Bobby Goldsboro Through the Years Quiz

Answer: True

In high school, Bobby was active in sports and music, and he went to college with an undeclared field of study at his family's insistence. While there, he knew that his heart was really more that of a musician, and he decided to follow that dream shortly after completing his second year of college.

Answer: the ukulele

He really did learn to play the ukulele, and he was self taught. It started as a lark when he picked up a friend's Christmas present and started to fool around with the ukulele to see if he could play a popular tune that he knew from the radio. To his, and everyone else's, surprise, Bobby was able to do it.

He had always enjoyed music and knew he could learn songs quickly (after a single listen), including the vocals and arrangements. Eventually, the friend let Bobby have the ukulele on a permanent "loan". Because it was the first stringed instrument he learned how to play, and he did the chords without any training, Bobby's guitar playing was idiosyncratic and original as well.

By the end of high school and into his years at Auburn University, Bobby had joined his first amateur band, The Webbs, as guitar player and lead singer.

Answer: Roy Orbison's

This was a case of being in the right place at the right time. Roy Orbison had just fired his regular band, and he was looking for another that could get up to speed quickly and accompany Orbison on his tours. Enter The Webbs! Bobby didn't make much money playing for Roy, but the experience he got was worth it.

He traveled extensively in the US and internationally with Orbison from 1962 to early 1964, and still managed to release a few independent records as The Webbs in that time frame as well. After that, Bobby decided he needed to make more money, since he'd gotten married and was starting a family, and he embarked on his solo career.

Answer: Bobby Goldsboro

The song was a Bobby Goldsboro original, and it was recorded on October 17, 1963. Surprisingly enough, it was a smash, and spent 13 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, peaking at number nine. The B-side of the record is largely forgotten today, "Hello, Loser". That title was not a good predictor of Bobby's impending success!

Billy Joe Spears did do a cover of "See the Funny Little Clown" in 1974, with moderate success in country music circles, but the lyrics and music were Bobby's from the start.

Answer: Honey

No one could have predicted the success of "Honey", a poignant ballad written by Bobby Russell, and one Russell had recorded already before giving it to Goldsboro to record. Goldsboro's recording was done in a single take, under the direction of Bob Montgomery, Bobby's then-manager.

It came out in 1968, shortly after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Perhaps that is why it struck such a chord with the public. "Honey" sold an amazing million copies in three short weeks. Though some hate the song, and consider it sappy and without merit, it made Bobby's career.

The song has been covered by many over the years, including Dean Martin, Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Roger Miller and Jim Nabors, to name just a few.

Answer: Mike Douglas

Bobby Goldsboro says that his career was solidified by his appearances on "The Mike Douglas Show", because it gave viewers the chance to get to know him as a person and a human being, and not just recognize his voice as a singer. Mike Douglas' show had the format of always having a celebrity co-host. Also influential in establishing Bobby with the TV-viewing public were his many appearances on Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" as a musical guest, where Bobby appeared almost every month in 1971 and 1972.

Answer: True

"The Bobby Goldsboro Show" ran for three seasons from 1973 to 1975. It was a variety show and was seen in the United States and internationally. The family-oriented program was well-received and featured a wide variety of musical guests and personalities, such as Bobbie Gentry, Mac Davis, Jim Nabors, and many others.

Answer: United Artists

United Artists had a very profitable relationship with Bobby Goldsboro over his recording career. On the occasion of his ten-year anniversary as a recording artist, they launched an album in 1974 with a double-album LP of his greatest hits called "Ten Golden Years", including a multi-page spread in Billboard Magazine, with congratulatory messages from other artists of the day.

United Artists is also the name of a film company started by Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin in the early days of Hollywood.

Answer: "Rhinestone Cowboy" (1975)

"Rhinestone Cowboy" was written by Larry Weiss, and was a big hit for Glen Campbell in 1975. The other songs listed were all originally written and performed by Bobby Goldsboro, though some were later covered by others as well.

Answer: Lost

Not only did Bobby Goldsboro voice all of the characters, he wrote the whole series too (script and songs), and he played all of the instruments on the show. It was meant to make musical learning fun for kids from two to twelve. The show first aired from 1995 to 1997 for three seasons, and it was still seen on US television until 2010.

Bobby Goldsboro has never been one to rest on his laurels. He continues to write songs and music and perform live concerts, a fact his many fans are grateful for and hope will continue for years to come.