That's my 1999 American Strat with three 1971 Gibson Deluxe mini humbucking pickups. My best guitar yet!
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Bob Bailey (me) plays Lead Guitar and Vocals in his bands and owns Tommy Allsup's recording studio in Odessa, TX where he also does big time video production work such as: tape delayed television broadcasts of the Odessa and Permian High football games.

Bob was an athlete at Permian High in Odessa and had played little league baseball in 1959 on a State Champs team with country singer-songwriter Larry Gatlin.

Bob's rock band career, which would eventually become the reason for Bob's buying the recording studio, began in 1963 with a five piece instrumental group called “The Starfires”. The group snagged almost all the local sock hops and proms for both Odessa and Permian High Schools. Early in 1965, with the addition of a singer, Mike Campbell, “The Starfires” began performing Beatles and Beach Boy songs along with Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly forcing Bob to start singing in the group.

Later in 1965 Bob began playing with Al Perkins and Robert Ashcraft in the original “Shades” with original drummer, Mike Frith. Bob and Al both came from groups with lead vocalists meaning the two had to develop their solo vocal abilities. They did this by continuing with performing the Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Beatles and other music that we today call “Classic Rock”. Al Perkins was eventually inducted into the Steel Guitar Player’s Hall of Fame.

In the fall of 1966 Bob and the bassist for the “Shades” at that time, Ken Smith, went to Houston and attended the U of H. They took the name “Shades” with them and played quite a bit in and around Houston through the spring of 1967. During that year Bob and Ken met a Seminole, Texas lad by the name of David Walden who played guitar, keyboards and sang.

In the fall of 1967 the “Shades” added Stu Bailey, Bob’s brother. Stu began writing and the “Shades” landed a contract with United Artist Studios in Houston and recorded 9 songs. The group played on several occasions on the same bill as Johnny Winter, ZZ Top, and twice with Paul Revere and the Raiders with Mark Lindsey.

The band broke up when Stu went into the service and Bob joined his third band which was out of Galveston called “Storm”. That group recorded for H & S Studios and also played on the same billings with “ZZ Top” and a group from Dallas by the name “Bloodrock”.

Bob left the band in 1974 and came back to West Texas where his fourth band came together called “Sweet Briar”. This band played on bills with groups such as “Jo Jo Gunn” and “Black Oak Arkansas”. In 1977 they did a short tour with “Leslie West and Mountain” along with “Canned Heat”.

In 1978 Bob joined a fifth group already in progress called “Jade”. He would be with this group for the next 10 years. For the first time he played country songs. The group played about 50% rock and 50% country. The group played on the same bill with “Asleep at the Wheel” at the Chaparral Center in Midland.

After Jade, Bob took about seven years off from playing. Then Randy Brown, the original bassist for “Sweet Briar” brought him into his group along with Herb Rehders called “Fever”. Bob’s son, Gregg, also came into the group playing sax, flute and keyboards. The group played until September 9th, just before 9-11. The group never played together again.

Bob joined his seventh group in April of 2003. “CPR” (for Country, Pop and Rock) plays more songs than any other group he’s ever been in, and with more variety. Let’s hope that seven is a lucky number for Bob. The Band has already played more in it's first few months than “Fever” did in it’s last year. (And we're still playing today)

In the summer of 1974, when Bob had just returned from Houston, he began to work in the family business, Odessa Glass and Mirror Company. This lasted until the rock tour with Leslie West and Canned Heat. During the tour the owner of American Music offered Bob the Midland store to Manage. Bob gave his notice to his dad at Odessa Glass and took over the American Music Store in Midland. During the one year at American Music Bob bought the very first Betamax Video deck sold in West Texas and soon bought a video camera to go with it. This was just prior to consumer video cameras being made available.

In 1976, because of his band, "Sweet Briar", Bob had purchased the Tommy Allsup recording studio where he had recorded while he was a senior at Permian High School. With the new video gear and the studio, it made good sense for Bob to start producing video programming.

Today Bob still owns the recording studio and records local musicians and groups. His main work is video where he produces commercials, sporting events such as the Permian and Odessa High football games for broadcast and other single and multi-camera programs.