My name is Bob Gelb and I am a Singer/songwriter of an eclectic range of songs. I spent my childhood years in the Larchmont Woods section of New Rochelle, New York. My mother gave me an assortment of music albums including Ernest Tubb, Calypso songs, Burl Ives and Broadway Musicals. I did not pick up the guitar until my teens when I heard folk music from Joan Baez, Gordon Lightfoot, Ian Tyson, Bob Dylan, PPM, Tom Paxton, Kingston Trio, the Weavers and others. I bought some song books and taught myself the chords on the guitar, practicing till my fingertips bled. Later I lived in New York City while attending college at Pace University and would spend time in Greenwich Village and Washington Square Park listening to the music being played there.

I married a gal, Susan Spring from New Britain Connecticut at the UN Chapel. Susan sang many of the folk songs I now played, plus I was beginning to write songs of my own. After living in New Rochelle for a brief period we moved to Old Saybrook Connecticut to be near Susan’s two brothers and her older sister Marcia Krause. We sang in several of the taverns there including McNulty’s and the Deep River Inn. While living there we were also introduced to sea songs and chanteys by Cliff Haslam. Susan’s sister Marcia and her husband Art Krause were teachers and bought a little home on Sprucehead Island Maine. They loved to sing and when we visited them in Maine we found some new friends in song, including Gordon Bok, Nick Apollonia, and Bob Stuart.

 Susan and I had a baby daughter Wendy and we moved to Nyack, New York. I made brass lamps and later worked at an agency for the disabled as an employment specialist and a counselor. I would play at the Holiday parties and other events at the agency and enjoyed sharing my love of music with the clients. Through the years to hone my skills as a songwriter I attended songwriting workshops with Steve Gillette, Bob Franke and Eric Anderson. In the year 2000 I got together with a local friend who had a small studio in his home and David Snider and I produced my “I’m Still Breathing” CD showcasing 15 of my songs. It is difficult to categorize my songwriting style as I take each song idea and try to give it its own personality and make the words meaningful. I have written love songs, lullabies, a wedding song, one I wrote for the 9/11 tragedy in NYC, country songs, songs for people who have passed away, topical songs, humorous songs, spiritual songs and many others.

In 2016 my wife and I moved to South Florida to leave winter weather behind us. We were pleased to find folk music alive and well in the Sunshine State. We have joined two folk music clubs, one in Palm Beach County and one in Broward County. Many folksingers come down to play in the area during the winter months and we have been pleasantly entertained by them. I play at Day Centers, Group Homes and Assisted Living Facilities as a part-time job which I call Music Interactive Therapy. I also entered a songwriter’s contest and had two of my songs selected and was chosen to be among the 12 finalists at the South Florida Folk Festival 2017. All the finalists were also featured on Gail Carson’s Internet Radio Show #21.