Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr. (; born August 11, 1952), or by his stage name "Bob 1", is an American songwriter, composer, musician and singer. 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 Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau ...

, which released a top 20 hit in 1980 with the single " Whip It". The band has maintained a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic ...

throughout its existence. He is the younger brother of co-founder and lead singer

Mark Mothersbaugh Mark Allen Mothersbaugh (; born May 18, 1950) is an American composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, lead singer and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, whose " Whip It" was a top 2 ...

Early years

Robert Leroy Mothersbaugh, Jr. was born on August 11, 1952, in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

. He is the son of Mary Margaret ("Mig") and Robert Mothersbaugh, Sr. He grew up with one older brother,

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

, and one younger brother, Jim, and two sisters, Amy and Susan. 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

Devo

In early 1970, Bob Lewis and

Gerald Casale Gerald Vincent "Jerry" Casale ( ) ( ''né'' Pizzute; born July 28, 1948) is an American musician. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as co-founder, co-lead vocalist, and bass player of the new wave band Devo, which released a top 20 hit in ...

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. 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:

and Bob ("Bob 1"), as well as drummer Alan Myers. In 1981, Mothersbaugh with Devo served as

Toni Basil Antonia Christina Basilotta (born September 22, 1943), better known by her stage name Toni Basil, is an American singer, choreographer, dancer, actress, and director. Her song " Mickey" topped the charts in the US, Canada and Australia and hit t ...

's backing band on ''Word of Mouth'', her debut album, which included versions of three Devo songs, recorded with Basil singing lead. 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, 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

, and they released the albums '' Total Devo'' (1988) and ''

Smooth Noodle Maps ''Smooth Noodle Maps'' is the eighth studio album by the American new wave band Devo. It was originally released in June 1990 and would be their last album released through Enigma. The album was recorded over a period of three months between Oct ...

'' (1990), on Enigma. The band stopped performing again in 1991, but reformed as a musical act in 1995. In 2006, Devo worked on a project with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

known as Devo 2.0. A band of child performers was assembled and re-recorded Devo songs. A quote from the ''

Akron Beacon Journal The ''Akron Beacon Journal'' is a morning newspaper in Akron, Ohio, United States. Owned by Gannett, it is the sole daily newspaper in Akron and is distributed throughout Northeast Ohio. The paper's coverage focuses on local news. The Beacon J ...

'' 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 A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...

airplay, which has been claimed by the band to be a play on irony of the messages of their classic hits. The album, ''

Something for Everybody ''Something for Everybody'' is the sixth studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2370, in June 17, 1961. Recording sessions took place on November 8, 1960, at Radio Recorder ...

'' was eventually released in June 2010, preceded by a 12" single of "Fresh"/"What We Do". Mothersbaugh and the other Devo members were part of the

Church of the SubGenius The Church of the SubGenius is a parody religion that satirizes better-known belief systems. It teaches a complex philosophy that focuses on J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, purportedly a salesman from the 1950s, who is revered as a prophet by the Church. Sub ...

Other work

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. 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 The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production c ...

''. 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, though a bootleg of the band is circulating. Mothersbaugh produces

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s for film and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

, such as the animated television series ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The show focuses on a group of toddlers; most prominently—Tommy, Chuckie, Angelica, and twins Phil and Lil, an ...

'' as part of the production company Mutato Muzika. In 2015, Mothersbaugh performed the theme to '' Harvey Beaks''.

Equipment

Current

*Gibson Custom Michael Bloomfield 1959 Les Paul *Chopper Guitars "Spudocaster" *Gibson L6-S Natural Maple *LaBaye 2x4 *Fractal Audio Axe-FX Ultra *

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, ...

TS9 Tubescreamer

Former

*G&L SC2 Student Model *Ibanez custom blue "Spud" guitar *Ibanez Les Paul (modified w/ inverted horn) *Ibanez Iceman *Line 6 POD XT and X3s

Soundtracks

Television

Film

References

External links

Mutato Muzika
official site * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mothersbaugh, Bob 1952 births Living people 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American guitarists American male composers American rock guitarists American male guitarists American male singers American new wave musicians American SubGenii American people of English descent American people of Swiss descent Devo members Songwriters from Ohio Musicians from Akron, Ohio Lead guitarists Male new wave singers Guitarists from Ohio 20th-century American composers American post-punk musicians Punk Rock Karaoke members