# Bob Atcher

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**James Robert Owen** "**Bob**" **Atcher** (May 11, 1914[3] – October 31, 1993)[4] was an American [country musician](/source/Country_music).

## Biography

Atcher was born in [Hardin County](/source/Hardin_County,_Kentucky), [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky), United States,[3] and learned violin and guitar from his father, who was a champion fiddle player.[4] He started out on [radio](/source/Radio) in [Louisville](/source/Louisville,_Kentucky) on [WHAS](/source/WHAS_(AM)), and was offered spots on a number of other stations in the [American South](/source/American_South) and [Midwest](/source/American_Midwest).[3] In 1939, he was offered a regular gig on [Chicago](/source/Chicago) station [WBBM](/source/WBBM_(AM)) which was broadcast nationally by [CBS](/source/CBS).[4] The show made him a national star, and he signed with [ARC](/source/American_Record_Corporation) just before CBS bought the company. After the purchase Atcher was transferred to [Okeh Records](/source/Okeh_Records) and then to [Columbia Records](/source/Columbia_Records), both CBS subsidiaries.[4]

### Productive years

Between 1939 and 1942, he recorded many duets with Loeta Applegate, who went by the [stage name](/source/Stage_name) "Bonnie Blue Eyes"[3] Among these was the first No. 1 of Jimmie Davis' "[You Are My Sunshine](/source/You_Are_My_Sunshine)".[3] He scored two solo hits with versions of "[I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes](/source/I'm_Thinking_Tonight_of_My_Blue_Eyes)"[3] and [Ernest Tubb's](/source/Ernest_Tubb) "[Walking the Floor Over You](/source/Walking_the_Floor_Over_You)". On May 5, 1942, in his last session before joining the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army), he and Bonnie Blue Eyes recorded "Pins and Needles (In My Heart)" by [Fred Rose](/source/Fred_Rose_(songwriter)), which charted for most of 1943, and went on to become a standard for the wartime era.

### Post WWII

After returning to performing in 1946, he charted hits, including "[Why Don't You Haul Off and Love Me](/source/Why_Don't_You_Haul_Off_and_Love_Me)" and "I Must Have Been Wrong".[3] Bob's younger brother [Randy Atcher](/source/Randy_Atcher) also appeared on some of his records.[4] In 1948, Atcher signed on with [WLS](/source/WLS_(AM)) and became a performer on their *[National Barn Dance](/source/National_Barn_Dance)*.[3] He also released a [long play](/source/Long_play) (LP) entitled *Early American Folk Songs* in 1948, which was among the earliest LPs released by Columbia.[4] In 1950, he signed with [Capitol Records](/source/Capitol_Records), and later in the 1950s moved to [Kapp Records](/source/Kapp_Records).[4] In 1950, he recorded "Christmas Island" with the [Dinning Sisters](/source/Dinning_Sisters). He continued with the *Barn Dance* well into the 1960s, and re-signed to Columbia that decade, re-recording many of his songs in [stereo](/source/Stereo_sound).[4]

Atcher was the star of *Junior Rodeo*, a television program that debuted on ABC on November 15, 1952. Broadcast on alternate Saturday mornings from Chicago, the Western children's program had members of the audience participating in follow-the-leader activities.[5]

Atcher, like [Gene Autry](/source/Gene_Autry), was a shrewd businessman, and bought several businesses and invested in [banking](/source/Banking), with the proceeds from his career.[4] He was also the [mayor](/source/Mayor) of [Schaumburg, Illinois](/source/Schaumburg,_Illinois) from 1959 to 1975.[3] He died on Halloween day in 1993.

Atcher Pool in Schaumburg is named after him. Shortly before he died, the Municipal Center in Schaumburg was named in his honor. The center was dedicated in March 1995.

## Hillbilly-folk chart hits

Year Pos Artist Label Record Date Title composer(s) 1940 1 Bob Atcher and Bonnie Blue Eyes Vocalion Single 05370 February 1940[1] You Are My Sunshine First #1 record June 1940[6][7] 1941 7 Bob Atcher and Bonnie Blue Eyes Okeh single 06395 April 27, 1941[1] Doesn't Matter Anymore Lahn 1942 2 Bob Atcher Okeh single 05134 September 15, 1939[1] I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes Alvin Pleasant Carter 1942 3 Bob Atcher Okeh single 06496 November 11, 1941[1] Walking the Floor Over You Ernest Tubb 1942 8 Bob Atcher Okeh single 06639 January 20, 1942[1] Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die Roy Hall 1942 15 Bob Atcher and Bonnie Blue Eyes Okeh single 06496 November 11, 1941[1] Sweethearts Or Strangers Jimmie Davis and Lou Wayne 1942 29 Bob Atcher Okeh single 06686 May 5, 1942[1] Sorrow On My Mind Floyd Jenkins aka Fred Rose 1943 2 Bob Atcher and Bonnie Blue Eyes Okeh single 06689 May 5, 1942[1] Pins and Needles (In My Heart) Floyd Jenkins 1943 15 Bob Atcher Okeh single 06689 January 20, 1942[1] Time Alone Floyd Jenkins 1946 7 Bob Atcher Columbia single 36983 February 25, 1946 I Must Have Been Wrong Bob Atcher[8] 1948 6 Bob Atcher Columbia single 37991 November 3, 1947 Signed, Sealed And Delivered Cowboy Copas, Lois Mann aka Sydney Nathan[8] 1949 9 Bob Atcher Columbia single 20611 July 22, 1949 Why Don't You Haul Off And Love Me Lonnie Glosson, Wayne Raney[8] 1949 12 Bob Atcher Columbia single 20557 February 6, 1949 Tennessee Border Jimmy Work[8]

## References

1. Russell, Tony (2004). *Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921–1942*. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 85. ISBN 0-19-513989-5.

1. Bob Atcher and Bonnie Blue Eyes; Davis; Mitchell (1940), ["You Are My Sunshine"](http://archive.org/details/78_you-are-my-sunshine_bob-atcher-and-bonnie-blue-eyes-davis--mitchell_gbia0007020a), Okeh, retrieved August 23, 2021

1. [Colin Larkin](/source/Colin_Larkin_(writer)) (ed.) (1993). *[The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music](/source/Encyclopedia_of_Popular_Music)*. First ed. [Guinness Publishing](/source/Guinness_Publishing). p. 25. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.

1. ["Bob Atcher | Biography & History"](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bob-atcher-mn0000056891). *[AllMusic](/source/AllMusic)*. Retrieved August 4, 2021.

1. ["Last Week's Network Changes"](https://archive.org/details/rossreportstele25ross/page/n172/mode/1up?view=theater). *Ross Reports on Television including The Television Index*. November 16, 1952. p. 1. Retrieved March 25, 2022.

1. ["You Are My Sunshine - Bob Atcher | Song Info | AllMusic"](https://www.allmusic.com/song/you-are-my-sunshine-mt0011831154), retrieved 2021-08-30

1. ["The Billboard July 27, 1940 p84"](https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard-Magazine.htm). *worldradiohistory.com*. July 27, 1940. Retrieved August 23, 2021.

1. Whitburn, Joel (2004). *The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition*. Record Research. p. 35.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bob Atcher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Atcher) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Atcher?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.