Born in Tallahassee, Florida, Lavoie was raised by his mother in Winter Haven, Florida with his six siblings. He began his musical career in 1961 as a member of a local band, The Rumours. The band included Gram Parsons and Jim Stafford, as well as drummer Jon Corneal, who later joined Parsons' International Submarine Band.
In 1964, while attending the University of South Florida, Lavoie joined a band called the Sugar Beats and met producer Phil Gernhard. He recorded a regional hit for the band, a cover of Johnny Rivers' song, "What Am I Doing Here".
During the 1960s, Lavoie performed with many other bands, including US Male, The Uglies, and Me and the Other Guys. It was in the latter band that he met musician Billy Aerts, who became a member of Lobo's touring band in the early 1970s and produced Lobo's comeback album in 1989.
Again working with Gernhard, his first solo record was released in 1969, the single "Happy Days In New York City" backed with "My Friend Is Here". Both were original tracks. It was released on Laurie Records.
By 1971, Lavoie had started calling himself Lobo (Spanish for wolf). Gernhard was an executive for Big Tree Records, and the company released his first single, "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo". The first major hit for the label, it reached number 5 in the US and launched a successful series of singles. The song also reached number 4 in the UK.
His debut album, Introducing Lobo, followed that May. In June his second single, "She Didn't Do Magic", was released. In September, "California Kid And Reemo" was released. Another single was The Albatross. It was around this time that Big Tree Records was merged with Bell Records. In the confusion, Lobo's second album Close Up was lost and never released.
Maintaining the Lobo alias, he released Of a Simple Man in 1972, which yielded back-to-back Top 10 hits, including "Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend", which reached #8 in the US charts, and "I'd Love You to Want Me". "I'd Love You To Want Me" was Lobo's biggest hit, climbing to #2 on the Billboard charts in 1972, and later reached #1 in Germany and in mid-1974, #5 in the United Kingdom.
With the release of Calumet in 1973, Lobo had three more Top 40 hits: "It Sure Took a Long, Long Time," "How Can I Tell Her" and "Standing at the End of the Line." He made an appearance on American Bandstand that year and also released a fourth single from Calumet, "There Ain't No Way." A fifth, "Standing At The End Of The Line" was released in 1975.
In June 1974 Lobo's fourth album Just A Singer. It was the first album by Lobo to contain tracks not written by Lobo. The only single from the album was "Rings".
His last Top 30 single for Big Tree, "Don't Tell Me Goodnight", was released in 1975. Lobo also released the album, A Cowboy Afraid Of Horses and his last single for Big Tree, "Would I Still Have You", was released. The label followed up with a compilation that year, "The Best Of Lobo".
In 1976, Lobo started to break from Big Tree and Phil Gernhard, releasing the album Come With Me in Europe on the Philips label. "At First Sight" was the single. Neither were released in US.
1977 Lobo signed with Curb Records in 1977 and released the single "Afterglow", which was co-produced by Lobo and Gernhard. Another single, "You Are All I Ever Need" was released in 1978. It was last single to have Gernhard as producer.
In 1979, Lobo resurfaced on MCA Records, where he was paired with producer Bob Montgomery and released the single "Where Were You When I Was Falling In Love", which reached #23. He also released his first US album in four years, Lobo. Other singles for Curb were "Holding On For Dear Love", "With A Love Like Ours" and "Fight Fire With Fire".
Dissatisfied with the production of his records, Lobo sought a release from his Curb contract. He moved to Nashville and in 1981 he started his own label, Lobo Records, and released several singles including "I Don't Want To Want You", written by his brother, Roger Lavoie, "Come Looking For Me" and "Living My Life Without You". All making the country charts.
NOTE: The 1981 Disco Single by LOBO - "The Caribbean Disco Show" (Mercury - 1981) is not the same person as this Lobo.
Lobo Records became Evergreen Records in 1985. It released two singles, "Am I Going Crazy" and "Paint The Town Blue", a duet with Robin Lee.
Meanwhile, Lobo's popularity was growing in Asia, fanned by the release of his greatest hits compilations in 1987 and 1988.
In 1989, Lobo released his first new album in 10 years, Am I Going Crazy, made in Taiwan on UFO/WEA records and produced by Billy Aerts.
With his popularity in Asia sustained by the reissue of all his albums on CD, he signed a multi-album deal with PonyCanyon Records in Singapore, releasing Asian Moon (repackaging of tracks from Am I Going Crazy along with newly recorded tracks) in 1994, Classic Hits (re-recorded Lobo hits and some cover versions other artists' hits) in 1995 and in 1996 Sometimes (all new original songs). On another Asian label, Springroll Entertainment, he released You Must Remember This in 1997, an album of pop standards that was released in two formats, one with vocals and the other with instrumental tracks.
The East Asian financial crisis in 1997 drove his record labels out of business and Lobo retired to his home in Florida.
Retirement was short-lived, however, as in 2000 Lobo signed with a German record company, Gmbh Entertainment, and recorded a few tracks for various Hits CD's. He also co-wrote two Christmas songs with Billy Aerts, "A Big Kid's Christmas" and "Late Christmas Eve", which have been released on various Christmas compilations from 2000 to present.
Singles recorded during this period include "Caribbean Disco Show", "Let It Be Me", "Who'll Stop The Rain" and "Different Drum". These were all available on different "Greatest Hits" releases.
His popularity in Asia is having a resurgence, and in 2006 he toured in Southeast Asia.
Strangely, his music has been sampled by Melbourne experimental band Kooties, although they paid little respect to Lobo's original intentions.
In 2008 Lobo released his first new album in over 10 years. Out of Time features some new songs as well as the old favorites. Out of Time represents a step back to the original era of these recordings, revisiting his old songs the same way he wrote them; by doing all the instruments himself, they are Out of Time. It refers to the classic nature of the old songs, how they are still favorites, even though they don’t follow the norm of today’s songs.
A Little Different
Lobo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The circus came to town
I remember church going people
Talking the carnies down
Misfits of society
That's what they said to me
So I sneaked up close
And found that actually
They laughed a lot
They sang out loud
The way they walked
Made them look kinda proud
A little different from you
A little different from me
a lot like the man who walked
Through Galilee
Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein
Moved in next door to us
The neighbors were indignant
They put up quit a fuss
The neighborhood had gone to pot
And they had worked so hard
So I sneaked out back
Peeked through the fence
And watched them do the yard
They laughed a lot
They sang out loud
They looked just like the rest
Of the crowd
A little different from you
A little different from me
A lot like the man who walked
Through Galilee
Everyone is different
But everyone's the same
Riding around in circles
On life's mysterious train
What if other people
Thought that way of you
Too weak for the circus
Too dumb to be a Jew
A plain old Joe
In wash 'n' wear suit
Wasting his life away
Or do they look in envy
And do or don't they say
Lobo's "A Little Different" is a song that celebrates the beauty of diversity in people. It starts with a scene from the singer's boyhood when a circus came to town, and the townspeople talked down about the carnies, labeling them as misfits of society. However, the singer snuck closer to watch them work and realized that they were just like everyone else. They laughed a lot, sang out loud, and their confidence in the way they walked made them look proud. In the second verse, the singer recalls when Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein, a Jewish couple, moved in next door, and the neighbors put up a fuss about them. The singer sneaked out back and saw the couple working in their yard, singing and laughing like everyone else. The chorus repeats the line, "A little different from you, a little different from me, a lot like the man who walked through Galilee," emphasizing that no matter how different people appear on the outside, they are all inherently the same.
The song's message is that people should not be quick to judge others based on their appearance or ethnicity. The lyrics encourage people to look beyond these surface differences and see the common humanity that unites us all. The song ends with a rhetorical question asking whether people are wasting their lives away or if others look at them enviously, suggesting that the perception of difference is often just a matter of perspective.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon my boyhood time
In my childhood, long ago
The circus came to town
The traveling circus arrived in our town
I remember church going people
I recall the people who attended church
Talking the carnies down
Speaking negatively about the circus people
Misfits of society
Individuals who don’t fit in with society’s norms
That's what they said to me
That's what the church-going people said about the circus people
So I sneaked up close
I quietly approached to observe
And watched them work
I observed them doing their jobs
And found that actually
I discovered that in reality
They laughed a lot
They found many reasons to be joyful
They sang out loud
They expressed their happiness through song
The way they walked
Their manner of walking
Made them look kinda proud
They appeared to be confident and self-assured
A little different from you
Slightly dissimilar from you
A little different from me
Slightly dissimilar from me
a lot like the man who walked
Similar to the man who traveled on foot
Through Galilee
In the area of Galilee
Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein
A specific couple named Goldstein
Moved in next door to us
They became our neighbors
The neighbors were indignant
My other neighbors were angry
They put up quit a fuss
They made quite a scene
The neighborhood had gone to pot
The area had declined in quality
And they had worked so hard
They had put in a lot of effort
So I sneaked out back
I went outside secretly
Peeked through the fence
Observed them through the fence
And watched them do the yard
Observed them working in their yard
They looked just like the rest
They were similar to everyone else
Of the crowd
Of the people in the same area
Everyone is different
Each individual is unique
But everyone's the same
But everyone is fundamentally similar
Riding around in circles
Going around and around in life
On life's mysterious train
Travelling through life's mysterious journey
What if other people
What if other individuals
Thought that way of you
Had that opinion of you
Too weak for the circus
Too feeble for the circus
Too dumb to be a Jew
Not intelligent enough to be Jewish
A plain old Joe
An ordinary guy named Joe
In wash 'n' wear suit
Wearing an everyday suit
Wasting his life away
Throwing his life away
Or do they look in envy
Or are they envious
And do or don't they say
And do they say or not
Lyrics © STONEHENGE MUSIC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind