Robert J. Mayo (August 25, 1951 – February 23, 2004) was a session

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical inst ...

and guitarist, perhaps best known for his work with Peter Frampton.

Biography

Mayo was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, and grew up in

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. He began studying music at the age of five, focusing on

classical piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

. During the 1960s, Mayo's interest in music grew due to the rock explosion. His first band was Ramble and the Descendants, where he played organ and sang. Mayo played with several other local bands and had plans to attend

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

in New York City. His career took a detour when he suffered injuries in a serious car accident at the age of seventeen, but Mayo was determined and he was able to move on. In 1971, Mayo formed Doc Holliday with

Frank Carillo Frank Carillo (born July 14, 1950) is an American rock musician. In 1971, manager Phil Lorito formed a band around Frank Carillo called Doc Holliday, with Carillo, Bob Mayo, Tom Arlotta and Bob Liggio. In 1973 they released one album, ''Doc Hollid ...

, Tom Arlotta, and Bob Liggio. He then joined Rat Race Choir (73-74) one of the Tri-State area's best bands, playing guitar. He then left RRC, was replaced with Mark Hitt and teamed up with Peter Frampton and joined his touring band. Because of this, he appeared on Frampton's album ''

Frampton Comes Alive! ''Frampton Comes Alive!'' is the first double live album by English rock musician Peter Frampton, released in 1976 by A&M Records. It is one of the best-selling live albums. " Show Me the Way", "Baby, I Love Your Way", and "Do You Feel Like We D ...

''. It was on this recording, following Mayo's Fender Rhodes electric piano solo on the song "

Do You Feel Like We Do "Do You Feel Like We Do" is a song by Peter Frampton originally appearing on his '' Frampton's Camel'' album that he released in 1973. The song became one of the highlights of his live performances in the following years, and it became one of th ...

", that Frampton introduced him with the words "Bob Mayo on the keyboards... Bob Mayo!" Mayo also appeared on the Frampton albums ''

I'm in You ''I'm in You'' is the fifth studio album by Peter Frampton. It was released on 28 May 1977, almost a year and a half after his blockbuster 1976 live album '' Frampton Comes Alive!'' It was recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York, where '' ...

'' and '' Where I Should Be''. In 1980, Mayo left Frampton's band to focus on recording. During this time, he recorded with

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

and Joe Vitale. Later he joined the touring band for Foreigner and played keyboards on "

Waiting for a Girl Like You "Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second single from the album '' 4'' (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The opening motif was written by Ian Mc ...

" and "Break It Up". He spent the next two years touring with Foreigner, and also toured with

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 1970s and 1980s songs, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and ...

and

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

in the late 1980s. He continued to tour with Hall & Oates until 1998. In 1981, Mayo was asked by Joey Kramer of Aerosmith to play keyboards in his band Renegade fronted by vocalist Marge Raymond. In 1983, Mayo played keyboards on Aerosmith's first tour in three years, in support of their ''

Rock in a Hard Place ''Rock in a Hard Place'' is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Aerosmith, released on August 27, 1982 by Columbia Records. It was certified gold on November 10, 1989. It is the only Aerosmith album not to feature lead guitaris ...

'' album, also adding background vocals. Also in 1983, Mayo played in Robert Plant's touring band for ''

The Principle of Moments ''The Principle of Moments'' is the second solo studio album by the English singer Robert Plant, formerly of Led Zeppelin. It was Plant's second Top 10 album in the US and UK. It also gave him his first solo Top 40 hit with "Big Log". The most ...

'' world tour. The 2007

Rhino A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...

re-issue of ''The Principle of Moments'' contains three live tracks from that tour. In 1992, Mayo returned to work with Peter Frampton. The resulting tour turned into the recording of the album ''"Frampton Comes Alive II"''. He also appeared on the ''Live in Detroit'' CD & DVD as well as Peter Frampton's 2003 recording ''Now''. On February 23, 2004, Mayo was touring with Peter Frampton in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

, Switzerland, when he had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

and died. Frampton said regarding him, "Bob was like a brother to me. I have lost a close personal friend and a talented, professional and outstanding musician."

Discography

Peter Frampton

*''

'' (1976) *''

'' (1977) *'' Where I Should Be'' (1979) *'' Rise Up'' (1980) *'' Peter Frampton'' (1994) *'' Frampton Comes Alive! II'' (1995) *''Live in Detroit'' (2000) *''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' (2003) *''Live in San Francisco March 24, 1975'' (2004)

Foreigner

*'' 4'' (1981) *''

Agent Provocateur An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, th ...

'' (1984)

Joe Walsh

*'' There Goes the Neighborhood'' (1981)

Joe Vitale

*'' Plantation Harbor'' (1981)

Robert Plant

*''

'' (1983) (2007 reissue)

Procol Harum

*'' The Prodigal Stranger'' (1991) (lead guitar on unreleased track "Into the Flood")

Daryl Hall and John Oates

*'' Change of Season'' (1990)

References

External links

BobMayo.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayo, Bob 1951 births 2004 deaths American rock guitarists American male guitarists Iona Preparatory School alumni Hall & Oates members Musicians from New York City 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American keyboardists 20th-century American keyboardists