Robert Earl

Born in, Detroit, Michigan U.S.A, he played piano at the age of 9, and drums at the age of 11. Inspired by his mother, he joined the church choir where he sang gospel music (this is still one off Bobby’s favorite musical genres). Other early influences which have helped form his style: his uncle Little Willie John (who made the first recording of “FEVER”), his cousin Jimmy Helms (Singer, song writer and soloist for the group LONDON BEAT), and Bobby B;and. Today he has incorporated the sounds of Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder into his repertoire. He studied music and took voice lessons in Detroit. His vocal coach, the singer Ned Wright, encouraged him to join a group of 12 young Detroit singers known as the “PHOENIX SINGERS”. One year at the University on a music scholarship and it soon became apparent that New-York was the real proving groud for the professional singer, upon arriving in New-York (aged 22), several auditions quickly resulted in a singing, dancing and acting career on and off Broadway. Bobby Helms has played in various musical comedies such as “PORGY AND BESS”, “YOUR ARMS ARE TOO SHORT TO BOX WITH GOD”, under the direction of Vinette Caroll, and Leonard Bernstein’s “MASS”. In 1968, he toured with Harry Belafonte in Japan and sang with Josephine Baker on her last US tour in 1974 and 1975. He went to Paris in 1979 for a three-week contract at the “Theatre Moderne de Paris” with the theatre group CELEBRATION of New-York. Bobby falls in love with Paris and decides to live there. His Europeen career includes night clubs performances (Hotel de Paris and the Sporting-Club in Monte Carlo), studio sessions, movie soundtracks, television publicity spots and various tours where he has been the featured solo singer with people such as Jennifer Holiday, Steve Lacy, Bobby Few and Clyde Wright, soloist of the group GOLDEN GATE QUARTET. He sang also with Roch Voisine, Enrico Macias, Nana Mouskouri, Florent Pagny, Pauline Ester, Michel Jonaz and for the film “BLAC MIC MAC II” with Manu Katche who is now the drummer of Peter Gabriel and Sting, and he also worked as soloist with the drummer Vic Pitts. Living in the Geneva area for the last decade, Bobby has played the Montreux Jazz Festival, various hotels and clubs in Switzerland, and in Paris, as well as a gig on a cruise ship!