, Barth and Blackfoot were touring.
. He continues to be active in Freemasonry
and in the rebuilding of New Orleans
.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
.
Education
Barth attended St. John's Military SchoolSt. John's Military School
St. John's Military School, located in Salina, Kansas, is a private boarding military school for male students from grades 6 to 12. It aims to develop students' academic and leadership skills in a "military environment" overseen by a President, Academic Dean and Commandant of Cadets. It has the...
in Salina, Kansas
Salina, Kansas
Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...
and finished his formal education at Fountain-Fort Carson High School
Fountain-Fort Carson High School
-Rivalries:Florence High School: Florence & FFCHS were, throughout much of the 1950s through the 1990s, longtime rivals that competed in the old Pikes Peak League - often challenging for league supremacy in football and basketball....
in Fountain, Colorado
Fountain, Colorado
The city of Fountain is a Home Rule Municipality located in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Fountain is located just ten miles south of Colorado Springs and just east of Fort Carson. Fountain and the Colorado Springs suburbs Security and Widefield make up the "Fountain Valley" community....
. He began playing drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s in 1960, working weekend and one-night shows in 1963. Barth learned guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
basics from his stepfather, and in 1968 he left home and began to play music full time.
Music career
Barth joined the ColoradoColorado
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...
group Wakefield
Wakefield (band)
Wakefield is a 4 piece rock band from Mechanicsville, Maryland. The band consists of singer Ryan Escolopio, his brother and former Good Charlotte drummer, Aaron Escolopio, their cousin and bass player Mike Schoolden , and guitarist J.D. Tennyson.-Early years:Ryan, JD, and Mike formed the band with...
in 1969, as lead guitarist and singer. Wakefield was made up of Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
natives Charlie Ferrill on drums, Carl Marcon on bass, Mike Carrol on trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, Ron Struthers on sax
Sax
-Places:* Sax, Alicante, a municipality in Spain* Saxmundham, UK - a colloquial short form used in East Suffolk* Sax, a village in the Sennwald municipality in Switzerland-People:* Sax, later "Sax-Hohensax", name a house of barons originally at Hohensax castle...
and flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
and San Francisco native Paul Zamucen on conga
Conga
The conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
s and timbale
Timbale
Timbale may refer to:*Timbales or timbal, a Cuban and LatinoAmerican percussion instrument*Timbale , a kind of dish of various ingredients baked in a round mold...
s. The band performed in clubs across the country until parting company around 1973.
Barth launched Babyface
Axe (band)
Axe is a hard rock band from Florida, USA, formed in 1979. Not to be confused with Chicago based band AXE the band, consisting of Ron Sammons, Mike Bayless, Rick Turco, Joey Martinez, Brad Harris, and Matt Ketchum.- Biography:...
around the same time, with Colorado drummer Bobby Miles, California bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
ist Mike Turpin, and Wisconsin keyboardist Edgar Riley, Jr. This band went through a few member changed and recorded their first and only record for now-defunct ASI Records. Although the band felt betrayed by the producer, who changed the direction of the record after the band left the studio, the record produced a top 20 song on the Billboard A/C charts. The band, which considered itself to be a cerebral rock band, but was stuck performing for crowds that expected to hear its top 20 hit, was forced to disband in 1978.
After a short time Barth, Turpin and Riley joined forces with guitarist Michael Osborne and drummer Teddy Mueller to reform the Babyface concept without the intrusion of ASI Records and emerged in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
as Alien
Axe (band)
Axe is a hard rock band from Florida, USA, formed in 1979. Not to be confused with Chicago based band AXE the band, consisting of Ron Sammons, Mike Bayless, Rick Turco, Joey Martinez, Brad Harris, and Matt Ketchum.- Biography:...
. In 1979 MCA Records
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...
penned a deal with pop music label Curb Records
Curb Records
Curb Records is a record label started by Mike Curb originally as Sidewalk Records in 1963...
to form a company that would co-produce rock bands. Alien was the first band to sign with the MCA-Curb label and after a quick name change to Axe
Axe (band)
Axe is a hard rock band from Florida, USA, formed in 1979. Not to be confused with Chicago based band AXE the band, consisting of Ron Sammons, Mike Bayless, Rick Turco, Joey Martinez, Brad Harris, and Matt Ketchum.- Biography:...
, due to the release of the motion picture Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
gave birth to two records, Axe and Living on the Edge. Barth recounts that both records were a poor representation of the band (despite the top hit off Axe, Rock and Roll Party in the Streets), due to their lack of studio experience and "dreadful" choice of producers. After the industry-wide bloodbath of 1980, like so many other bands, Axe found itself without a label. Working with Roger Probert of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, the band set a deal with Atlantic. Details are confusing, but overnight the band managed by Jim Dawson
Jim Dawson
Jim Dawson is a Hollywood, California-based author and self-proclaimed "fartologist" who has written three books about farting, including the best-selling 'Who Cut the Cheese?'-Biography:...
and Arnakata Management and produced by Thom Allom of Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, found itself on Atco Records
Atco Records
ATCO Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, currently operating through WMG's Rhino Entertainment.-Beginnings:Atco Records was founded in 1955 as a division of Atlantic Records. It was devised as an outlet for productions by one of Atlantic's founders, Herb Abramson, who...
instead of Atlantic, with a new manager and producer. Albums produced under that contract included Offering and Nemesis. Offering brought the band to the attention of American radio, with "Rock and Roll Party in the Streets", when the single, without any real support from Atco, made the Billboard Top 100 songs for their year ending charts, and the album making the Billboard top 75 albums of the year charts, both for 1981.
The band continued to tour and record, until in 1984 Osborne and Barth were involved in a fatal car crash. Barth escaped with only spinal injuries, but Osborne was killed in the crash. Barth recorded his solo record, Two Hearts One Beat, as a tribute to Osborne in 1985.
Barth joined Blackfoot
Blackfoot (band)
Blackfoot is a Southern rock musical ensemble from Jacksonville, Florida organized during 1970. Though they are primarily a Southern rock band, they were known also as a hard rock act....
, another Atco/Nalli band, in 1984 after recovering from the crash. He played with Blackfoot until their breakup in 1986. After the breakup of Blackfoot, Bobby continued to tour with Blackfoot's Ricky Medlocke until leaving in late 1986. Barth moved back to Los Angeles and partnered with UFO drummer Andy Parker to open Satellite Sound Recording in Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
. Barth started to engineer and produce projects with the help of the producer of his solo record 2 Hearts, Was Not Was bassist Bruce Nazarian
Bruce Nazarian
Bruce Nazarian is a funk and rock musician, recording artist and music producer from Detroit, currently residing in the Western USA. He is also an Apple Certified Trainer and Certified Pro on various professional application, including DVD Studio Pro and Logic Pro...
. The two became involved with writing and producing for major films until, in 1990, Barth was recruited to play guitar for Angry Anderson
Angry Anderson
Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson AM is an Australian rock singer, television presenter/reporter, actor and conservative political activist. He is best known as the vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976 but he is also recognised for his acting roles and his charity work...
. After recording Angry's record Blood From Stone, Barth moved to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to tour with Anderson. The record garnered 2 top 10 hits and a tour with Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
. Upon Barth's return to the USA, he and his wife left Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and moved to Denver, and started NEH Records. Barth produced several records for MTM, Toshiba-EMI, and Japan's Zero Corporation Label, as well as countless indie projects. In mid-2001, Barth and his business partner Michael McPherson separated the label's retail sales from the studio and Barth moved the studio to New Orleans.
In 2004, the original members of Blackfoot (minus Medlocke) asked Barth to reunite and to tour again. From 2004 till 2010, Barth and Blackfoot were touring.
Other interests
Although a working musician all his life, Barth says his greatest accomplishment was receiving the Colorado Master of the Year Award in 1998 while serving as the Worshipful Master of Denver Lodge #5, Colorado's oldest Masonic LodgeMasonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
. He continues to be active in Freemasonry
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and in the rebuilding of New Orleans
Reconstruction of New Orleans
The Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 caused significant problems due to the breach of the flood protection system designed after 1965 to protect the city. Over 204,000 homes in New Orleans were damaged or destroyed, and more than 800,000 citizens displaced — the greatest displacement in the United...
.