Songs and Samples

Come Rest Your Head
You Won't Suffer
My Baby's Gone
Good Company
I Will Remember
Jimmy Had A Smile
Over & Over
Have A Heart
You Better Run
100 Years Or So
Champagne Charlie

Some Nice Things People Have Said

Your songs are both lyrically interesting and refreshingly melodious. Also -- no small feat! -- while speaking to adult issues and concerns, the music is in no way awkward, or cumbersome; and your voice sounds ageless. Right on!
- Chris Frantz,
Talking Heads

Just now listening to the new disc. Wonderful! Congrats. It sounds great. The songs hang together so well. And the sounds are incredible. Great vocals, harmonies. Melody after melody. This is a real triumph, Bob.
- Tad Robinson,
Award-winning recording artist

A potpourri of fresh and original songs for the New Millennium. A deft blend of the old, the new, and the blue, this collection evokes memories of better times in the music business. It was my privilege to play with the well kept secret that is Bob Runk. Don't miss it!
- William F. Machen,
Lead guitarist for The Five Moons,
(Bobby’s first band)

About Bobby Runk

At the tender age of fifty-nine, Bobby Runk received a call from Gary Katz (best known as producer  for his Steely Dan work) saying he really liked the "wonderful vibe" of Runk's demos - music he found "honest and cool."  Together they produced Runk's debut album, Bobby Runk: Good Company.

Ask Bobby Runk when it was that he realized music was his path and he'll tell you, "My dad was a great musician (piano), and he played with his jaxx/Dixie band, The 7-City Seven, every Saturday night for years. The house would shake with rhythm on the nights they practiced at our house. It was exciting. He was an excellent classical pianist, as well as a jazz musician. I heard he did some arranging for the Dorsey Band early on, but I can’t confirm this.  It was inevitable that I study the keyboard, and for seven years I studied classical piano -- then my dad taught me Boogie Woogie.  Game over, essentially.  I found I had a good ear, and I was a natural improviser. From high school on, I was always in a band."

As a kid, Runk studied all the classics, falling in love with Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart.  His dad played piano most like Art Tatum, and he grew up listening to Count Basie, Richard Rogers (and other American Musical composers), and the Big Band folks. They were all at least subliminal influences.  "But - Chuck Berry -- whoops! What's up with that," says Runk. "That sent me over the moon. When I first heard that stuff … Wow! Where did that come from? Of course, I love great songwriting, and my influences include The Beatles (who is not influenced by them?), Carol King, Dylan, Jagger, Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, Jason Mraz, to name a few."

In 2006, Runk discovered Pro Tools, which allowed him to capture and arrange his song ideas.  That's when he decided to get serious about his music and, in particular, songwriting.  He has been obsessively writing ever since and now, with over 140 song projects, Runk is looking forward to releasing another album on the heels of "Good Company."