You're a published songwriter with Columbia Records, and you've performed with musical legends including Chuck Berry, Count Basie, Frankie Valli, Buddy Rich. Can you tell us about some of those experiences? What's it like to share a stage with such titans?

When you reach for greater heights in the music business and achieve them, the incentive, the momentum, and the application increases in developing yourself. Knowing what it takes to develop to that point always comes with a learning curve. Watching all of these professionals was like attending a self-development class, both personally and musically. Their comfort and talents were so influential, it expanded me to the next level. 

I wrote a song that was heard by a very successful record company executive. It was recorded and released on Columbia Records. Unfortunately, it was not a hit song, so there were no royalties or residuals. Recording it in a major studio with hit-making backup singers, producers, and engineers expanded my knowledge of the business once again.

After over fifty songs written and recorded, I decided to take up writing and photography, along with developing my piano skills. Creative progress is a necessity for creative people. If they don’t nurture those skills, they wither and wilt away. 

Is there a place our readers can hear this Columbia Records song?

You can give it a listen if you so desire. The backup singers, The Weather Girls, had a hit song with “It’s Raining Men.” 

I wrote this for Billy Crystal, but he wanted too much of the publishing, so he never recorded my version. Charles Koppelman, who managed Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow, recorded the song and got it on Columbia. It was a novelty song and a one-shot deal, so if it didn’t work, it didn’t work. They got a voiceover from NYC to mimic Billy Crystal doing [his character] Fernando. Billy Crystal wound up recording another version on A&M Records, and both were played on WPLJ. My song got better reviews, but I never made anything from it.

Do you take a different approach to song lyrics than to poetry? Or do you write something first and then decide whether it will work better as a standalone poem or set to music?

No, there’s no real format to what I do. Strictly emotional and inspirational, with a feeling for the subject matter. In writing a song, the words have to be edited to fit the rhythms and the music that I compose.

Is that how it works between the photography and the poetry, too? Do you write a poem and then look through photos you've taken to find the right match? Or do you write a poem and then go out and try to capture an image that reflects the poem? Or do you find an inspiring photo you've taken and write a poem to match it?

I do everything spontaneously. When I put this project together, it was like a puzzle between over four hundred things I’ve written and one hundred photos. I never even considered putting them together until I was influenced to do so by two of my closest friends who liked what I did in both. I gave them credit in the book, Merle Burke and Erika Hunter. 

Speaking of the book, give us a quick pitch: What kind of audience will enjoy Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of One's Self? Who's your ideal reader, and what will be his or her takeaway from the experience?

I would say the ideal reader is the average person who would like to know themselves better and have a more cohesive understanding of the complicated world we all live in. Many entries in this book offer the know-how and tranquility to navigate through difficult situations and find stability. The book offers peaceful visitations unto calmness and philosophical awareness of circumstances that alter our consistency in our daily lives. 

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Thanks for reading! And for checking out Bob's collection. If you have a book that's ready for prime time, our assisted self-publication will make it happen for you. Reply to this email to chat about it.

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