He's not that easy to forget

I wanna go home
I wanna go home
Oh, how I wanna go home...

Happy birthday, Bobby Bare!

That lonely voice on the radio sure made me wonder how anybody could last for long in "Detroit City'', the song that launched Bare's career in 1963.

An easy-going guy who wrote a few great songs and made excellent choices on covering others, Bare might have been too laconic and unassuming to grab the spotlight that was always waiting for him. He did score one No. 1 song ("Marie Laveau'' in 1974 -- which directly followed the No. 2 he had with his 8-year old son, Bobby Jr., "Daddy What If'').

Bobby Jr. (an Indie rocker fronting the Young Criminals Starvation League) was chiefly responsible for his daddy's return to the Music City scene in 2005 with the release of "The Moon Was Blue'' on Dualtone Records. It was Bare's first album in more than 20 years, and turns out it was worth the wait.

Bare still has a sweet, mellow voice, and he's not afraid to tackle some surprising classics. It's probably safe to say that "Shine On Harvest Moon'', "It's All in the Game'', "Yesterday When I Was Young'' and "Everybody's Talkin' '' had never been done before on the same album. Oh, and it would be just plain wrong to forget "Am I that Easy to Forget''.

I'm not sure what Bare is up to today -- other than celebrating his 74th birthday. I think I'll join him by raising a glass now and giving "The Moon Was Blue'' another listen.