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Bob Mothersbaugh

Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh Jr. (/ˈmʌðərzbɔː/; born August 11, 1952), or by his stage name Bob 1, is an American musician, singer, songwriter and composer.

Bob Mothersbaugh
Mothersbaugh at the premiere of the documentary film Devo at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival
Background information
Birth nameRobert Leroy Mothersbaugh Jr.
Also known asBob 1
Born (1952-08-11) August 11, 1952 (age 72)
Akron, Ohio, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • composer
  • musician
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • keyboards
Years active1974–present

Mothersbaugh's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as lead guitarist and occasional lead singer of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in 1980 with the single "Whip It". The band has maintained a cult following throughout its existence. He is the younger brother of co-founder and lead singer Mark Mothersbaugh.

Early years

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Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh Jr. was born on August 11, 1952, in Akron, Ohio. He is the son of Mary Margaret ("Mig") and Robert Mothersbaugh Sr. He grew up with one older brother, Mark, and one younger brother, Jim, and two sisters, Amy and Susan.[4][5] In high school, he played in the cover band Jitters with his brother Jim Mothersbaugh and Greg Brosch on guitar and Greg Kaiser on bass. His father appeared in early Devo films and fan events as the character General Boy, and his brothers participated in the band, although Jim's tenure was brief, appearing only on several early demos.

Career

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Devo

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In early 1970, Bob Lewis and Gerald Casale formed the idea of the "devolution" of the human race after Casale's friend Jeffrey Miller was killed by Ohio National Guardsmen firing on a student demonstration.[6] Mothersbaugh joined Devo in 1974. After the band underwent a few line-up changes, Bob Mothersbaugh became part of the most popular five-piece incarnation, which included the Casale brothers: Gerald and Bob ("Bob 2") and the Mothersbaugh brothers: Mark and Bob ("Bob 1"), as well as drummer Alan Myers.[2] In 1981, Mothersbaugh with Devo served as Toni Basil's backing band on Word of Mouth, her debut album, which included versions of three Devo songs, recorded with Basil singing lead.[7][8]

 
Motherbaugh with Yukihiro Takahashi and Ryuichi Sakamoto of Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1980

Following the commercial failure of their sixth studio album Shout, Warner Bros. dropped Devo. Shortly after, claiming to feel creatively unfulfilled, Alan Myers left the band,[9] causing the remaining band members to abandon the plans for a Shout video LP, as well as a tour.

In 1987, Devo reformed with new drummer David Kendrick, formerly of Sparks, to replace Myers. Their first project was a soundtrack for the flop horror film Slaughterhouse Rock, starring Toni Basil, and they released the albums Total Devo (1988) and Smooth Noodle Maps (1990), on Enigma.

The band stopped performing again in 1991, but reformed as a musical act in 1995.[2]

In 2006, Devo worked on a project with Disney known as Devo 2.0. A band of child performers was assembled and re-recorded Devo songs. A quote from the Akron Beacon Journal stated, "Devo recently finished a new project in cahoots with Disney called Devo 2.0, which features the band playing old songs and two new ones with vocals provided by children. Their debut album, a two disc CD/DVD combo entitled DEV2.0, was released on March 14, 2006. The lyrics of some of the songs were changed for family-friendly airplay, which has been claimed by the band to be a play on irony of the messages of their classic hits.[10] The album, Something for Everybody was eventually released in June 2010, preceded by a 12" single of "Fresh"/"What We Do".[11]

Mothersbaugh and the other Devo members were part of the Church of the SubGenius.

Other work

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Mothersbaugh in 2011

In 1989, Bob Mothersbaugh and other members of Devo were involved in the project Visiting Kids, releasing a self-titled EP on the New Rose label in 1990.[12] The group featured Mark Mothersbaugh's then-wife Nancye Ferguson, as well as David Kendrick, Bob Mothersbaugh and Bob's daughter Alex Mothersbaugh. Their record was produced by Bob Casale and Mark Mothersbaugh, and Mark also co-wrote some of the songs. Visiting Kids appeared on the soundtrack to the film Rockula, as well as on the Late Show with David Letterman. A promotional video was filmed for the song "Trilobites".

Following Devo's hiatus in 1991, Mothersbaugh founded his own band called The Bob I Band and recorded an unreleased album with the drummer, David Kendrick. The master tapes were lost, although a bootleg of the band is circulating.

Mothersbaugh produces soundtracks for film and television, such as the animated television series Rugrats, as part of the production company Mutato Muzika.

In 2015, Mothersbaugh performed the theme to Harvey Beaks.[13]

Equipment

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Current

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Bob playing his Ibanez "Spud" guitar live in 2009

Former

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Soundtracks

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Television

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Years Title Notes
1992-1995 Adventures in Wonderland with Mark Mothersbaugh, Denis M. Hannigan, Rusty Andrews, Josh Mancell and Ryan Moore
1994–2004 Rugrats with Denis M. Hannigan, Rusty Andrews, and Mark Mothersbaugh
1995 Santo Bugito with Mark Mothersbaugh, and Bruce Young Berman
1996–1997 Life's Work with Mark Mothersbaugh
1998–2004 The Wild Thornberrys with Mark Mothersbaugh and Drew Neumann
2003 The Groovenians with Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Casale, Albert Fox, Al Mothersbaugh, Josh Mancell, Andrew Todd, and Pat Irwin (additional music)
2003–2008 All Grown Up! with Mark Mothersbaugh
2015 Exchange Student Zero with Bradley Hugh Denniston, and Ray Plaza
2015–2017 Harvey Beaks with Ego Plum, Steve Bartek, David J.
2016-2018 Beat Bugs 28 episodes
2018 Motown Magic
2021-present Rugrats Theme by Mark Mothersbaugh

Film

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Year Title Director(s) Studio(s) Notes
1988 Slaughterhouse Rock Dimitri Logothetis Arista Films —
1999 200 Cigarettes Risa Bramon Garcia Paramount Pictures with Mark Mothersbaugh
2002 Hansel and Gretel Gary J. Tunnicliffe Tag Entertainment with Rusty Andrews
2004 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Wes Anderson Touchstone Pictures —
2006 How to Eat Fried Worms Bob Dolman New Line Cinema with Mark Mothersbaugh

References

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  1. ^ Long, Pat (May 2, 2009). "Pat Long meets new wave 80s oddballs Devo, who are intent on making a comeback". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Devo". AllMusic. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  3. ^ Steinberg, Shirley; Kehler, Michael; Cornish, Lindsay (2010). Boy Culture. Greenwood. p. 355.
  4. ^ "Mary M. "Mig" Mothersbaugh". Legacy.com. August 31, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  5. ^ Gruskoff, Jen (March 3, 2010). "A Vision of Family". GetButtonedUp.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  6. ^ Paul Vermeersch: A brief history of Devo, Part 1, October 21, 2014, retrieved August 4, 2015
  7. ^ "Mickey — Toni Basil". Top One Hit Wonders. Archived from the original on 2014-09-25. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  8. ^ Gruber, Xaque (8 November 2012). "'Mickey' Turns 30: A Closer Look at the One and Only Toni Basil". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  9. ^ "Alan Myers Obituary". Rolling Stone. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-19.
  10. ^ Abram, Malcolm X (August 18, 2005). "Still DEVOlutionary". Akron Beacon Journal. Archived from the original on October 26, 2005.
  11. ^ ChadGrisly. "SOMETHIN.jpg". Archived from the original on 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2016-04-15.
  12. ^ The Spawn of Devo: Visiting Kids, 26 April 2012, retrieved 13 August 2015
  13. ^ "Harvey Beaks Opening Theme Extended". 458. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
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