Bob Ryan began performing professionally at the age of 11 and was a member of a working band by the time he was 14. He began writing songs at about the same time.
As the son of a military family he crisscrossed America a dozen times in his first 20 years. That experience of rolling across the vast American landscape on lonely 2-lane highways during the 1950’s and 60’s left an indelible stamp on his life, and on his songwriting. The rivers, roads, mountains and plains of the American heartland, and the iconic images of American culture are woven deeply into his storytelling.
With a voice and style that defy easy classification, lyrics that are both unambiguous and poetic, and a gift for memorable melody, Bob Ryan shares moments of faith, doubt, love, and regret through songs full of heart and humor.
Like a good journalist, his chronicles of his own journey “down here on the surface” probe the universally shared experiences of the human heart – always anchored to the earth while keeping an eye on Heaven.
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