Bob Thomas Bio
Singer/songwriter Bob Thomas was born and raised in Los Angeles. First and foremost Bob is a story teller and is renowned for his music about cowboys and the old west. His songs are colorful stories of a simpler time when cowboys roamed the plains, friendships came and went, and bringing in the herd was what they lived for. Bob’s songs provide beautiful melodies that take us back to those good old days.
When Bob was seven, his dad bought him a guitar. He taught himself to play alongside recordings of John Denver, Gordon Lightfoot, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan to name just a few. In 2009 he decided to put words to melody and create his own songs. He has been writing them ever since. He plays guitar in a traditional fingerpicking style and is a performing member of the Western Music Association.
• His song “America” was selected a finalist in the 19th annual International Acoustic Music Awards.
• His song “Cowboy Blues” was a finalist in the World Songwriting Award contest in 2021.
His song “Shadows” was a finalist in the World Songwriting Award contest in 2018.
• His song “The Cowboy” was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Western Writers of America Spur Award for the 2012 best western song.
Bob’s tenth CD is a collection of eight original new songs as well as two cover songs. Featured is the CD title song, “The Moon”, a lovely description of a rising full moon. Favorites for air play are “Pay It Forward”, a song that could make a better, more kind world; “TIME”, the importance of every minute. Bob’s daughter sings duets on both “Time” and “The Moon”. Back in the western genre are: “Alburquerque”, “Can’t Take It Anymore” and “The Girl”, all catchy tunes.
Bob’s Ninth CD, “My Tree” introduces ten original new songs. “Heroes” which dispels the myth that Gene Autry, Roy Rodgers, Hop-a-long Cassidy and Red Ryder were in the true sense of the word cowboys. “The Drift” is the true depiction of the Green River Drift. In “The End” a cowboy laments the departure of characters from previously released songs and the end of the cowboy way. “America” Bob longs for more peace and compromise in America. His favorite “Why” an eerie song questioning why General Custer chose to attack. Erinn Rachelle, Bob’s daughter, is proud to join him in duets on the tracks “Heroes”, “The Tales Of Red”, and “The End”.
Bob’s eight CD is a collection of ten new songs as well as one as must hear poem, “The Ute”. Songs include “IRONY”, the ironic death of a cowboy; “GONE” the end of the cowboy experience; “MOM”, a cowboy laments the death of his mom and “THE COWBOY BLUES”, a cowboy sings his version of the traditional eight bar blues (arranged by Ry Cooder). Erinn Rachelle, Bob’s daughter, is proud to join him in duets on the tracks “Reality” and “Cowboying”.
Bob’s seventh CD, “Shadows”, is a collection of twelve new songs. Starting with the title song, “Shadows”, Bob writes of his songwriting process; “The Meaning”, is a young cowboys search for meaning in his life; “End Of A Long Hard Day”, a tired cowboy laments the end of his day; “Lefty”, a cowboy sings of the loss of his mentor; and “Oregon”, tells of the demise of the cowboy life and of a new way of life for that cowboy.
Through the sixties and seventies, Bob was a great fan of Hoyt Axton. His sixth CD, “The Love Songs Of Hoyt Axton”, is a collection of some of Hoyt’s lesser known songs, but some of Bob’s favorites.
His fifth CD is titled “A Cowboy’s Revel”. Revel is defined as enjoying oneself in a lively and noisy manner. The context I wanted to convey is that a cowboy loves his job. The CD features eleven new original songs. It is difficult to single out favorites as each of the song has its own energy. The cover song, “A Cowboy’s Revel”, starts thing off with the joy of just being a cowboy, followed by the feeling of freedom as “I Let My Pony Run” continues. “Maria Theresa” recounts some of the true story of the San Fernando Valley, Bob’s current home. “Night’s On The Prairie” is a beautiful ode to the symphonies on hears at night on the prairie. And so it goes....
Bobs fourth CD, “A Cowboys Story”, released in September 2014 tells the story of a young man of 18 whom, tired of the civil war, heads west to Texas. It goes on to tells how he grows to be a man and his life as a cowboy. The CD ends as he gets old and can no longer cowboy. Featured are “Leaving Texas”, “The Tall Thin Cowboy”, “Abilene”, “The Hawk” and “Wyoming Blizz”.
His third CD, “The Cowboy Way”, released in December 2012, features four songs about the west. “The Cowboy Way” describes his wish for a simpler way as he recalls the attributes of a cowboy. “Night Watch” depicts the loneliness of night as a cowboy guard’s herd. “Doc Holliday” tells the story of Doc Holliday from his birth to his death. “Montana Storm” tells of his experience as he stood on a hill in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana, watching a storm develop. “Leaving Iraq” is the second of an Iraq war trilogy, continues the story of a young man and his experience of the Iraq war.
His second CD, “Late at Night”, released in November 2011 features the award winning song “The Cowboy” which describes the double tough life that cowboys endured while riding on the Chisholm Trail. The song makes the point that getting to the top of the mountain is not always the prize, it’s the climb. “Charley” recounts a conversation he had with a friend who was a Zuni Indian. The third song in his Iraq trilogy “My War” ends the story of a soldier just returned from the Iraq war and the problems of retuning.
Al Krtil of Sudzin Country / Early Morning Trails WRSU-FM New Brunswick, New Jersey said “Bob Thomas’ album “Late At Night” is a welcome addition to “Early Morning Trails”…favorites include “The Cowboy Palace”, “Charley” and “The Cowboy”.
His first CD, entitled “New Mexico”, was release in February 2010. This CD contains the very popular “I Should Have Been a Cowboy” which portrays a day in the life of a cowboy. “New Mexico” documents his move from Los Angeles to Albuquerque and his eventual departure is depicted in “El Paso”. The first of his Iraq trilogy “Brown Eyed Girl” appears on this CD.
Bob now resides in Tarzana, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. He has appeared often at the Gene Autry Museum, The Coffee Gallery Backstage, El Trocadero Steak House, The Cowboy Palace, The Talking Stick and at other venues in the greater Los Angeles area.
Bob Thomas