Rob Bowman (music writer)

For other uses, see Robert Bowman (disambiguation).

Rob Bowman is a contemporaneous Canadian professor of ethnomusicology and a music writer. He lives in Toronto with both his children.

Formerly the director of York University's Graduate Program in Ethnomusicology & Musicology in Toronto, he has written many liner notes, studies and books on pop music.

Specialized in the Stax Records story, his liner notes on the different boxed sets of The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles has been celebrated. His book, Soulsville, U.S.A. - The Story of Stax Records, is considered to be the definitive history of the legendary Memphis-based record label.

Bowman won the 1996 Best Album Notes Grammy for his 47,000-word monograph accompanying the 10-CD boxed set of The Complete Stax/Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 3: 1972-1975. Bowman has also received 5 Grammy nominations. His fifth nomination being in 2002 for Best Album Notes for the 4 CD box set The Stax Story, which he also co-produced.

Philosophy of Teaching

Bowman believes (and incorporates) that all music is created equal, and metaphorically, it could be said that musics, in his eyes, need advocacy, just as humans needed (and still need) human rights advocacy. When teaching his university courses, he places the music that is being studied into historical and social contexts and explores issues such as race, class, political economy, gender, and identity. The idea behind this is that rendering all members of each of these groups as equally relevant, would create an open-minded awe to all sonic communication and a necessity to understand its relevance through understanding the art's predecessors. This view is corroborated by his instrument choices, being proficient in both viola d'gamba and euphonium.