Bobby Goldsboro



Bobby Goldsboro was born in Marianna, Florida, January 18th, 1941. His family moved to Dothan, Alabama while he was still in his teens and Bobby went on to study at Auburn University, although he dropped out after his second year to pursue a career in music. Goldsboro eventually landed a job playing guitar in Roy Orbison's backing band. During his three years with Orbison, he traveled all over the world and toured with the Beatles. As he branched out to a solo career, he became the opening act for The Rolling Stones on their first U.S. tour.

A series of flop singles for small labels preceded his first hit in early 1964 when he cracked the Top Ten in the United States with "See The Funny Little Clown". Despite the onslaught of English acts onto the U.S. Pop music charts, he maintained the soft ballad formula for a series of moderately successful hits throughout the mid-sixties that included "Whenever He Holds You" (#39 in 1964), "Little Things" (#13 in 1965), "Voodoo Woman" (#27 in 1965), "It's Too Late" (#23 in 1966) and "Blue Autumn" (#35 in 1967).

In the Spring of 1968, Bobby recorded a song called "Honey", one of the sappiest, most sentimental songs that ever hit the airwaves. The tear jerker about the tragic death of a young bride caught on big with the record buying public and the song remained at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. It reached the number two spot in the U.K. soon after and fell just short of the top spot when it re-entered the British charts in 1975. "Honey" was by far the biggest hit of Goldsboro's career, and after returning to the Top 40 twice more in 1968 with "Autumn of My Life" (#19) and "The Straight Life" (#36), he was absent from the charts for over two years.

Bobby made a comeback in early 1971 when "Watching Scotty Grow" reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1973 and 1975 he hosted the syndicated television variety series, The Bobby Goldsboro Show, while struggling to have another hit with songs like "And I Love You So" (#99), "Come Back Home" (#89) and "With Pen In Hand" (#100). Bobby did manage to crack the Billboard Top 40 one final time in the Fall of 1973 with "Summer (The First Time)", which peaked at #23. During this time, he became a sought-after guest on the television talk show circuit. Goldsboro then formed House of Gold Music, which became one of the most successful music publishing companies in Nashville, publishing such songs as "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Behind Closed Doors".

As a song writer, Bobby Goldsboro received twenty-seven B.M.I. awards and his compositions have been recorded by such diverse artists as Aretha Franklin, John Denver, Paul Anka, Dolly Parton, Billy Vera, Dr. John, and Bette Midler. His songs, "With Pen In Hand" and "Autumn Of My Life" are members of B.M.I.'s exclusive Million-Airs Club, which contains only those songs which have been played on the air over one million times. In the mid-eighties, Goldsboro stopped performing to devote his time to writing and producing children's stories. In 1991, his first effort, Easter Egg Mornin' premiered as an animated Easter special on The Disney Channel. Bobby not only wrote the story, but composed, arranged and produced the music as well as voicing the starring role of Picasso "Speedy" Cottontail.

The 1993 television season saw the hit CBS comedy Evening Shade premiere with a new theme song, written and performed by Goldsboro. The six-time Grammy nominee was also the musical director of the show, composing new music for the series each week. At the close of the '93 season, Bobby was awarded a B.M.I. award for Evening Shade, a first for the series. In 1996, he launched the children's television series The Swamp Critters of Lost Lagoon. Designed for children aged two to six, this live-action children's series featured characters brought to life by actors and Goldsboro's voices and music. He wrote the scripts, the music, played all the instruments, and even did all the character voices for the show. Animal characters with computer-controlled mouth movements and Goldsboro's music made Swamp Critters one of the most unique children's show on television.

More recently, Bobby decided to pursue another lifelong passion, oil painting and quickly gained a reputation as a world-class artist. The self-taught painter is now being featured in one-man art shows at galleries around the country and his works are being purchased by fans and art lovers alike. Bobby and his wife, Dianne, regularly donate paintings and prints to charities for fund-raisers. In 2012, Bobby was making some personal appearances billed as An Evening with Bobby Goldsboro, Concert & Art Show. He continued with live shows across America in 2013, 2014 and 2015, but his shows were limited after that due to art commitments. His website stated that Bobby would not be performing in concert in 2020 and that his art shows were being postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Be sure to read Gary James Interview With Bobby Goldsboro