Lui Collins

Fun Facts about Bob Franke

Bob Franke is one of most beloved singer-songwriters-teachers-computer geeks in the greater Boston area and beyond.  Bob’s songs are often poignant and tug at your heart and may even make you weep but his wry sense of humor often comes out as well and you’ll weep tears of laughter.  I venture to say that several of Bob’s songs will join the folk canon that will be played 100 years from now:  “Hard Love,” “The Great Storm is Over” and “For Real” are classic Franke songs.

Bob will be appearing as part of the me&thee’s 50th-anniversary celebration and will be joined by friends Martin Grosswednt and Buffy Groves for his portion of the evening as well as the very first musician to play at the me&thee in 1970–Bob Simons. To add to such a special evening, Lui Collins and Anand Nayak will also be playing.  Marblehead will be Folk Music Central on February 7 at 8:00 p.m.

To learn more about Bob, visit his website.

Here’s a video of Bob singing his memorable song, “Thanksgiving Eve” in Moscow. There’s something very moving about an American songwriter singing his song in such a far-flung location.

Bob was gracious enough to give us a few fun facts to share with you!
Most memorable gig you’ve ever done:
Playing for Utah Phillips, Fred and Ed Holstein, Rich Warren of WFMT, and damn few others at Holstein’s in Chicago. That became the recording “One Evening in Chicago,” which was one of my most successful.
Most influential musician you’ve encountered:
Joni Mitchell hugged me once in Ann Arbor after I’d written a review of her.
Name a musician you’ve never seen in concert but wish you could or could have:
Bob Dylan
Most unforgettable fan encounter you’ve ever had:
The guy who showed me a photo of his mother’s tombstone with the inscription, “it was hard love.“
Favorite type of guitar:
Acoustic.
Most recent earworm that you can’t stop singing:
“Why am I painting the living room” by Lou and Peter Berryman.
Favorite place to visit:
Seattle, because of my daughter and son-in-law, many friends there, and the great food and coffee.
The best thing about Snowy:
Pure, unsentimental love.
Funniest movie you’ve ever seen:
The Castle. Australian film.
Mac or PC?
You must be joking. I work for Apple these days.  [KSB: Yes, I was joking.]