Riverbear / Members

Riverbear/ Gordon

Riverbear built his first guitar at age 14. When he was 17 he had his own established playing style, having taught himself by ear, following the likes of popular music in the 70s. Riverbear fell in love with Poco, Eagles, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and others. By then, he was able to hear a song and pick up his guitar and play along adding his own leads. At 19, Riverbear began his thirty-seven-year career with a major aerospace company but that did not slow him down. He would come home after long shifts and write his own songs and music. He recruited a couple of friends who were also musicians, located some recording equipment - 4 track recorder (this was rather high tech in those days) and produced several albums on cassette tape. He even got a little radio play! In the early, to mid-1980s Riverbear’s career had picked up steam and he had married and started a family. Eventually, he was too busy to play, much less record, his music. He put away his guitar and spent the next 15 years focusing on work and home. Riverbear did not forget his dreams. Early in the new millennium, Riverbear found himself single once again. By this time he had reached his peak in his career and was beginning to think about making music again. The time still wasn’t quite right but he chewed on these thoughts for a while. Riverbear re-married in 2006 and his new wife was wildly supportive of his creativity, encouraging him to play every day and even nudged him to attend open mics at some local music venues. He wasn’t finished with his career just yet but had realized he could make time for all this, and besides, soon he would be able to think about his retirement! The possibilities! In 2014 Riverbear was finally able to leave his career behind. His hard work over those thirty-seven years made it possible for him to officially retire at 55 years young. Oh, the possibilities! The next couple of years were spent gradually moving to a smaller town in his state and get out the big city rat race. Now, Riverbear could build his in-home studio. This was comparatively easy as he had already acquired most of the equipment and instruments he could want. He spent some time putting it all together and began…. What you will find here on CD Baby are the products of Riverbear’s creations over the last nearly 40 years. We hope you enjoy!