In the fifties after many failed attempts to sell his songs, he finally was signed up with Capitol Records and recorded a few rock and roll songs without much chart success. Just before he was drafted into the Army, he wrote a song called 'The All American Boy' and did a demo for his friend, Bill Parsons, to learn and record it. Instead of using the version Bill Parsons did later, the record company, Fraternity Records, decided to use the original demo done by Bobby Bare. The record reached number 2 on the Billboard Top 100, but it was wrongly credited to Bill Parsons.
His real big break came when RCA boss and guitarist Chet Atkins signed him to the RCA label. The first song he released on this label, 'Shame On Me', sold nearly a million copies and pushed Bobby Bare to fame overnight. His second RCA release, 'Detroit City' won him a Grammy for the best song of the year. Then a surge of hits followed, including '500 Miles Away From Home', 'Four Strong Winds' and others. He has also recorded two very successful albums with Skeeter Davis and has also dueted with Lacy J. Dalton and Rosanne Cash and additionally had a major hit as part of a trio with Norma Jean (singer) and Liz Anderson in 1967 titled 'The Game of Triangles'.
He moved to Mercury label in 1970 and had two big hits from early Kris Kristofferson compositions, 'Come Sundown' and 'Please Don't Tell Me How The Story Ends' before returning to RCA label where he produced his own records. Later Bare moved to CBS label and in 1979, he helped establish Rosanne Cash's career by singing with her on "No Memories Hangin' Round". Bare's singles for Columbia Records included 'The Jogger', 'Tequila Sheila', 'Gotta Get Rid Of This Band', 'When Hippies Get Older' and 'Numbers'. He later recorded for EMI with little success.
Bobby Bare is a versatile singer, and in the 70s started to release novelty songs recorded live with selected audiences. One of such songs, 'Marie Laveau' about a witch, reached the number one position on the country chart. This song was written by his friend, a very talented song writer, poet, author and cartoonist Shel Silverstein. He also penned many other songs for Bobby Bare including a Grammy nominated hit called 'Daddy What If' which he recorded with his five year old son, Bobby Bare Jr, who later became a star on his own. Bobby Bare later recorded a very successful album with his family and penned mainly by Shel called 'Singing in The Kitchen'. It was nominated for best group category in Grammy Awards but was declined by Bobby himself.
He later took chances recording strange, controversial material as 'Dropkick Me Jesus (Through The Goalposts Of Life)' (a 1976 Grammy nominee) and the expletive-driven 'Redneck Hippie Romance' with much success.
Bobby Bare is also the first to come up with a concept album called 'Bird Named Yesterday' which was very successful. His most successful concept album is 'Lullaby Legends and Lies'.
Bobby Bare was also given an opportunity to star in the movies. He did a Western with Troy Donahue called A Distant Trumpet, and a few episodes of a TV series called No Time for Sergeants. He turned his back on Hollywood to pursue his career in Country Music.
In 1998 he formed the band Old Dogs together with his friends Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis and Waylon Jennings.
In addition to the above, Bobby Bare is credited for introducing Waylon Jennings to RCA. He is also one of the first to record from many well known song writers such as Jack Clement, Harlan Howard, Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newberry, Tom T. Hall, Kris Kristofferson, and many others. He later had a TV series called 'Bobby Bare & Friends, A Song Writer Showcase'. Recently, he has recorded a new album after over 20 years called 'The Moon Was Blue' produced by his son. His son, Bobby Bare, Jr., is also a musician.
All American Boy
Bobby Bare Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
About how to become an All American Boy
Buy you a guitar and put it in tune
You'll be rockin' and rollin' soon.
Impressin' the girls, pickin' hot licks, and all that jazz
I-I bought me a guitar a year ago
Learned how to play in a day or so
And all around town it was well understood
That I was knockin' 'em out like Johnny B. Goode
Hot licks, showin' off, ah number one.
Well , I 'd practice all day and up into the night
My papa's hair was turnin' white
Cause he didn't like rock'n'roll
He said ""You can stay, boy, but that's gotta go.""
He's a square, he just didn't dig me at all
So I took my guitar, picks and all
And bid farewell to my poor ole pa
And I split for Memphis where they say all
Them swingin' cats are havin' a ball
Sessions, hot licks and all, they dig me
I was rockin' and boppin' and I's a gettin' the breaks
The girls all said that I had what it takes
When up stepped a man with a big cigar
He said ""come here, cat--I'm gonnna make you a star.""
""I'll put you on Bandstand, buy ya a Cadillac, sign here, kid.""
I signed my name and became a star
Havin' a ball with my guitar
Driving a big long Cadillac and fightin' the girls off ma back
They just kept a'comin', screamin', yeah-they like it
So I'd pick my guitar with a great big grin
And the money just kept on pourin' in
But then one day my Uncle Sam
He said (sound of 3 footsteps) ""Here I am""
""Uncle Sam needs you, boy
I'm-a gonna cut your hair
ah-Take this rifle, kid
Gimme that guitar"" yeah.
“All American Boy” by Bobby Bare tells the story of a young man who sets out to become a rock and roll star. The lyrics are an ode to the American dream and suggest that with a little hard work, anyone can make it big. Bare sings, “Gather 'round, cats, and I'll tell you a story, About how to become an All American Boy, Buy you a guitar and put it in tune, You'll be rockin' and rollin' soon, Impressin' the girls, pickin' hot licks, and all that jazz.”
The singer of the song buys a guitar and quickly becomes a skilled musician, impressing everyone in town with his rock and roll skills. Despite his success, his father does not approve and want him to stay away from rock and roll music. The singer then leaves his hometown and heads to Memphis to pursue his dream. He eventually gets a record deal and becomes a star, but his fortunes take a turn when he is drafted into the military.
The lyrics of “All American Boy” celebrate the American values of hard work and ambition, as well as the idea of rebellion against the outdated values of previous generations. It portrays the pursuit of success and the fulfillment of the American Dream as the ultimate goal in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Gather 'round, cats, and I'll tell you a story
Listen up guys, I'm going to tell you a story
About how to become an All American Boy
How to become a quintessential American boy
Buy you a guitar and put it in tune
Get yourself a guitar and get it in tune
You'll be rockin' and rollin' soon.
You'll soon be playing rock and roll music
Impressin' the girls, pickin' hot licks, and all that jazz
You'll be impressing girls with your fancy guitar playing
I-I bought me a guitar a year ago
I bought a guitar last year
Learned how to play in a day or so
I learned how to play it quickly
And all around town it was well understood
Everyone knew
That I was knockin' 'em out like Johnny B. Goode
That I was playing music like the famous song Johnny B. Goode
Hot licks, showin' off, ah number one.
I was playing fancy guitar solos and showing off, like a true number one
Well , I 'd practice all day and up into the night
I practiced all day and into the night
My papa's hair was turnin' white
My dad was getting worried
Cause he didn't like rock'n'roll
Because he didn't like the style of music I was playing
He said "You can stay, boy, but that's gotta go."
He told me to stay, but stop playing rock and roll
He's a square, he just didn't dig me at all
He was old-fashioned and didn't understand me
So I took my guitar, picks and all
So I packed up my guitar and picks
And bid farewell to my poor ole pa
And said goodbye to my dad
And I split for Memphis where they say all
I left and went to Memphis, where people say
Them swingin' cats are havin' a ball
There are lots of cool people having fun
Sessions, hot licks and all, they dig me
Music sessions and playing hot guitar solos, they liked me
I was rockin' and boppin' and I's a gettin' the breaks
I was playing rock and roll and getting lucky breaks
The girls all said that I had what it takes
The girls all thought I had the talent
When up stepped a man with a big cigar
Then a man with a big cigar approached me
He said "come here, cat--I'm gonnna make you a star."
He said he would make me famous
"I'll put you on Bandstand, buy ya a Cadillac, sign here, kid."
He promised to put me on a popular television show, buy me a fancy car and sign me up for a record deal
I signed my name and became a star
I signed the contract and became famous
Havin' a ball with my guitar
I was having fun playing music with my guitar
Driving a big long Cadillac and fightin' the girls off ma back
Driving a fancy car and trying to fend off the attention from girls
They just kept a'comin', screamin', yeah-they like it
Girls kept coming and screaming because they liked my music
So I'd pick my guitar with a great big grin
I played my guitar with a big smile on my face
And the money just kept on pourin' in
I was making a lot of money
But then one day my Uncle Sam
But one day the US military
He said (sound of 3 footsteps) "Here I am"
Came and told me they wanted me to serve
"Uncle Sam needs you, boy
They needed me to join the army
I'm-a gonna cut your hair
They would need to give me a military haircut
ah-Take this rifle, kid
And give me my guitar
Gimme that guitar" yeah.
Taking away my guitar
Lyrics © Bluewater Music Corp.
Written by: Orville Lunsford, William Parsons
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@EdGiolma
Bobby Bare wrote and recorded this song but since he was going into the military he gave the tape to Bill Parsons who had it recorded in his name. I had the 45 rpm vinyl back when this song came out and I remember the name Bill Parsons on the label. I only found this out about 10-15 years ago.
@jerrystuart9461
I absolutely love this song. It just happened to cross my mind 2.24.2023 at 1:41 p.m.
@user-ss3dj5qd6y
i've been into rock from the begining and know most songs from 1956 to now and this was my favorite for my first period of rock n roll......still love it
@allannorris4749
I was on this session (guitar). It may have been recorded at Gold Star or another studio in Hollywood. Dave Burgess played rhythm guitar, Dash Crofts on drums,and Bobby Morris, bass.. I remember it caused quite a stir getting the name wrong. i was on staff at Challenge records and if I'm correct Joe Johnson produced this.
@mikeclaunch3135
Cool Daddio🎉
@da8ish1
Loved this recording! Thank you sir for making my life better
@peterzang
Very cool Allan!
@davem3105
Sessions,,, hot licks! What an awesome tune. A rock&roll classic.
@pcassada17
Awesome! Bobby Bare could do it all. I began playing in 1974 and learned quite a few of his songs to get a rhythm. I still love those songs today.
@joycejeffries7465
Bobby Bare was always vastly Under-Rated. What a shame. This song has always been one of my most favorite older rock songs! Unfortunately, during the 1970's the music business stopped being fun and became "Big Business" with a lot of management knowing nothing at all about music, all they knew was "marketing". It is MY opinion that The BEST music, literature and art has not yet been heard, read or seen due to lack of exposure of our most creative & talented people! (and thanks to the "Music Moguls")