We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bobby Monroe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bobby, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I knew from a very young age, probably at the age of five that I wanted to pursue a life of music. My father played guitar and sang country music. He had a band called Tex Davis and The Rhythm Rangers on Long Island New York where I was raised. By the time I was eleven I was performing songs with the band, songs from the classic artists such as Hank Williams and Buck Owens. It was then that I began writing songs. As a teenager I became close friends with the sons of one of the most famous country songwriters Hank Cochran. Because of that I was fortunate to spend time with Jimmy, J.R. and Danny in Nashville at the Cochran farm with Hank and his wife Jeannie Seely. It was a great experience. By then I was hooked and I knew my path was music.

Bobby, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My first publishing deal was at the age of 18 or 19 when I signed with Vogue Music Publishing, which was part of Lawrence Welk’s music empire. I was in a band called VISION, A group of fantastic musicians and songwriters, Ron Pitner (Keyboardist), Mike Palazzola (Keyboardist), Mark Spriggs (Drums), Craig Bartock (Guitarist/Songwriter/Singer), and Rick Elias (Guitarist/Songwriter/Singer) and I . Dean Kay who was then Vice President for Welk saw promise in our musical talent which led to my first record deal with Russ Regan’s Parachute Records. We released our first single with them. Craig Bartock went on to become a guitarist, producer and songwriter for the band Heart. Rick Elias went on to have a successful career as a Christian music artist. I later formed a band called The Monroes. Eric Denton on keyboards, Jonnie Gilstrap on drums, Jesus “Tony” Ortiz on vocals and Rusty Jones on guitar. This led to a record deal with Alfa Records in 1981. I wrote a song called What Do All The People Know which became a hit song for us in 1982 quickly climbing up the charts. This led to touring with various artists such as Rick Springfield, The Motels, The Tubes and many others in the following years.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When The Monroes were at their peak, the rug was pulled out from under us when our label Alfa Records went out of business. We then signed with CBS but lost our representation there. This was a tough time for us. I learned then that its important to have faith in yourself, your talents and remember what is truly important to you as an artist. For me it is the love of songwriting, of expressing myself and most importantly my audience. Nothing pleases me more than when my music makes people happy. I realized at a very young age that my audience means the world to me. Following our struggles I was determined to go on and do what I love best. I continue to write, record and produce music. In 2020 I got together with some amazing musicians and songwriters. The band is called The Monroes 2.0 and we have released a number of songs. Ronny Jones,(the brother of the original guitarist Rusty Jones) on guitar and vocals, Dave Hart on keyboards. Barry Scott, from the band The States, on guitar and vocals and Bobby Sale on drums. Our music can be found on all digital sites such as Spotify and Amazon etc. We continue to do what we love.
Because of my country music roots I continue to write and record country music. I am proud to say I have now formed a writing team with the amazing artist Eddie Leroy Cunningham. He is an exceptional Singer/Songwriter and we hope to bring some new country songs, pop songs and country rock songs to listeners everywhere.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Something has to change in the music business. Artists are now struggling because they arent being rewarded financially for streaming and digital music. Songs are being played over a million times and the artists are receiving pennies for their work. Artists pour their life into their music and only a small fraction of them are being compensated fairly for their work.

Contact Info:

• Website: themonroesband.com,
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theoriginalmonroes/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+monroes+2.0 https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+monroes+merv+griffin+show
• Other: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monroes_(American_band)

Image Credits
Thom Vollenweider photography