Album Notes

"WHO IN SAM HELL IS BOBBY LYNN?"

Bobby Lynn was born on December 8th, 1964 at Baptist Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. When his mother Linda was a little girl, she'd often play in a sandbox with a boy three doors down on Audubon Drive named Elvis Presley. Bobby's earliest musical memories are of sitting in front of a portable turntable at age three listening to Burt Bacharach LPs over and over again. His first live performance resulted in a second place finish at his elementary school's talent show when he sang "Take Me Out To The Ball Game". Bobby's parents would often let him spend weekends at their housekeeper Mary's home on the other side of town. Mary and her family would take Bobby to their church, where he received his first exposure to gospel music. Bobby had never heard live drums, bass and guitar before, much less in a church. He was instantly hooked. By the time he was 9, Bobby was sneaking into his older sister's room to play the guitar she had received as a birthday gift from their grandmother. Instead of taking lessons, Bobby would lock himself in his room with the guitar and his Led Zeppelin LPs.

Fast forward ten years, and Bobby found himself in New York City's Hell's Kitchen. It was here that he set his rock albums aside and dove headlong into early blues and country recordings. He was soon mesmerized by the likes of Blind Willie McTell, Reverend Robert Wilkins, Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell, J.B. Lenoir, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams Sr. and Johnny Horton.

Soon thereafter, Bobby formed a band which made its debut at New York's now defunct Lone Star Roadhouse. The lineup included "Cowhide" Freddie Levine on drums, "Slim" Tim Givens on bass and "Padre" Mike Abbott on electric guitar. It was shortly after forming the band that an editor at Circus Magazine arranged for Bobby to speak with Johnny Cash on the phone. Circus had just completed an interview with Cash about his recent collaboration with U2. Bobby mentioned to Johnny that his band loved to play an old and obscure Johnny Cash song called "Mean Eyed Cat". Upon hearing this, Cash revealed that he had just written an extra verse to the song, and offered to send it to Lynn. This stroke of luck inspired Lynn to begin writing and recording the material that would become his debut CD, "Five Bar Romp". The record was released in February of 2004 on Lynn's independent label, Clementine Records.

In addition to the core live band, Lynn found an impressive array of talent in New York to help him record "Five Bar Romp". The roster includes blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff, a protégé of the late, great Magic Sam. On pedal steel and electric guitars is the remarkably versatile David Hamburger. Bobby's younger sister Lucia Lynn provides a heartfelt vocal to "A Good While 'Fore the Dawn", a ballad Bobby wrote for the late Patsy Cline. And veteran jazz vocalist Myrna Lake teams up with Bobby for the blues duet, "Ode To Jimmy Reed".

BOBBY LYNN WILL BE APPEARING LIVE AT THE RESERVOIR IN NYC!
SUNDAY, MAY 11TH AT 10PM
THE RESERVOIR BAR & GRILL
70 UNIVERSITY PLACE (Between 10th & 11th Streets)
(212) 475-0770
NO COVER
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villiany...we must be cautious."
-Obi Wan Kenobi