Bob Wilson (born Robert Douglas Wilson; 1940) is a totally blind singer, guitarist and songwriter from

Pleasant Hill, California Pleasant Hill is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 34,613 at the 2020 census. It was incorporated in 1961. Pleasant Hill is the home of College Park H ...

. He released three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

on the

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

-based

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

Era An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

in 1960, including the original version of "And Her Name Is Scarlet", a song that later became popular in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Early career

Wilson was a member of the Pleasant Hill High School Big Band, which held its debut concert in February 1959. A review in the ''

Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' rose to become an influential daily newspaper. With the declin ...

'' mentioned soloists who included Wilson on guitar, Loren Council on alto saxophone, and Len Adams on trumpet. On Wilson's first single, released early in the following year, Adams played piano and Council played saxophone. Both sides, "Two Little Birds" and "Imogene", were written by Adams and Wilson. By this time, according to ''

The Oakland Tribune The ''Oakland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published in Oakland, California, by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of MediaNews Group. Founded in 1874, the ''Tribune'' rose to become an influential daily newspaper. With the decline ...

'', Wilson was a 19-year-old psychology major at College of the Pacific, Adams was studying at

Diablo Valley College Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with ...

, and Council was still in high school. Wilson and Adams were also credited as composers on a 1960 single by The Four-Stars on Era, "Blue Moon" (Bob Wilson) and "The Frog" (Len Adams)

And Her Name Is Scarlet

The

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

of Wilson's third single, "And Her Name Is Scarlet" was later recorded by Australian duo The De Kroo Brothers and became a

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

in Australia in 1963, especially in the cities of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

(No. 4),

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

(No. 1), and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

(No 5). The Australian single used brackets in the title, "(And Her Name Is) Scarlet", following the example of a previous version by Keith Colley. This song was written by Era co-founder Herb Newman, although the writer credit on record labels has been to a pseudonym, either Barry Stuart or Steven Howard. "(And Her Name Is) Scarlet" was recorded by Keith Colley in 1962 (also on Era),

Johnny Burnette John Joseph Burnette (March 25, 1934 – August 14, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter of rockabilly and pop music. In 1952, Johnny and his brother, Dorsey Burnette, and their mutual friend Paul Burlison formed the band that became k ...

(1964, originally unreleased), and another Australian duo, The Brothers LeGard (also on Era, 1968). A German-language version, "Aber du bist nicht so wie die anderen sind (And Her Name Is Scarlet)", was released in 1961 by Die Ramonas, a duo comprising

Gus Backus Donald Edgar "Gus" Backus (September 12, 1937 – February 21, 2019) was an American singer. He started his career as a member of The Del-Vikings and later became a successful Schlager singer in Germany. Life and career Backus was born on Lon ...

and Hans Sojer (known as Tino Albertini).Die Ramonas - Aber du bist nicht so wie die anderen sind (And Her Name Is Scarlet)
release details and label shot at 45cat.com, retrieved November 29, 2017

Bob Wilson singles discography on Era label

*Two Little Birds (wr. Len Adams & Bob Wilson) / Imogene (wr. Len Adams & Bob Wilson), 1960, Era #3013 *I Went To Your Wedding / Tale Of A Donkey (wr. Herbert Newman), 1960, Era #3023 *And Her Name Is Scarlet (wr. Herbert Newman) / Jailer, Jailer, 1960, Era #3027

The Four-Stars singles discography on Era label

*Blue Dawn (wr. Bob Wilson) / The Frog (wr. Len Adams), 1960, Era #3021

Notes and references

External links

KYA San Francisco Official Chart, March 14, 1960
Bob Wilson's "Two Little Birds" at No. 37 (down from No. 31); text and image at ARSA — The Airheads Radio Survey Archive, retrieved July 19, 2012
Label shot for Bob Wilson's "Imogene"
at Rockin' Country Style; retrieved July 19, 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Bob People from Pleasant Hill, California Singers from California Songwriters from California Guitarists from California American male guitarists Year of birth missing American male songwriters