Bob Davoli To Release 'Wistfully Yours' Album January 15

With the deft touch of a finger-style guitarist and the heart of a ballad folk singer, Bob Davoli has taken and distilled seven decades of experiences to make this beautiful, remarkable, and very personal debut album, Wistfully Yours. The 15-song collection is set for a January 15, 2021 release via Gutbrain Records with all proceeds being donated to the Food Not Bombs organization.

At 72, Davoli acknowledges that mortality is a theme that runs through Wistfully Yours, yet there's far more range to this collection. One hears longing, sadness, and regret, but also devotion, love, and perhaps most importantly, hope. His voice is weathered, it's genuine, and the soul of his songwriting clearly comes across, backed up with supportive musicians who value a thoughtful, collaborative approach.

Remembering the first time he listened to Wistfully Yours in its entirety, Davoli recalls, "When I sat down and put the headphones on, these weren't just songs to me, they were a lifetime - they were the story of my life."

Davoli grew up inspired by Bob Dylan and considers himself a child of the '60s - one who went to Woodstock and later marched on Washington. He harbored ambitions of becoming a folk singer himself and picked up an acoustic guitar at 22. By 29, however, he'd put it away as family and career became a priority. It would be nearly three decades before he wrote his first song, just a few months before his 59th birthday. Prior to embarking on songwriting-which has already landed him as finalist in both the International Acoustic Music Awards and Great American Song Contest-he'd also taken guitar lessons from country blues icon Paul Rishell, and those musical influences shape Wistfully Yours just as much as pop, jazz and folk.

Professionally, Davoli has had an astoundingly successful career in venture capital, and even appeared on the cover of BusinessWeek in 2000. He's been a founder and CEO of a software company, CEO of another software company, and landed on Forbes' The Midas List five times in past years. Plus he sits on 14 boards, manages 30 investments, and oversees with his wife, Eileen McDonagh, the Red Elm Tree Foundation, a charitable organization that grants funds for land conservation, social justice, women's rights, health care, and the arts.

"I hope that some people can heal when they hear this album," he says. "If they've had lost love or bad childhoods, I hope that they can find solace in my music."

Davoli wrote one of the album's most eloquent tracks, "Don't You Let the Darkness Drag You Down" after hearing the phrase in the 2010 film, Beginners. He says, "It's about longing - even though you've been beaten down, there's still that hope. It's one of my best lyrics when I say, 'I would be so happy just to be so sad with you.' And the very idea is, 'No, I don't want to be free, I still want you to love me.' It says it all."

Meanwhile, "Even Though Autumn's in Your Eyes" came to fruition after he was gazing at wind chimes on a still summer night at home and thinking, "Silent wind chimes always make me cry." Davoli notes, "It's one of those songs about getting old, but still not letting it get you down. I write a lot of songs about that."

Perhaps the most intense song on Wistfully Yours is "Transistor Radio and Me," which recounts his abusive childhood in precise detail. "My father was battered as a child, so he did that to his kids," Davoli says. "It is purely autobiographical, and there's hope in the chorus. In some ways, if I hadn't had a bad childhood - if you want to look at the positive side - I wouldn't have been able to write these songs. It's cathartic, it's sad, but I got through it, and I hope so can others."

Throughout Wistfully Yours, Davoli writes and sings from the philosophical perspective of a man who lives very much in the moment, but at the same time often reflects on his past, and the lifetime of decisions that ultimately led him to this place.

"I think it's interesting that you can have the present feelings, but then you can harken back to another time, and connect the two," he concludes. "That connection is the important part."

Track listing for Wistfully Yours:

"Even Though Autumn's In Your Eyes"

"Transistor Radio and Me"

"Miss Peggy Lee Sings the Blues"

"Waxing Poetic"

"Huge Swig of the Now"

"What I Remember Most"

"Don't You Let The Darkness Drag You Down"

"Rear Window Waltz"

"Dry Soul"

"On The Same Day"

"Chestnuts and Love"

"Dancing on the Moon"

"Midnight Sun Tattoo"

"I Can Come Home in Your Dreams"

"Some These Days I'll Be Gone" (Charley Patton cover)

Photo Credit: Steve Coit