Robert Neale Lind (born November 25, 1942) is an American folk-music singer-lyricist who helped define the 1960s folk rock movement in the U.S. and UK. Lind is well known for his transatlantic hit record, "Elusive Butterfly", which reached number 5 on both the US and UK charts in 1966. Many musicians have recorded songs by Lind, who continues to write, record and perform.

Early life

Lind was born in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents divorced when he was five, and his mother remarried; his stepfather was in the Air Force, and the family travelled for some years before settling in Denver, Colorado. He became interested in folk music while a student at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado, and abandoned his studies to become a musician.

Career

In 1965, Lind signed a recording contract with Liberty Records' subsidiary, World Pacific Records, and on that label he recorded "Elusive Butterfly". The single might have done even better on the UK Singles Chart had competition not arisen from established Irish recording artist Val Doonican, who released a cover version of the song at the same time. In the end, both versions of "Elusive Butterfly" made number five in the UK in 1966. Lind also wrote "Cheryl's Goin' Home", which was covered by Adam Faith, the Blues Project, Sonny & Cher, John Otway, the Cascades, and others. To date, Lind's compositions have been eventually covered by more than 200 artists. including Cher, Glen Campbell, Aretha Franklin, Dolly Parton, Eric Clapton, Nancy Sinatra, The Four Tops, The Turtles, Richie Havens, Hoyt Axton, The Kingston Trio, Johnny Mathis, The Rokes (with the Italian covers "Ma che colpa abbiamo noi" and "E' la pioggia che va"), and Petula Clark. Plagued by drug and alcohol problems, Lind gained a reputation in the business for being "hard to work with." In 1969, Lind severed ties with World Pacific. Three years later, Capitol Records released Since There Were Circles, an album that was well received by critics, but not commercially successful. Lind dropped out of the music industry for a number of years. He was a friend of the writer Charles Bukowski's, who used him as a prototype for the character Dinky Summers in his 1978 novel Women and other writings. Lind stopped using drugs and alcohol in 1977. In 1988, he moved to Florida. He wrote five novels, an award-winning play, and a screenplay, Refuge, which won the Florida Screenwriters' Competition in 1991. In October of 2019, his short play A Good Night won a place in the Delray Beach Playwright’s Festival. And in May of 2023, another of his one-acts, Spain, enjoyed a successful run in The Curtain Call Playhouse’s Short Play Festival in 2023. For eight years, he was a staff writer at the tabloids Weekly World News and Sun. He has been credited as co-creator (with photo artist Dick Kulpa) of the famous "Bat Boy" Weekly World News cover story. Lind returned to music in 2004, when at the urging of his friend Arlo Guthrie, he played at the Guthrie Center in Becket, Massachusetts. Lind established an official website in 2006. That same year, RPM Records reissued the album Since There Were Circles, and Lind self-released the Live at Luna Star album featuring performances of new material. In 2007, Ace Records (UK) released Elusive Butterfly: The Complete 1966 Jack Nitzsche Sessions. The British band Pulp have a song named after him: "Bob Lind (The Only Way Is Down)", from their album, We Love Life; the song itself follows a similar musical structure to Lind's hit "Elusive Butterfly". A Lind recording, "Cool Summer" was also included on the compilation album, The Trip, compiled by Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey. In 2009, filmmaker Paul Surratt completed a concert/documentary DVD called Bob Lind: Perspective. In October 2012, 41 years after the release of his last studio album, Lind issued a critically acclaimed CD of new music: Finding You Again, produced by veteran rock guitarist Jamie Hoover of the Spongetones and released by Ace Records. In November 2013, Lind was inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame, along with Judy Collins, The Serendipity Singers, and Chris Daniels. Lind was inducted into the Maryland Entertainment Hall of Fame on November 17, 2019. In July 2016, Ace Records released a new album of new songs, entitled Magellan Was Wrong. Jamie Hoover was once again involved in the production; other producers were Frank "Rat" Falestra, jazz master Greg Foat, and Lind himself. All songs are originals, with the exception of a folk-style cover of the Tom Paxton classic "Bottle of Wine". On February 25, 2022, Ace Records released Something Worse Than Loneliness, Lind’s third album of new music over the last 10 years. It has garnered some of the strongest reviews in his career (8/10 in Uncut and four stars in Shindig!). On October 13, 2023, Lind received his first European production as a playwright when his trilogy, The Road Plays (three one-act plays presented on a single evening), was presented at the New English American Theatre in Stuttgart, Germany. On February 3, 2024, Lind headlined the South Florida Folk & Acoustic Festival, closing Saturday night's main stage performances with a strong encore.

Discography

Singles

Albums

DVDs