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He was born Robert Joseph
Bare, April 7, 1935 in Ironton, Ohio and raised on a farm. His
mother died when he was five, and his sister was adopted.
As an
adolescent, he dreamed of being Hank Williams: “then Hank died
and I didn’t want to be like him no more.” Nevertheless, he
started songwriting and secured an early morning radio spot,
and later worked on television in Charleston, West Virginia.
He
moved to California and impressed Capitol Records, recording
for them in 1955. After receiving his draft notice in 1958, he
wrote a parody of Elvis
Presley going
into the army, “All American Boy.” Returning to Ohio to join
the army, he met his friend Bill Parsons and joined his
recording session. He contributed “All American Boy” with the
intention that Parsons would learn it later. Parsons’ name was
put on the tape-box because Bare was still under contract to
Capitol. The label’s owner liked “All American Boy” and
released it under Parsons’ name. The single climbed to number
2 on the US charts and made number 22 in the UK.
Bobby wrote twist songs for Chubby Checker’s
movie Teenage Millionaire, but Nashville songwriter Harland
Howard persuaded Chet Atkins to record him for RCA-Victor
Records. A ballad, “Shame On Me,” made number 23 on the US pop
charts and crossed over to the country market. Bare was
traveling to Nashville to record the follow-up when he heard
Billy Grammar’s “I Wanna Go Home” on the radio. He admired the
story of the country boy going to the city (“By day I make the
cars/By night I make the bars”) so much that he recorded the
song as “Detroit City.” Bare’s record made number 16 on the US
charts and won a Grammy. He had his biggest US hit (number 10)
with “500 Miles Away From Home.” His fourth pop hit (number
33) came with “Miller's Cave.”
Bare
appeared in the 1964 movie A Distant Trumpet, but he disliked
being stuck in the Arizona desert and was determined to move
to Nashville, join the Grand Ole Opry and become a full-time
country singer.
He
recorded prolifically, including an album of standards with
Skeeter Davis that featured a successful single, “A Dear John
Letter.” In 1966, Bare returned to his favorite theme (a
country boy uneasy in the city) with the Tompall Glaser and
Harlan Howard song “Streets Of Baltimore,” which was arranged
by Ray Stevens. It was followed by Tom T. Halls’ “Margie's At
The Lincoln Park Inn.” “It's a great cheating song,” says
Bare, “because you don't know if the guy is going to go back
or not.” By this time, Bare was recording consistently strong
material, including an album about nostalgia, A Bird Named
Yesterday, mostly written by Jack Clement.
“I
like everything I record. I’m afraid that if I recorded
something that I didn’t like, it might be a big hit and I’d be
stuck with it every night for the rest of my life. That’s a
real nightmare.”
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