The Bob Bain Archives

January 26, 2024 is the centenary of Bob’s birth, and for our final podcast we’ll take one last walk with him. No playlist could possibly capture the fullness of his career or his life and character, but here in less than an hour we’ll hear both familiar and little-known highlights of his life in music and be reminded once again of his artistry, sophistication, taste, and humor. Listen not as back...

Here from 1962 is an early instance of the wonderful Clark Family Christmas Eve parties. Bob and Judi were in attendance and may or may not be audible, but what is audible is the youthful exuberance of the cousins and good cheer of all. Our emcee, Uncle Derf, is by turns funny, kind, and long-suffering. Christmas is for children, and surely every cousin had a happy Christmas...

Let's celebrate Bob's birthday this year by listening to some beautiful music he made with his dear friend Nelson Riddle. The pair met as young bucks on the stand with Tommy Dorsey, and were lifelong friends through the many ups and downs of their personal and professional lives. 

In a box marked "Ann Terry's Xmas Taping" without date, titles or any other identification, we find this holiday greeting for us in 2022: four tunes sung by pros that Bob undoubtedly knew and worked with at very least. Though we may not know all of their names (or who wrote the charts), their cheer and conviviality is as apparent as their skills. A very merry Christmas to you wherever you may be t...

Today, April 28, is Ann Clark Terry's birthday! We celebrate our favorite lead singer with just a few examples of how she and Bob combined talents to create exceptional music. 

Tommy Todd was a brilliant musician who loomed large in Bob's early career, but sadly little record remains of his inventive and unconventional approach to music. Here are some very rare recordings Bob made with him back in the day.

January 26 is Bob's birthday--and he shares it with legendary trombonist Dick Nash. Here's a toast to them both, with music that featured them both by Henry Mancini.

Wally Brady, ersatz music executive and perennial publishing also-ran, was active in the 1950's and 1960's in a series of joint ventures and acquisitions. Pooling dollars and pounds from backers, he sponsored a series of singles and LPs, forever in search of that one big hit. Utilizing the time honored trick of claiming 50% of the composing and running all the music publishing through his own comp...

Submitted without voiceover, here is yet another insight into Bob Bain’s life. Today’s podcast is a recording made by Bob at his home in 1965 for one of the epic Clark Family Christmas Eve parties. This cherished memory starts with Bob accompanying the Bain and Henderson kids on his composition “Relatives”, then Aunt Jean leads the Friley, Terry,  Branson and Schwartz kids through “Frosted Windowp...

Found in Bob's personal LP collection, this singular recording reprises the style of the radio show: girl singer with Bob, Jud De Naut on bass, and (in this case) Don Beamsley on piano and tack piano.  Though an accomplished and busy club singer, our research found this recording and no others available, making this a rare touchstone to an era of torchy chanteuses. The liner notes mention "clever...

Cy Coleman wrote a great score for this big studio picture, and for the album soundtrack, Bob plays and orchestrates.

In 2020, these are troubled times. It has not been a good year (yet). Offered here as a ray of light are some of Bob's recordings with his friends Eddie Carver and Frank Flynn. They're a postcard from a different time, an era when optimism was not foolhardy. These musicians were not naive by any means, but with their skills they were able to craft recordings that called upon the better angels of o...

Here we go with Season Three, our chance to hear a whole variety of recordings that Bob was involved in. Here he is as jazz sideman for three tracks recorded in 1978. A whole lotta fun with some old friends...

Presented here as another bonus episode is one of the very earliest of the transcriptions. Time was not kind to the disk, and indeed it is a scratchy, tough listen (almost so tough we didn't release it). Brace yourself though, and listen past the poor quality to hear "The Bob Bain Trio" (!). It's Bob on guitar and vocals, with Sheldon Smith on piano and Jimmie Stutz on bass. We get to hear Bob's i...

Here's a radio transcription for which we know nothing at all, save what we hear. The disk had lost its label, and with it went the hope of knowing where it fell in the chronology of the show. It's the longer nearly fifteen minute format, and Bob used "Lady Be Good" as both the intro and outro (not very long into the series, he went with "Sweet Georgia Brown" for the intro), so potentially it's ea...

This is the last of our regular dated air checks, but we are going out with a bang. Not only did this transcription disk yield the show, but on the other side of the disk was a great surprise! Side One presents our broadcast, starting off with the "Sweet Georgia Brown" intro. Bob, Ray Sherman on piano, Jud De Naut on bass, and Frank Flynn on drums and percussion make up our quartet, who give us an...

Season Two is winding down for us, but Bob and the band just keep getting better. Ray Sherman really anchors things melodically on piano, Jud De Naut provides the steady bass, and Frank Flynn shows just how many percussive sounds one man can make. Our "Sweet Georgia Brown" theme is followed by a tune we've heard many times before, but "Brazil" here sounds as fresh and lively as ever. Ruth Martin,...

It's lost to time what transpired between May and September of 1949 for Bob-but we can surmise he wasn't just camped out in the NBC parking lot. Record and movie dates were coming with greater frequency, and Bob's keen ears and deft touch made him very much in demand in Hollywood. When the third Monday in September finally allowed him time for another ten-minute broadcast, his ease and facility we...

The last of the existent consecutive radio shows for our perusal brings our familiar quartet (albeit in an also familiar truncated ten minute version): Bob, Jud De Naut on bass, Ray Sherman on piano and organ, and Ralph Collier on drums and percussion. Our "Sweet Georgia Brown" theme is followed the guys romping through "Hot Canary", with Jud playing arco bass for extra tone. John Storm introduces...

"We're on the air!" says an anonymous voice right at the top, and so we are, once again. Bob took a couple of weeks off-recording in Les Paul's living room for one thing (more on that later!)-but he's back on his regular broadcast for at least a couple of weeks. We get a new announcer (John Storm?) but Bob, Ray Sherman, Ralph Collier, and Jud De Naut return once again, starting off with "Sweet Geo...

Well, Bob had a busy weekend (see the previous two episodes), but now, Monday night is here again and we're back to the shorter, ten minute segment on air. The guys from Saturday's gig are back (Ray Sherman on piano, Ralph Collier on drums, and Judy De Naut on bass), but tonight we get yet another staff announcer to make like funny with the gags and sidling up to Margo (this time it's Hal Gibney)....

The second of our two back-to-back expanded nights brings a new announcer, and our regular bass player: the voice introduces himself as “Archibald Cresby”. This may or may not be for real, but Bob Bain on guitar, Ray Sherman on piano, Ralph Collier playing drums, and Jud De Naut (once again getting his name mangled!) on bass are all very much the real deal. After the “Sweet Georgia Brown” intro, t...

Imagine the call from the brass at NBC: “Bobby, you’ve been bouncing around on Monday and Tuesday Night, but we need you for next Friday and Saturday night-and we’ll give you a half hour”. Well, that may not have been the way it went down, but indeed for reasons unknown, Bob’s show did indeed get those coveted April nights, and was in fact bulked out to almost 25 minutes. Here’s the Friday night s...