Bob Childers
| Bob Childers | |
|---|---|
Bob Childers on stage with the Red Dirt Rangers (John Cooper, Brad Piccolo, Ben Han)
at the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival July 11, 2007 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
November 20, 1946 West Union, West Virginia |
| Origin | Ponca City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | April 22, 2008 Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Genres | Red Dirt, Country, Folk, Bluegrass |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, Guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1978–2008 |
| Labels | Binky Records, Smith Music |
| Associated acts | Woody Guthrie, Jason Boland, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Randy Crouch, The Red Dirt Rangers, No Justice |
| Website | Binky Records |
Robert Wayne “Bob” Childers (20 November 1946 – 22 April 2008) was an American country-folk musician and singer-songwriter from the state of Oklahoma. Both before and after his death, he achieved widespread critical acclaim having been compared to songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Childers is often labeled the "father", "grandfather", or "godfather" of the regional Oklahoman music scene known as Red Dirt music.
Childers was born on November 20, 1946, in West Union, West Virginia, to parents Howard and Rhea (Gaskins) Childers. At the age of seven, he and his family moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma. He developed an interest in music and started playing guitar at age 16. After graduating from Ponca City high school he moved even further west and studied music in Berkeley, California. After a stint in California, Childers returned to Oklahoma - this time to Stillwater - where he found "people interested in the natural and supernatural aspects of life and love, and folks not afraid to sing about it."
Childers emerged in 1979 with his debut album titled I Ain't No Jukebox which he recorded with help from friend Jimmy LaFave. The album received many positive reviews and led Childers to begin touring nationwide. In March 1979, the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor disaster took place. Protestors of Three Mile Island, having heard Childers' song "Sunshine, Wind and Water," invited him to perform at a no-nukes rally in Washington, DC. Childers performed before Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger in front of a crowd estimated to be 65,000 to 100,000 persons.
His second album, Singing Trees, Dancing Waters, was recorded in 1982 and released on March 30, 1983. Afterwards, he relocated to Nashville, Tennessee.
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