Rob Quist
Encyclopedia
Rob Quist is an American
singer, guitarist
, banjo
player and award-winning songwriter
. His songs have been recorded by artists Michael Martin Murphey
and Loretta Lynn
among others. He is known as a Musical and Cultural Ambassador for the state of Montana
and was appointed to the Montana Arts Council by Governor
Brian Schwietzer. He has toured extensively throughout the United States
, Canada
, and Japan
.
, Rob began playing banjo and singing at a young age. He received a joint football and basketball scholarship to the University of Montana and joined the Jubileers singing group. While in the Jubileers he met Steve Riddle, and the two decided to form a band which eventually evolved into the Mission Mountain Wood Band
.
were primarily responsible for bringing Woodstock-style happenings to Montana
. The group toured nationally and appeared with many notable acts of the era. They were featured in TV spots for Hee Haw
and the ABC
Cheryl Ladd
Special. After the band broke up in 1982, Rob joined with fellow members Terry Robinson and Kurt Bergeron to form the Montana Band, which continued to tour relentlessly and took first prize in the Willie Nelson
country challenge. Rob, however, decided to take some time off the road to pursue a songwriting career.
Rob Quist and Great Northern have performed his original music with the North Dakota
State Symphony
, the Fairbanks
Alaska
Symphony
, the Glacier
Orchestra
as well as the Billings
, Butte
, Helena
and Missoula Symphonies. He has written and recorded national television and radio ads for Levi’s 501
Jeans
, AMTRAK
’s Empire Builder
and Original Coors
. His original song, “Blue Jean Love Affair” was heard in the Top 20 Country Music Markets.
During a stint in Nashville, Rob forged a songwriting partnership and enduring friendship with Michael Martin Murphey
. Their partnership culminated in their song "Close to the Land" which became the theme song for the American Public Television
program "America's Heartland." The song went on to win Song of the Year at the Texas Music Awards. His original song "America...Pass It On" and video featuring Jack Gladstone
won a Finalist Award at the International Wildlife Film Festival for National Geographic, and is receiving airplay on Public Television and is currently featured at many Interpretive Centers throughout the United States. He has released 15 CDs of mostly original music about the lives and history of the people of Montana and the West, placing his songs on Billboard and Independent Charts. Rob is receiving airplay in Great Britain
, Belgium
, Italy
, Japan
and Switzerland
. He has shared the stage with many musical giants such as Tim McGraw
, Martina McBride
, Dolly Parton
, Heart
, The Allman Brothers, and Jay Leno
, to name a few.
Rob has been featured on CBS
National News in a segment called “Country Comes to New York”; he was a guest artist on the Riders in the Sky national radio show “Riders Radio Theater” as well as Montana
Public Television. He composed original music for the Montana Repertory Theatre Production “Voice of The Prairie” and currently writes original songs for a new production about rodeo in present day Montana, tentatively titled “Cowboy Up.”
Rob was one of the first honorees to be inducted into the University of Montana School of Fine Art’s “Hall of Honors”, saluted as “a celebrated Montana musician and composer who has captured the spirit of the West in his music, an evocative and versatile artist whose gift of song has touched the hearts and souls of his countrymen, an eloquent proponent of the history and beauty of the West whose legacy in song will be embraced by generations to follow.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player and award-winning songwriter
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...
. His songs have been recorded by artists Michael Martin 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...
and Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
among others. He is known as a Musical and Cultural Ambassador for the state of Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and was appointed to the Montana Arts Council by Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Brian Schwietzer. He has toured extensively throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Early Life
Born January 5, 1948 in Cut Bank, MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Rob began playing banjo and singing at a young age. He received a joint football and basketball scholarship to the University of Montana and joined the Jubileers singing group. While in the Jubileers he met Steve Riddle, and the two decided to form a band which eventually evolved into the Mission Mountain Wood Band
Mission Mountain Wood Band
Mission Mountain Wood Band , abbreviated M2WB, is an American bluegrass and country rock band formed in Missoula, Montana in 1971. They were noted for headlining Woodstock style concerts in Montana,notably the University of Montana's Aber Day kegger. They also toured nationally, mostly playing...
.
Early Career
The Mission Mountain Wood BandMission Mountain Wood Band
Mission Mountain Wood Band , abbreviated M2WB, is an American bluegrass and country rock band formed in Missoula, Montana in 1971. They were noted for headlining Woodstock style concerts in Montana,notably the University of Montana's Aber Day kegger. They also toured nationally, mostly playing...
were primarily responsible for bringing Woodstock-style happenings to Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. The group toured nationally and appeared with many notable acts of the era. They were featured in TV spots for Hee Haw
Hee Haw
Hee Haw is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with fictional rural Kornfield Kounty as a backdrop. It aired on CBS-TV from 1969–1971 before a 20-year run in local syndication. The show was inspired by Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the major difference being...
and the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd is an American actress, singer and author. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the television series Charlie's Angels, hired amid a swirl of publicity prior to its second season in 1977 to replace the departing Farrah Fawcett-Majors...
Special. After the band broke up in 1982, Rob joined with fellow members Terry Robinson and Kurt Bergeron to form the Montana Band, which continued to tour relentlessly and took first prize in the 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...
country challenge. Rob, however, decided to take some time off the road to pursue a songwriting career.
Solo Career
Rob formed a backup band called Great Northern and now tours and performs as "Rob Quist and Great Northern." He periodically reunites with the surviving members of the Mission Mountain Wood Band for a small number of concerts.Rob Quist and Great Northern have performed his original music with the North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
State Symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, the Fairbanks
Fairbanks
Fairbanks may refer to:Places in the United States*Fairbanks, Alaska, city*Fairbanks, California, unincorporated community in El Dorado County*Fairbanks, Mendocino County, California, former settlement*Fairbanks, Indiana, unincorporated community...
Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
Symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, the Glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
Orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
as well as the Billings
Billings, Montana
Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, Butte
Butte
A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landform tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill...
, Helena
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
and Missoula Symphonies. He has written and recorded national television and radio ads for Levi’s 501
501
Year 501 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Pompeius...
Jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
, AMTRAK
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
’s Empire Builder
Empire Builder
The Empire Builder is a passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Midwestern and Northwestern United States. It is Amtrak's busiest long-distance route and busiest daily train, carrying more than 500,000 travelers annually since 2007. Overall, it is the railroad's 10th-busiest line. Before...
and Original Coors
Coors Brewing Company
The Coors Brewing Company is a regional division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Canadian Molson Coors Brewing Company and is the third-largest brewer in the United States...
. His original song, “Blue Jean Love Affair” was heard in the Top 20 Country Music Markets.
During a stint in Nashville, Rob forged a songwriting partnership and enduring friendship with Michael Martin 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...
. Their partnership culminated in their song "Close to the Land" which became the theme song for the American Public Television
American Public Television
American Public Television is the largest syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States.-History:...
program "America's Heartland." The song went on to win Song of the Year at the Texas Music Awards. His original song "America...Pass It On" and video featuring Jack Gladstone
Jack Gladstone
Jack Gladstone was a Guyanese slave who led the Demerara Slave rebellion of 1823, one of the biggest slave revolts in the British Colonies.He was tried after the rebellion, and was deported.- Biography :...
won a Finalist Award at the International Wildlife Film Festival for National Geographic, and is receiving airplay on Public Television and is currently featured at many Interpretive Centers throughout the United States. He has released 15 CDs of mostly original music about the lives and history of the people of Montana and the West, placing his songs on Billboard and Independent Charts. Rob is receiving airplay in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and 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....
. He has shared the stage with many musical giants such as Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
, Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
, Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
, The Allman Brothers, and Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, to name a few.
Rob has been featured on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
National News in a segment called “Country Comes to New York”; he was a guest artist on the Riders in the Sky national radio show “Riders Radio Theater” as well as Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
Public Television. He composed original music for the Montana Repertory Theatre Production “Voice of The Prairie” and currently writes original songs for a new production about rodeo in present day Montana, tentatively titled “Cowboy Up.”
Rob was one of the first honorees to be inducted into the University of Montana School of Fine Art’s “Hall of Honors”, saluted as “a celebrated Montana musician and composer who has captured the spirit of the West in his music, an evocative and versatile artist whose gift of song has touched the hearts and souls of his countrymen, an eloquent proponent of the history and beauty of the West whose legacy in song will be embraced by generations to follow.