Bob Boykin (September 24, 1942 – February 22, 2020) was an American musician,

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

, composer, and producer, best known as a guitarist.

Career

Bob grew up on a farm outside of Savannah, on a dirt road in south Georgia. He began playing music professionally by age 16 in the local clubs in Savannah. Soon after high school he moved to Nashville, where he started working as a studio guitarist and songwriter, working with many of Nashville's top stars in the studio and on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

. He first came to Los Angeles in the mid 80s for a recording session for his first solo CD with many of LA's top studio musicians. A few years later, he returned to LA. It wasn't long before he played on his first television show as a side man, for Marvel Comics Saturday morning cartoon shows and the hit TV series MacGyver. It was during that time he teamed up with Grammy winning Saxophonist

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's ...

, and produced many collaborative original works, including the Billboard Top Ten song "Language of the Heart" which appears on the Ernie Watts Quartet album. Soon after that he began composing songs and main titles for Columbia Pictures, Sony, Glen Larson at 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers and MGM. His original songs and scores have been heard on hit shows such as Sex and the City, West Wing, The X-Files, Chris Isaak Show, Married People, Fame,

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, Married... with Children, Sea Hunt,

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and Moon Over Miami (with members of the "Tonight Show Band") and feature films like Toy Story, Chicken Run,

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, Sister Sister,

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, AFI, Women in Film-

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, Down the Barrel, and

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(starring Antonio Banderas) to name a few. Bob was later hired as the weekly composer and music producer of the #1 ABC Weekly prime-time series Married People including composing the main & end titles, produced by Columbia Pictures/Sony. He has composed for dozens of film and television shows including themes and soundtracks to his recording credit. His solo CD, ''Hazardous Material'' was released in 1997 and featured players from across the music spectrum including

, Abraham Laboriel, Brian Bromberg,

Jimmy Earl James Christopher Earl (born 1957) is an American jazz bass guitarist who is a member of the ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' band. Early life and education In 1957, James Christopher Earl was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to James and Sylvia Earl. He i ...

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, Jerry Hey, Gary Grant, Bill Reichenbach,

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, Jimmy Z, Dann Huff, Luis Conte, Joel Taylor, Pat Coil, and others. A

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magazine review stated "Four Stars – Ain't Too Proud to Shred'' – Firepower is the key word in this jazz/rock workout. Boykin is a ferocious soloist who segues from bop-style jazz phrases to wailing rock licks with the greatest of ease."

Vintage Guitar A vintage guitar is an older guitar usually sought after and maintained by avid collectors or musicians. The term may indicate either that an instrument is merely old, or that is sought after for its tonal quality, cosmetic appearance, or hist ...

magazine says....."From '70s-style funk, to blues, to killer ballad work and pretty much any jazz style you can think of, Boykin's playing shines." Guitar International magazine names him "... a "go to" session player in Los Angeles and Nashville, with an impressive body of music that regularly finds its way into top television programs and commercials as well as major motion pictures."

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boykin, Bob American session musicians American rock guitarists American country guitarists American male guitarists Record producers from California Musicians from San Diego Guitarists from California Country musicians from California 1952 births 2020 deaths