Birth name Robert Hartman Name Bob Hartman | Years active 1972–present | |
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Born December 26, 1949 (age 74) ( 1949-12-26 ) Origin Lyons, NY, United States Occupation(s) musician, songwriter, producer Role Guitarist · houseofbob.com Albums Petra Praise: The Rock Crie, Come and Join Us, Petra en Alabanza, Petra Praise 2: We Need, Beat the System | ||
Instruments guitar, banjo, vocals | ||
Petra farewell interview greg x volz bob hartman john lawry and john schlitt
Robert "Bob" Hartman (born December 26, 1949) is a Christian artist, guitarist, writer and songwriter. He is the founder of Christian rock band Petra. Hartman was involved with the band from its foundation in 1972 to its end in 2005. He took a break from touring in 1995, but continued to write most of the band's songs, record guitars and produce most of the albums. He officially returned to touring with Petra in 2003 until he decided to retire the band in late 2005.
Contents
- Petra farewell interview greg x volz bob hartman john lawry and john schlitt
- Tour of my bob hartman founding petra guitarist and songwriter guitar the mutation
- Career
- Personal life
- Equipment
- References
Tour of my bob hartman founding petra guitarist and songwriter guitar the mutation
Career
Bob Hartman learned to play guitar when he was 13 years old, teaching himself from books and watching other people. He has said that one of his major influences was Joe Walsh, a member of The James Gang at the time.
Hartman converted to Christianity when he was 20. When he was 21, he joined a Christian band called Rapture with John DeGroff. During this time, he wrote some of the songs of the first Petra album. He also studied at Bowling Green State University, earning a B.A. in Psychology.
When Rapture broke up, DeGroff moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana to attend Christian Training Center (a school based in a church there). Hartman was already jamming with guitarist Greg Hough and they both moved to Indiana to attend the same school. Upon meeting drummer Bill Glover there, they formed Petra. Hartman became the principal (and most of the time, the sole) songwriter of the band, writing the lyrics and music for almost all of their songs.
In 1995, he felt he needed to take a break from touring but remained as the band de facto leader, songwriter, and producer. He also continued to play guitars on all of the albums despite not being featured on the album pictures or promotional material of the subsequent four albums - No Doubt, Petra Praise 2: We Need Jesus, God Fixation, and Double Take.
Amidst the struggles in the band during the late 90s, Hartman decided to officially return in 2001 for the release of the band's third praise album: Revival. In 2005, after much praying, he decided to retire the band after 33 years of ministry.
After Petra's retirement, Hartman started working with former Petra singer, John Schlitt, as II Guys from Petra in an album which was released on January 26, 2007 titled Vertical Expressions.
In 2010, Hartman and other members of the early line-ups of Petra, reunited under the name Classic Petra. They released an album titled Back to the Rock and have been touring since.
Personal life
Hartman is married to Kim Whisonant. They have one son together whose name is Jeff. Bob enjoys playing tennis and is a self-taught web programmer. He records and produces music at his in-house studio called House of Bob. He also makes guitars, which can be bought through his website.
Equipment
This information is from Petra’s videos, CD booklets, pictures from Petra’s pages (www.houseofbob.com, www.guidetopetra.com, www.petrarocksmyworld.com & www.petrafiles.com) and a couple of E-Mails answered by Bob Hartman himself.