Robert Curtis Lewis (born March 4, 1947) is an American composer and musician. He is best known as a co-founder (along with

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit i ...

) of the new wave band Devo. He graduated from Kent State University shortly after the

Kent State shootings The Kent State shootings, also known as the May 4 massacre and the Kent State massacre,"These would be the first of many probes into what soon became known as the Kent State Massacre. Like the Boston Massacre almost exactly two hundred years bef ...

on May 4, 1970.

Early years

Bob Lewis was born in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...

, and played basketball briefly for

Bobby Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all- ...

Cuyahoga Falls High School Cuyahoga Falls High School (CFHS) is a public high school in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Cuyahoga Falls City School District. It has a current enrollment of around 1,663 students in grades 9–12. The s ...

. He was a

National Merit Scholar The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizat ...

and attended Kent State, where he was the first student to graduate with a major in anthropology. Lewis studied poetry with Black Mountain poet

Ed Dorn Edward Merton Dorn (April 2, 1929 – December 10, 1999, aged 70) was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is '' ''Gunslinger'. Overview Dorn was born in Villa Grove, Illinois. ...

, British poet

Eric Mottram Eric Mottram (29 December 1924 – 16 January 1995) was a British teacher, critic, editor and poet who was one of the central figures in the British Poetry Revival. Early life and education Mottram was born in London and educated at Purley Gram ...

and

Robert Bertholf Robert J. Bertholf (November 5, 1940 – February 19, 2016) was an author and professor at Kent State University, and the University at Buffalo. He was the Charles D. Abbott Scholar-In-Residence and former curator of The Poetry Collection at Buffa ...

, an English professor at Kent who later was named the curator of the poetry collection and Charles D. Abbot Scholar at the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

Devo

In 1970, Lewis and Gerald Casale began working on a theme of de-evolution in response to the Kent State shootings. In 1971, Lewis, along with Devo co-founder Casale and Peter Gregg, recorded three proto-Devo songs⁠—"I Been Refused", "I Need a Chick" and "Auto Modown"⁠—on primitive recording equipment located over Guido's Pizza Shop in

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as p ...

. Lewis and Casale wrote seminal tracts on de-evolution for the now-defunct '' LA Staff''. In 1973, they formed the band Devo with

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 20 ...

, and in late 1974,

Bob Mothersbaugh Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr. (; born August 11, 1952), or by his stage name "Bob 1", is an American songwriter, composer, musician and singer. Mothersbaugh's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as lead ...

took over the band's duties as lead guitarist, causing Lewis to take a more managerial position. Recommendations from David Bowie and Iggy Pop enabled Devo to secure a recording contract with Warner Bros. In 1978, after the band achieved success, Lewis asked for accreditation and compensation for his contributions to the band. The band refused to negotiate and sued Lewis in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeking a declaratory judgment stating that Lewis had no rights to the name or theory of de-evolution. Lewis then filed an action in United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, alleging theft of intellectual property. During discovery, Lewis produced articles, promotional materials, documentary evidence and an interview with Lewis and band members recorded at the

Akron Art Museum The Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, United States. The museum first opened on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library. The Institute offered clas ...

following the premiere of '' In the Beginning was the End''. In the interview, Mark Mothersbaugh, drummer Alan Myers and other band members credited Lewis with developing the theory of de-evolution ee external link 10 below The band settled for an undisclosed sum. In 2017, Lewis appeared at the annual DEVOtional fan gathering in Cleveland, performing early Devo songs with Casale and others. This event was reportedly the first time Lewis and Casale had performed together in over 40 years.

Other work

Lewis' poetry has been published in ''Creedences'', ''Shelley's'' and in '' Poetry Review'' when Eric Mottram was editor. In 1977, he released a book of poetry titled ''Viscerally'', illustrated by Fran Fecko and published by Tom Beckett. In 1980, Lewis wrote and performed the song "Andrea" under the name Hurricane Bob for the Akron new wave compilation album ''Bowling Balls from Hell'' and later worked on videos with new wave groups Tin Huey, Hammer Damage and Human Switchboard. In the 1980s, while working as a consultant in

Damascus, Syria )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, he was Middle East Correspondent for ''Rolling Stock'' magazine, published by Ed and Jennifer Dunbar Dorn.

References

External links

*Lewis, Bob (2006). , Devaluate.com. Archived fro
the original
on 2006-02-07. * (Photo) *Lewis, Bob (1972-07-14). '' The Staff'' (LA Staff) (Los Angeles, CA). Republished at Cleveland.com. Archived fro
the republish
on 2007-10-14. *Devo at MoM

*Andre

* Live performance 2017 Devotional - Auto Mowdow

* Live performance 2017 Devotional - Beehiv

* Edited Live performance 2017 Devotional - both song

* The Stiff Records Stor

* Kent State Creative Arts Festival 197

* Malcolm Tent Interview Part 1 202

* Malcolm Tent Interview Part 2 202

* Malcolm Tent Interview Part 3 202

* Akron Art Institute Interview 197

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Bob 1947 births Living people American people of Welsh descent Musicians from Akron, Ohio American male poets Devo members Kent State University alumni People from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio