The Bobs

by Leon JacksonThe concept is bizarre -- four a cappella vocalists who call themselves "bob" and cover rock & roll numbers -- yet it somehow works for people, even people in high places; in addition to developing a loyal following, the Bobs received a Grammy nomination for their arrangement of the Beatles' "Helter Skelter." The band was founded in 1981, when Gunner Bob Madsen and Matthew Bob Stull lost their jobs with a singing telegram company (one can only wonder why). Together with Richard Bob, they began to perform a cappela in the San Francisco Bay Area, adding Janie Bob Scott to their lineup in 1982. The following year saw the release of their eponymous debut album with the liner notes containing the classic "Warning: All the sounds on this recording were produced by the mouth or other parts of the body." Covers include the abovementioned Beatles' cut as well as the Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" and a number of probingly intelligent and blissfully witty original numbers. 1987's My, I'm Large continued in the same vein, mixing covers and madcap origninals, while Songs for Tomorrow Morning, released the following year, featured a five-song sequence about laundry written for their artistic partners, the dance troupe ISO. 1989 saw Joe Bob Finetti replacing founder Gunnar Bob Madsen for the recording of Sing the Songs of.... This line up remained intact for several more years, when, in 1997, Janie Bob Scott was replaced by Lori Bob Rivera, who was then replaced by Amy Bob Engelhardt in 1998 leading to the release of Coaster.