“Whispering” Bob
“His excitement and love of music and his infectious enthusiasm to bring his audience the rhyme, reason and sounds of a new world is a work of heart”
Robert Plant
“He’s not just a national treasure, he’s a global treasure”
Kimberly Schlapman, Little Big Town
Bob Harris has had music at the centre of his life from the moment he discovered the energy and excitement of the first wave of Rock n Roll records in the mid-1950’s. Those incredible early singles by Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy and Chuck Berry formed the spine of a record collection that inspired Bob to want to spread the joy of this fantastic, life-changing music.
He became a DJ in the late 60’s, introducing Marc Bolan, David Bowie, Elton John and a whole new wave of rock n roll inspired performers to audiences at gigs across London and beyond, co-founding the internationally renowned ‘Time Out’ magazine in 1968 to further support the music he loved.
Two years later, he got the gig of his dreams, broadcasting barrier-breaking programmes on BBC national radio, his home for the past fifty-two years, during which time he has established a worldwide reputation as one of the most trusted and influential tastemakers of his generation.
He was the host of the award-winning BBC TV music show ‘Old Grey Whistle Test’ throughout the 1970’s, introducing some of the greatest musicians ever, giving first broadcasts to icons who still dominate the charts today. He compered some of the biggest-ever rock concerts and filmed with some of the greatest stars in the world, including John Lennon, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Queen. It was a heady time.
From then to the present day, Bob has worked tirelessly, discovering and promoting emerging artists and collaborating with world-class stars, demonstrating a passion for music that in recent years has seen him spend more and more time in Nashville, immersing himself in the culture of Music City, while presenting his Country Show on BBC Radio 2.
He is a four-time winner of the CMA International Broadcaster of the Year Award and a recipient of the Wesley Rose International Achievement Award in 2012. He received the Americana Music Association Trailblazer Award from Emmylou Harris on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium in 2011, before flying back to Britain to be honoured, two days later, with an OBE, given to himm by Princess Anne at Windsor Castle, in recognition of his services to British music and culture.
He is an award-winning documentary programme maker and the author of three books, including his chart-topping autobiography ‘Still Whispering After All These Years’, published in 2016.
Bob is much loved and unique. He is a major and respected figure at the centre of the music industry – a man born to music. His has been a warm, knowledgeable and familiar voice across the airwaves for more than half a century and he is as enthusiastic now to support his favourite music as when taping his first teenage home-recorded rock n roll shows in the late 1950’s.
Bob Harris truly is a legend of British broadcasting.
“Bob Harris is a straight-up legend”
Chris Martin, Coldplay
