Bob Cheevers

 

Accolades

“Bob Cheevers is one cool scarecrow gypsy poet who writes and sings the romantic, beautiful truth. When he releases a record, I listen.”

Ray Wylie Hubbard
Artist, producer, iconic entrepreneur
Wimberley, Texas

“Bob Cheevers’ project ‘Fifty Years’ epitomizes the legacy of great songwriters that have been and continue to be the Kerrville FolkFestival.”  

Dalis Allen
Kerrville Folk Festival Producer

“When Bob Cheevers and I entered the studio to record Tall Texas Tales as artist and producer respectively, I was very aware I was working with someone who had ‘lived the life.’ Someone who had gone barreling through this world with his guitar and notebook and hand carving out his life’s work. Since those days I’ve been on stage with him performing in 18th century pubs in Southampton, England to the hallowed walls of The Bluebird in Nashville, Tennessee, and that dogged determination to celebrate his life though music hasn’t missed a beat. 

We will all leave this world eventually, and I expect when Bob Cheevers’ time comes it will be with his guitar in hand and a song running through his mind…..as a man who ‘lived the life’.”

Stephen Doster- Austin Texas producer, songwriter, musician
2015 Texas Music Legends Hall Of Fame Award Inductee
Frequent worldwide touring mate of Bob Cheevers.
Blanco, Texas

“In a songwriters’ town, Bob Cheevers’ body of work and long performance career speaks for itself. We await his latest creations with anxious ears. Congrats Bob on a momentous career.”

Pamela Lewis
President/CEO
PLA Media

“Bob Cheevers has been in an on-going courtship with the Muse for more than 50 years, following her down innumerable roads all around this world. His reward has been writing thousands of songs, reporting back to us all of the beauty, glory, and pain, the good, bad and the otherwise he’s found along the way. “Fifty Years” is 5 discs celebrating the hand-picked highlights of this amazing journey, delivered with love and great care.”

Don Richmond
CEO of Howlin’ Dog Records Records (Bob’ current record label)
Member of the Rifters Band out of Alamosa, CO

“Bob Cheevers is treasured colleague, and I have enjoyed his craftsmanship, his humor, and playing gigs with & near him for 20 years.

He is a troubadour of the 1st order, and he has trunks of great songs.  A collection like this will offer up a lot of aural pleasure, and lots of very cool poetry.”

Walt Wilkins
Texas singer and hit songwriter Extraordinaire
Leader of The Mysterqueros
Great family man and dear friend

“I have often told my friend Bob Cheevers that I want to be like him when I grow up…a master artist in the true Southern tradition of Twain and Faulkner still active in the art of creating, breathing vivid life into the imagined lives of the characters populating his musical cosmos. He is a genuine American troubadour with a guitar in hand and a voice as gritty and real as the characters that populate his songwriting universe. Bob Cheevers is a poet of keen insight into the human condition with the instincts of a mystic who has lived close to the flame and survived to write the song.”

Rick Busby
Songwriter, Recording Artist
President, Atticus Records

“Bob Cheevers is an American Treasure. In the suburbanization and franchising of our country, Bob stands out as one of the last truly American artists we have. One of the reasons he has been able to make his career last so long is that he tells the honest-to-God truth in every song. Even in the stories he makes up out of whole cloth, there is an American truth waiting to be found. I have a gut feeling that Bob Cheevers’ music will only grow in legend and fame in the coming decades, although I’m counting on Bob to give us fifty more years of wonderful storytelling.”   

Brent Bourgeois
Record producer
Member of Pop group Bourgeois Tagg
Award winning songwriter
Head of A&R at Word Records

“I’ve met many a singer/songwriter in my days at EMI Sweden, Entertainment Network Scandinavia, and now at my own company Hemifrån, but I’ve never met anyone as dedicated and prolific as Bob Cheevers. He’s up there with the very best, the creme of the crop you might say. And its the plain and simple truth!”

Peter Holmstedt
Hemifrån
Sweden

“I love supporting songwriters like Bob Cheevers. Bob’s music speaks for itself, but he makes himself conscientiously aware of other artist and songwriters and consistently contributes to our community. That’s why Bob is a favorite local artist and continues to enjoy success as a journeyman songwriter who never slows down. His work ethic and output are unmatched by any artist I’ve known.”

Bill Welker
South Austin Music, Owner

“I’ve only known Bob Cheevers and his music the past several years. I truly do admire and love his songs and writing style, the subject he write about, his inventive word play, melodies and the way he plays and delivers the songs. He is the definition of a true songsmith: always working at his craft, unaware of the clock and sometimes even what day it is, just trying to solved the puzzle locked in the song. And to boot, he’s a minstrel of the highway of the first degree. Bob, Michael Hearne and I have had some great times sharing the stage and looking forward to more up the road.” 

Shake Russell
Austin Texas
Texas Music Legend’s Hall Of Fame Inductee
Hit song writer

“Bob Cheever’s is one of the most determined artists I know. He has taken his music around the world and has 50 years worth of stories he can tell through his music.” 

Roger Allen Polson
Former DJ at KGSR and KDRP SUN Radio in Austin.

“There are only a handful of Artists that truly transcend the vagaries of the Music industry. I’m sure that you may be able to think of one or two but I’d wager that Bob Cheevers is not on your list at all. He should be and his latest offering of ‘Fifty Years’ proves my point. He’s a national treasure and his ‘stories’ always take you back to a different time or place. He is a remarkable raconteur and you should catch him live in concert somewhere out on the road. Why haven’t you heard of this guy? Thats not for me to say, but you have now! Do yourself a favour a secure a copy of his ‘Fifty Years’ and you will find it will be constantly on your CD player over the next few months. “

David Mundell
Premier Music Promoter and venue czar in the northeast of Scotland

“Around 1983, I was a news photog/editor in Sacramento hoping to become a music video editor. I met bob when he showed me his rough cut of a music video he’d done. It looked promising and besides, the song was really good. I took over the editing of that video which won two Emmys. We’ve been friends for over 30 years. 

Several years later, Bob called and said “We’re going to do a bigger video for my song ‘Big City Gambler’.” He came to L.A. to edit the video with me and lived on my couch for a couple of months. When we were done it was indeed a much bigger video, incredibly well shot and put together. That video won 6 Emmys including “Best Musical Composition In The Historical Category”.

Since meeting Bob, I’ve had the good luck to work with George Burns, Jerry Lewis, Billy Crystal, Sarah Silverman, Joe Walsh, Willie Nelson, Katy Perry, Green Day and others. I sat with Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney as they rehearsed together for the first time in almost 50 years. I’ve been nominated for a Grammy for a film I made with Robert Altman and am currently Ringo’s person videographer. I’d like to thank Bob for making that all possible but since he didn’t, I’d just like to say I love him like a (much) older brother.”

Freelance Pre/Post Film/Video Editor
Personal Videographer for Ringo Star
Los Angeles, CA

“I’ve know and worked Bob since his band “Cold Hands Hot Music” climbed to the top of the Sacramento music food chain in the mid-‘70s. For this blurb, he has asked me to speak of his dedication and productivity. He didn’t ask me to say what a wonderful song writer he is or what a great singer and guitar player he is or what a good friend he is. He just asked for dedication and productivity

But I think this “Fifty Years” body of work speaks for him better than I can. And in case you didn’t know, the 83 songs on the boxed-set barely scratch the surface of his catalog.

That’s productivity!

And he is still writing superlatively crafted songs and performing them.

That’s dedication! 

That is my friend Bob Cheevers.”

David Houston
Owner/producer/musician at Moon Studio
in Sacramento, CA where Bob recoded for 15 years

“Lots of people write songs. Bob Cheevers lives them. He’s the real deal in a world of flashy pretenders. Not all the great ones are rich and famous. Many employ their superpowers in relative obscurity never giving up, always working on the next song, the next record…cause thats what they do. Bob was born a troubadour and never considered another path. He remains a mentor to me in my songwriting efforts. He just gets better with every release. How anyone can fly so dangerously close to the fiery truth and not get his wings burned for fifty years running is beyond my understanding. Listen and learn my friends.” 

David MacNeill
Songwriter and co-writer with Bob Cheevers
Record producer having co-produced Bob’s “Fiona’s World”
Musician for life

“I had been aware of Bob’s music for some time before we actually first booked him for a live show. He stood out for me as a storyteller. There are not many artists with his ability to use words to paint pictures in your mind so vividly that they touch you emotionally, but Bob is a one off. Watching him perform, you can see he is living every word and every note, and it’s hard not to find yourself drawn in by his passion and commitment to his craft.

His ever expanding back catalogue of songs is a testament to his abilities and his passion for what he does. To have such an outstanding body of work to his name is remarkable. Bob is simply one of the finest songwriter and storyteller of this or any other generation.”

Iain Streford
Music Promoter
Glasgow, Scotland

“Bob Cheevers has been performing and writing songs for over 50 years and is truly a superb song writer and live performer. His delivery when playing live entices the audience in the same way his heart felt songs do when listening to his recorded work.

I’ve been his record and tour promoter in the UK for the last 6-8 years. In addition to his musical talents, he is a great administrator of his career having booked his own Europe tours for the last dozen years and all of his U.S. tours for the last half century. And he’s not done yet!”

James H Soars
Media Services

“I’ve been a fan of Bob Cheevers for at least 20 years- from the first time I heard Large Marge I realized he had me hooked. Through the years as his music became a regular part of my radio show, particularly his novelty song called “Underpants”, we became friends. We call each other up and have long conversations about our daily struggles with love, the music industry and health. So many of his songs are the standards I reach for during my show. Thank you Bob You’ve always been a good friend to me and my listeners.”

Fred Boenig
Americana Media Productions
American Roots Music Radio Promotion & The Daily Ripple

“I’ve been in bands since 1964 and still perform on a regular basis in the greater Los Angeles area where I live now. I’ve had songs covered by major artists, have played on hundreds of recordings and on stage with a ‘who’s who’ of industry greats. Recently Bob recorded a new song called “One more Nail’ at my studio. Jorgen Carllson (bass with Govt.Mule) and Davis Sainas (drums with everyone) were the rhythm section, and I played slide to Bob’s rhythm guitar. That version is on his “Fifty Years” masterpiece. 

I’ve known Bob since he sat in regularly during the early ‘70s with my band Barrelhouse. He has always been a writing fool, and his prodigious output was spell binding and an inspiration to me and all in our circle of musicians. I record with him every chance I can.

Bob is like a mineral that is mined and mined…but as a resource, it never runs out of himself. His stories are poetry of life in song. Its been said of Bob that he is a visionary on many levels. A further description would only put him in a box and with Bob, there is no containing his boundless creativity and tenacity for his craft, his life…and his force. 

My name is Chuck Kavooras, owner and operator and guitarist at SlideAway Music Studio, and I say ‘Long Live Bob Cheevers’.”

Additional quote: “His practice of having his way with chickens and turkeys and his obsession with baby pigs in the middle of the night is disturbing, but not on a redneck level if you’re from ARKANSAS.”

Chuck Kavooras
Owner SlideAway Studio
Producer/Musician
Los Angeles, CA

“I’ve known Bob Cheevers for over ten years and he was a veteran singer, songwriter, performer who was touring throughout the US and Europe when I met him. His resume at that point was extensive to say the least. At a time in his life when others would have been satisfied to sit back and rest on an already established career, he simply continued to create new music adding to his voluminous collection of work all the while maintaining his touring schedule performing his songs and gathering new fans around the world. This “Fifty Years” boxed-set is a testament to the heart and soul of the artist he is. Many congratulations to Bob for following his dream and sharing it with us.”

Lee Duffy
Executive Director
Austin Songwriters Group
Texas Songwriters Association

“Growing up in Memphis in the 50s and seeing Elvis drive down the street subconsciously kicked Bob in the musical butt enough to send him to Hollywood where he joined a pop band called The Peppermint Trolly Company, did some TV theme songs (Love American Style among them), also recording as Bob and Bobby Cheevers and starting a journey that took him to Sacramento, Nashville, Austin, Europe and a whole lot of in betweens. And every step along the way he kicked up a dust mote of something or other that lodged in his brain and then drifted out of his pen onto paper some 3000 plus times becoming songs. And a whole lot of them are real good! The man writes good songs; the man makes good records; and “Fifty Years” does a heckuva grand job wrapping up the first half-century (and we know it ain’t over by a long shot) of his career. His Ups and Downs have helped shape him into an all-around-teller-of-tales. Bob is a man of truth who knows the consequences and has maintained that style style of living throughout (check those red shoes!!).”

Frank Brandon
Senior Fellow at Burnside Distribution
Portland, OR

“I have been booking Bob Cheevers for The Queen’s Head in Belper, UK annually, for the past ten years. This is a premier listening room. I do this as a fan. I have loved Bob’s music since I first heard him in the 1990s. He is always able to fill our venue and regulars are always asking me when he will be back. Bob’s music crosses borders – both musical and national – because it is honest and heartfelt. His performances reflect this each and every time he sings his songs. I count myself to be blessed in knowing Bob and his music. He is absolutely an ‘old soul’. All three of my children (now grown) are musicians – all of them count Bob as an inspiration.”

Martin Illingworth
Books The Queen’s Head
Belper, UK

“The pleasure of working with Bob Cheevers, for me, began a few years ago when he and our mutual guitarist extraordinaire friend Charlie White brought me an album of Bob’s that Charlie was adding guitar to. I really loved Bob’s writing style and musical direction. It was a breath of fresh air. We worked on several other projects together and then…Bob sent me the songs from “Fifty Years” to master. It was a very challenging project to say the least…songs recorded over 5 decades in multiple studios with different musicians and genres. It was truly a musical journey. 

With each project I work on with Bob, I become a bigger fan. And through his writing, I feel like I gotten to know him well. His work ethic is amazing, and his output is more prolific than anyone I’ve known. Thank you Bob for the musical journey and the depth of our friendship. 

You’re the best my brother.”

Jon Raney
Recordist and chief engineer
Raney Recording Studio
Drasco, Arkansas

“Bob’s Southern songs show an understanding of war as a thing of shame as well as glory”. 

Shelby Foote: famous Civil War historian

“Bob Cheevers has a Delta heart and an acerbic tongue giving his music an honesty about the South rarely touched on by any other artist in the contemporary music scene”. 

Bill Ellis of The Memphis Commercial Appeal

“Cheevers speaks from the heart as he explores the contradictions of being a white Southerner…of the ways pride and tradition and love of the land butt heads with sin and guilt”. 

Rick de Yampert of The Nashville Tennessean

“Cheevers’ songs take unflinching looks at the psychic demons that still haunt the South”. 

Acoustic Musician Magazine

“Borrowing from some, but stealing from none, you can dub him one of those forgotten or unknown American originals like, say, a James Talley”. 

Acoustic Musician Magazine

“Think of Bob Cheevers’ performances and music as a book of short stories, bound together flawlessly by a natural born story teller”. 

Neil Fagan of Performing Songwriter Magazine

“Bob is the new Mark Twain and The Great American Writer”. 

John Titta…formerly head of music publishing at Polygram Music New York

“Bob Cheevers is one of the best songwriters I’ve ever heard. The heart of America is imprinted on every song he writes. When I first interviewed him on the radio, within 5 minutes I felt like I was interviewing an icon of music. I felt like I was in the presence of someone like an Elvis or a Roy Orbison. I started the interview not knowing a thing about Bob or his music, and finished it with so much respect that words don’t do justice. Of the hundreds and hundreds of live radio interviews that I’ve done, I think Bob’s is my favorite. Give yourself a little time to get to know the music of Bob Cheevers”.

Simon Beards
Maverick Magazine
London, England