Born in Marblehead, Massachusets, Bob began his musical career in New York and Boston/Cambridge area coffeehouses and college concerts in the late 1960s, together with musicians including Paul Geremia, Bill Staines, Jaime Brockett, John Compton, and many others.
With resourceful and innovative stylings on guitar and mandolin, Bob performs an eclectic blend of original music drawing on many styles, including gospel, jazz, celtic, blues and traditional folk.
His recently released CD of original instrumentals titled "Star of the Sea" on the Wandra Music label includes the electric version of “Transfiguration” featuring the slide guitar of the late Rod Price, founding member of the rock group, Foghat.
In addition to his solo career, he has shared the stage with Jorma Kaukonen, Bonnie Raitt, The Everly Brothers, Pentangle, Tim Hardin, John Prine, Neil Young, Buddy Miles, Taj Mahal, Dion, Leo Kottke, Livingston Taylor, Steve Goodman, Jay Leno, Jerry Jeff Walker, James Montgomery, and many others. As a free-lance guitarist and mandolinist, he has performed on stage with Nanci Griffith, Larry Coryell, Mary Travers, John Compton, Tommy Makem, James Montgomery, Tom and Harry Chapin (at Gerde’s Folk City in New York City), among others. He has appeared on recordings with Columbia artists Andy Pratt and John Compton of Appaloosa, Bill Staines and others.
Quoting from the entertainment newspaper, Variety, of his performance at Gerde’s Folk City in New York, “. . . His work on six-string acoustic guitar stands out. ...McCarthy does one tune in ragtime style and as with the jazz material, seems unhampered by delivering solo stylings usually associated with combos.”
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