Biography
Bob Bellows stands among the most persistent presences in easy listening repertoire from the 1950s onward. Born Robert Brusen in Menomonie, Wisconsin, he began piano lessons at four and joined a touring ensemble at fifteen. After Navy service he enrolled at the McPhail Conservatory of Music in Minneapolis, where he trained in both classical piano and voice. Local recognition followed when he won a Minneapolis radio competition called Stairway to Stardom, whose prize placed him at the 1955 New York premiere of Love Is a Many Splendored Thing to perform its title song. For years afterward he maintained parallel careers in regional theater, appearing in productions such as Life with Father and You Can’t Take It with You while continuing to work as pianist and vocalist; songwriter Sammy Cahn numbered among those who praised his performances. Although frequently placed in the easy listening category, Bellows’s work also draws on light jazz. A career highlight remains the 1960 album Misty, which originated during a Nashville engagement and features guitarist Hank Garland—one of his final sessions before retirement—along with Anita Kerr on piano, bassist Bobby Moore, and drummer Buddy Harmon. The recording has stayed available well into the twenty-first century.
Albums
