Bob & Sheila Everhart
Bob and Sheila Everhart were very honored to be featured as "Hometown Heroes" in the nationally circulated newspaper supplement magazine "American Profiles." The article was released the last week of March, 2004, with a circulation of something like five-million copies. You can read the story at http://americanprofile.com/issues/20040321/20040321_3781.asp It's a remarkable story about the Everhart's dedication and perserverance in the preservation of America's musical heritage.
Bob and Sheila were the recipients of the 2004 "Inspiration Award" for their efforts in preserving old time country music for the new generation to hear. This award has been earned by such country music greats as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Highway 101, the song Wabash Cannonball, John Hartford, television network TNT, and Crook and Chase. According to the director Gordon Wall, "Bob & Sheila Everhart are the 2004 recipients and their efforts will live long after them, and give future generations a peek at the past. We applaud them for their untiring efforts, and those of us who love country music appreciate their work in traditional and old-time music."
They were also the feature story in the Dec 03-Jan 04 issue of Midwest Country News. This story is actually a chapter from a book being written about performers from the midwest, and was reprinted in it's entirety in the Country News.
On April 14, 2003, Bob & Sheila Everhart were honored by the State of Iowa Legislature, as Resolution 35, was read attesting to their perserverance and performance of old time traditional prairie and bluegrass music, and honoring the festival they host, now in it's 30th year. At their festival in Missouri Valley, Iowa, they were also inducted into the "South Texas Music Hall of Fame" by Paul and Geneva Martinez.
The Everhart's finished a 5-month concert tour of Europe in March, 2002, and a 1-month concert tour of China in November of 2002. They took America's great musical heritage, especially their renditions of midwest rural traditional country and pre-bluegrass music as laid down by Bill & Charlie Monroe during their days of live radio broadcasting in Iowa, to Europe. They performed in Ireland, North Ireland, Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, East Germany, Holland, West Germany, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Czech Republic, Movaria, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. They invited some 35 acts from Europe to perform on their "International Traditional Music Show" at their festival this year.
BOB EVERHART
Bob is the President of the National Traditional Country Music Assn., a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation since 1975. He has performed old-time authentic traditional country, folk, and bluegrass music for most of his life, and professionally for the past 25 years. He recorded six LP's for the prestigious Smithsonian/Folkways label, one of them, "Time After Time," nominated for a Grammy personally by Moses Asch. Three of the LP's were re-released on foreign labels (Westwood of Great Britain); (Folk Variety of Germany); and (Country Circle of Austria). He also recorded a special session in Ireland, as well as Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Germany, and had CD's of those recordings released in Europe. The Canadian company, Condor Records, has just released a new CD by Bob & Sheila entitled "20 American Classics." A music-video was shot in Mexico of Bob's own composition "No One Comes Near," and a new compilation video from his various television shows is in the works. Bob & Sheila have recorded six cassettes (also available from Prairie Music Records in CD format, please see the Prairie Music page in this website).
Bob and Sheila were awarded "Entertainer of the Year" in Cologne, Germany, and their recording of "Dear Grand Ole Opry" reached No.12 on the European Radio Playlists.
Bob has made over 22 concert tours of Europe. The couple will make their next one in the fall of 2006. In 1998 the couple performed on the "American Traditional Music & Dance Festival in Vienna, Austria, and were invited to perform again on the same festival in 2000 in Dublin, Ireland. They are listed with the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. as artists available to the Embassy and Diplomatic Corps, internationally.
Bob created and host-produced the successful PBS television show "Old Time Country Music," which aired in 22 markets, for seven years. He also hosted and produced a syndicated radio program called "Old Time Music Hour" on eight radio stations in the midwest for seven years. His current project is another hosted radio program called "Bus Stop," an interesting combination of Greyhound bus travelers and old-time music. He is also working on another television program called, "Tradition." He and Sheila were recently recipients of a "Lifetime Achievement Award," from World Music Events; the Kitty Wells/Johnny Wright Leadership in Country Music Award; and the "Tennessee Ambassador of Goodwill" from Tennessee Governor, Don Sundquist. Bob & Sheila are members of "America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame," and are members of "Who's Who In America," "Who's Who In Country Music," and "Who's Who In International Music." Bob is a Kentucky Colonel, and has performed with some of the best known names in country and bluegrass music. His own association, the NTCMA has been conducting tours and programs around the world for a number of years, and presented their first "American Traditional Music & Dance Festival" in Vienna, Austria, in 1998.
Bob is proficient on 12-string guitar, harmonica, and lead vocals, and also plays a number of obscure stringed instruments featured in the Pioneer Music Museum.
SHEILA EVERHART
Sheila has been Bob's wife since 1992 (they have one child, a daughter Bobbie Lhea born Oct 3, 1996). Sheila accompanies Bob on upright double acoustic bass, fiddle, and clog dances in an early Ozark Mountain style taught to her by her grandparents. She gives workshops in all areas (Bob does workshops on 12-string guitar, harmonica, music preservation work, and effective festival management).
Sheila maintains the couples homes in Walnut and Anita, Iowa, as well as their winter home in Veracruz, Mexico. She co-produces the radio program "Old Time Music Hour" which is taped at their performance center, the Oak Tree Opry, in Anita, Iowa, and she also books the talent for that program. She is President of Prairie Music Records, and is a professional photographer with photos appearing in Bluegrass Unlimited, Bluegrass Now, Tradition, and numerous other music related magazines. She was first runner-up in a National Geographic Magazine contest.
If you are interested in booking this delightful Prairie Music Tour with Bob & Sheila Everhart, please contact them
FIRST - by e-mail
SECOND - by telephone voice mail 712-762-4363
THIRD - by mail: POBox 492, Anita, Iowa, 50020