Wabash Valley Musicians Hall of Fame
'Promoting fellowship and friendship among all musicians of the Wabash Valley'
Musical History of Robert "Rob" Lane
Musical Influences
Robert Lane grew up in a family of musicians. One of his
grandfathers played piano and organ in a number of bands in the
1940’s and 50’s. His father was a good singer who performed in
gospel quartets and octets. Two uncles were accomplished organ
and guitar players.
Robert enjoyed singing from a very young age. He sang in choir
and special musical groups in Junior High and High School. He
sang in church choirs for many years.
Robert’s first instrument was clarinet, which he began playing in
school. However, it didn’t hold his interest and he quit after
playing for one year.
When the “British Invasion” began in the 1960’s, Robert and three
friends decided to form a band, even though none of them could play
an instrument. Being a Paul McCartney fan, he wanted to play
bass, but one of his friends had already claimed that position, so
he chose guitar. He bought a guitar and started teaching
himself to play. However, the metal strings hurt his fingers
so much that he switched to baritone ukulele, which had nylon
strings, then returned to guitar after his fingers gained some
calluses.
The band with his friends never came together, but it didn’t take
him long to join a band as guitarist. But when he auditioned
for his second band, he was told that they needed a bass player, not
another guitar player, so he agreed to learn to play bass guitar.
In the years that followed, he occasionally played guitar, but his
main instrument was the bass guitar.
Robert played many musical styles over the course of his career, starting
with what was Top 40 rock & roll in its day (now known as "classic rock")
and later including Country, Disco, Funk, Blues and whatever other styles
needed to provide him with work.
Musical Career
Most of Robert’s career was as a member of bands or small groups, including the following:
| 1965-1966 | Played guitar with a garage band that never settled on a name |
| 1966-1968 | Played bass with The Bitter End band |
| 1968-1971 | Played bass with The Royals band |
| 1971-1974 | Played bass in a country music duo with Tim Price |
| 1974 | Played bass with The Bitter End II band |
| 1976 | Played bass with The Effigy band |
| 1976-1978 | Played bass and guitar with The Stonegate band |
| 1978-1979 | Played bass and guitar with the Mystery Train band |
| 1979 | Played bass with the Satisfaction band |
| 1979-1980 | Played bass and guitar with The Bob Lane Blues band |
| 1980-1981 | Played bass and guitar with The Enterprise band |
| 1981 | Played bass with the Country Fever band |
| 1981-1982 | Played bass with The Northwest Express band |
| 1982-1987 | Played bass and guitar with the FanFare band |
| 1988-1992 | Played bass with the Enterprise band |
| 1993-2009 | Played bass with the FanFare band |
| 2003-2014 | Played bass with The Mirage band |
| 2005-2006 | Played bass in Susan Smith Duo, played dinner music for events |
| 2015-Now | Played bass with the Tones Of Joy band |
| 2017-2018 | Played bass with The Mirage band |
| 2017-2019 | Played bass with The MCM band |
| 2018-Now | Played bass with The Railroaded/Stacie & the Boys band |
| 2019-Now | Played bass with The Old Habits/Tom & Jerry band |
| 2019 | Played bass with The CHS Daze band |
| 2020-2022 | Played bass with The Flashback band |
He also filled in with many area bands when they needed temporary help. In addition to his work with bands and small groups, he played guitar for a praise music team at church for many years.
Memorable Moments
Robert sang with the all-state high school choir in Indianapolis
during his senior year in high school.
Robert had the opportunity to record a number of songs in the
studio of WISU-FM in 1976, and three of the songs got air time on
the radio. He also performed a few jobs with Henry Lee Summer,
who went on to become a recording artist.
Hall of Fame
Robert was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a part of the Class
of 2006.
He volunteered to write and maintain a web site for the Hall of Fame
in July 2008. The web site was launched about a month later.
Robert continues to serve as the Hall's web master, and occasionally
assists with the Hall's Facebook page.
Robert was elected to the Board of Directors in August 2008. He
was appointed to perform the duties of Secretary in 2009 after Terry
Wenzel retired from the Board. He was formally elected to the
position in 2010 and re-elected in 2012 and 2014. He declined
to run again in 2016, but served as an assistant to the new Secretary,
responsible for the questionnaires, obituaries and the Hall's email
account. He was appointed as the Hall's Historian in 2018. He was
elected as a Vice-Chair in 2020.
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Last update on 20 Jan 2024