Chicago VII Bios

GUY GUILBERT was the guitarist for the Chicago duo, Inman & Ira. He was house bass player at Mother Blues and played with, among others, Ronnie Gilbert, of The Weavers, Josh White and Bob Gibson. Guy ran his own commercial production company, "The Spot Shop," producing and directing film and music in Chicago. Guy is also a gifted artist and resides in Los Angeles, CA.

ELAINE "SPANKY" MCFARLANE teamed up with Guy Guilbert to sing at hootenannies at The Rising Moon. Later, Spanky joined The New Wine Singers who played there. Spanky met Nigel Pickering and Oz Bach on a trip to Florida and started Spanky and Our Gang, later joined by Malcom Hale from The New Wine Singers. The group went on to international fame with concerts and television appearances. She replaced Mama Cass in The Mamas & The Papas when Cass passed away. She works on special projects such as this concert and now lives in Sacramento, CA.

GINNI CLEMMENS was the first act at The Earl of Old Town, Poor Richard's, and Mother Blues (with John Brown). She has shared billings with a who's who of the music business. Pete Seeger, Steve Goodman, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Bill Cosby and many others. She taught the song "Wild Women Don't Get The Blues" to Mama Cass Elliot, who later recorded it. In 2000 she received the Jeannine Ray Award for her contribution to Women's Music WOW. Ginni still performs and now lives in Hawaii.

Chicago in the early 60's was an exciting time for those in the emerging folk music scene. With coffee houses and folk saloons springing up there were many places to play, to hang out, to learn songs and to make new friends. Places like The Fickle Pickle, The Yellow Unicorn,

Monmarte, Poor Richard's, The Centaur, The Gate Of Horn, The Rising Moon and Mother Blues to name a few.

" … what I owe to Bob, I will tell you, what he did for me was he set the time for us, and I know that at the time of "The Earl" and "The Horn" and John Brown's club, to be where Bob was, was to be the best place in the world. To be where we were at that time … I've never had anything better … I've never known anything better . I think it's important for us to know that we were at the best place at the best time."

Shel Silverstein

Bob Gibson farewell concert

Chicago, IL. September 20, 1996