Spinner, Bob (actually, Robert Channing)
Spinner, Bob (actually, Robert Channing)
Spinner, Bob (actually, Robert Channing ), American dulcimer player; b. Elk Rapids, Mich., Oct. 25, 1932; d. in an automobile accident near there, Oct. 1, 1990. He was born with perfect pitch and built his first hammer dulcimer at the age of 12; as a teen, was known as an exceptional player throughout northern Mich., one of the traditional homes of the instrument, where he performed at community venues. He played banjo, fiddle, piano, and the cymbalom, and performed Hungarian music on both the dulcimer and the cymbalom; played at the Ind. State Fair in 1952, whereupon he was invited to Ind. Univ. to assist with research and restoration of its dulcimer collection. He appeared on the recorded collection The American Hammer Dulcimer (1977) and was taped for the Univ. of Mich, video archive. Spinner was a mentor to numerous dulcimer players, among them Michael Masley, Thomas Bauer, and Paul Gifford; also was co-founder of the Everett Dulcimer Club. He owned more than 20 instruments; a favorite was an unusual and partly damaged instrument made by John Brown of Torch Lake Village in 1880, which went with him to his grave.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire