The Bobs were an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

vocal group founded in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

in the early 1980s. They moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell show at the Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA, on October 21, 2017.

Background

Founding members Gunnar Madsen and Matthew Stull decided to form an a cappella group when they left their jobs as deliverers of

singing telegram A singing telegram is a message that is delivered by an artist in a musical form. Singing telegrams are historically linked to normal telegrams, but tend to be humorous. Sometimes the artist is in costume or formal clothing. Western Union, the Am ...

s in San Francisco. Instead of singing more traditional

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

songs, The Bobs started out with original arrangements of their own songs and songs like " Helter Skelter" and "

Psycho Killer "Psycho Killer" is a song by the American band Talking Heads, released on their 1977 debut album '' Talking Heads: 77.'' The group first performed it as the Artistics in 1974. The band also recorded an acoustic version of the song featuring A ...

". Although two of their albums are dominated by songs written by others, the overwhelming majority of their repertoire is original, with songs discussing a diverse array of humorous subjects. Their arrangement of "Helter Skelter" was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 1984. The Bobs have broken with a cappella tradition several times by including instruments. The majority of the 1995 album ''Plugged'' is backed by toy drums. ''Plugged'' also made heavy use of studio equipment to make the voices sound more like

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s and

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

s. ''Coaster'' includes a rock rhythm section on one song. ''Rhapsody in Bob'' features their arrangement of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" with pianist Bob Malone playing most of the original piano concerto as The Bobs become a vocal orchestra. But this original "band without instruments" usually uses just their mouths, hands, feet and "other body parts". Members of the group are always credited with "Bob" as their middle name. The name is often described as an acronym for "

Best of Breed A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...

", an award given out at

dog show A dog show is an event where dogs are exhibited. A conformation show, also referred to as a ''breed show'', is a kind of dog show in which a judge, familiar with a specific dog breed, evaluates individual purebred dogs for how well the dogs ''c ...

s.Mentioned in the Review of "My I'm Large" at Signers.co

accessed 2018 June 14. Another story that the Bobs give is the name was shortened from "The Oral Bobs" in the first months the group performed together. The Bobs supplied inter-gender wrestling champion

Andy Kaufman Andrew Geoffrey Kaufman ( ; January 17, 1949 – May 16, 1984) was an American entertainer and performance artist. While often called a "comedian", Kaufman preferred to describe himself instead as a "song and dance man". He has sometimes b ...

with his iconic entrance theme, entitled ''March & Fanfare''. The song was played at the beginning of the Kaufman's

biopic A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of a non-fictional or historically-based person or people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from docudra ...

, '' Man on the Moon''. Several anniversary concerts were held in Berkeley, California in January 2006 to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Bobs. These concerts featured seven of the eight singers who have ever been in the band. A documentary about the group, called ''Sign My Snarling Movie: 25 Years of The Bobs'' was released in summer 2007. The Bobs gave their final performance on October 21st, 2017 at The Barns at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA. It was broadcast live a
Acaville.org

Other appearances

The Bobs performed "Psycho Killer" on the revival of ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sc ...

'' in 1988. In the

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...

movie '' For Better or Worse'', the Bobs performed most of the soundtrack, including the background music that occasionally interacted with the story. During the 1995

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

they performed a medley of television themes with Alexander. In 1996, the Bobs performed several original songs and provided the character voices for the online video game '' Castle Infinity''. The Bobs' recording of the song "

Barbara Ann "Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The more famous version was recorded by the ...

" was used in the 1993 movie '' Surf Ninjas''. The Bobs' recording of the Jimmy Cliff/Guilly Bright song "Sittin' In Limbo" was featured in the 1991 movie ''

Cool As Ice ''Cool as Ice'' is a 1991 American romantic musical comedy film directed by David Kellogg, written by David Stenn and starring rapper Vanilla Ice in his feature film debut. The plot focuses on Johnny Van Owen, a freewheeling, motorcycle-riding ...

''.

Discography

* ''

The Bobs The Bobs were an a cappella vocal group founded in San Francisco, California in the early 1980s. They moved to Seattle, Washington and were active recording and touring throughout the United States, Canada and Europe until their farewell show a ...

'' (1983) * ''

My, I'm Large ''My, I'm Large'' is the second a cappella album by the Bobs released in 1987. Though considered a studio album, four tracks were culled from live performances. The album included cover versions of Smokey Robinson's " You've Really Got a Hold o ...

'' (1987) * ''

Songs for Tomorrow Morning A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

'' (1988) * '' Sing the Songs of...'' (1991) * '' Shut Up and Sing!'' (1993) * '' Cover the Songs of... '' (1994) * '' Plugged'' (1995) * '' Too Many Santas'' (1996) * '' i brow club'' (1997) * ''

Coaster Coaster (stylized as COASTER) is a commuter rail service in the central and northern coastal regions of San Diego County, California, United States operated by the North County Transit District (NCTD). The commuter rail line features eight s ...

'' (2000) * '' 20 Songs From 20 Years: The Best of The Bobs'' (2003) – includes 12 previously unreleased tracks * '' Rhapsody in Bob'' (2005) * '' Get Your Monkey off My Dog'' (2007) * ''

Biographies A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

'' (2013)

Compilations

* '' The Best of the Bobs'' (1990) * '' Songs at Any Speed'' (2008)

Videography

* ''The Bobs on PBS's Lonesome Pine Special'' (1989) * ''The Bobs on PBB's Lonesome Pine Special'' - ISOBOBS (with the dance group

ISO ISO is the most common abbreviation for the International Organization for Standardization. ISO or Iso may also refer to: Business and finance * Iso (supermarket), a chain of Danish supermarkets incorporated into the SuperBest chain in 2007 * Iso ...

) (1990) * ''Live at the 20th Century'' (1998) * ''The Bobs Sing! (And other Love Songs)'' (2000) * ''Sign My Snarling Movie: 25 Years of the Bobs'' (2007)

References

*The Bobs at

allmusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...