“Music became a part of my life because I always loved it,” said Robert Glasker, looking back on 56 years and counting in Rappahannock County.
Weekends at the microphone with his guitar, he’s Bobby G, the front man for the Heavies, energizing audiences across Virginia’s Piedmont with a hard driving, finger-popping mix of rhythm and blues, rock and soul.
Weekdays in the classroom, he’s Mr. G, the special education teacher for 26 years at Rappahannock’s elementary school, guiding children to learn, develop and reach their full potential.
And the road signs that directed him to both career paths? Coincidences — “God’s way of staying anonymous,” Bobby said.
Bobby “G” Glasker at his home in Gid Brown Hollow. (Photo/Luke Christopher)
“As a kid, I spent hours playing a broom in front of a mirror,” he recalled recently, laughing with that characteristic giant smile flashing. But it was only make-believe until high school teacher Roger Flinchum heard the eighth grader singing “It’s Your Thing,” quietly, under his breath at his desk in the classroom. “You got it!” Mr. Flinchum enthused. “You got the voice for singing the blues.” And the next day he brought in three records — John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters — to school Bobby on how to use that big voice.
“If you’re serious about playing, I’ll get you a real guitar,” his father Ellis promised, when he noticed the hours his son was spending, strumming the broom and singing to the mirror. Knowing the cost of a good guitar and the strain that would put on the family budget, Bobby debated with himself on whether he had the stick-to-itiveness to justify the expense. But before he could decide, “I came home to find a shiny new bright red Harmony waiting on the couch.”
More importantly, the senior Glasker took his son to see an old friend, Richard Noakes, in Boston. “His health was bad, and he didn’t really play anymore,” Bobby recalled. “Mr. Noakes said, ‘I can’t show you much but I can tell you one important thing: If you never learn to tune a guitar, you’ll never learn to play a guitar.’
“’So, hand me that guitar,’ and he took the tuning off. ‘Now, tune your guitar by ear,’ he ordered, tossing it back to me. ‘Hum and tune.’”
That was new to Bobby. Up to then, he’d used a pitch tuner, and not very well, he acknowledged. “But I hummed and tuned, and I learned “Key to the Highway,” my first song. After that, I never looked back.”
Bobby Glasker and Lillian Aylor, center, members of Promised Land Baptist Church’s gospel group, The Spiritual Aires, in the mid 1990s. Bobby credits his church for the vocal training that powers his big, booming voice, and he credits God for putting him on the right path at the right time to find happiness and success on the bandstand and in the classroom.
Where singing started
And that booming, melodious voice? Bobby’s vocal talent, control and power developed naturally in Washington’s Promised Land Baptist Church, “where I grew up singing, and I still sing there,” said the chairman of the church’s deacon committee. “I credit that with a lot of what I’m doing now. Everything started at Promised Land.” It was a weekly opportunity and encouragement combined, as he collected compliments on his style and the big, big voice. “It carried so well,” he noted.
The big break happened in 1994 when Charlie Laine, chairman of Culpeper’s NAACP, asked Bobby to play at the annual attract-new-members picnic. He performed solo, and that led to an invitation to the African-American Culture Festival, where he was scheduled for a 45-minute set.
Solo was not his favorite performance mode; he wanted a band.
Good fortune struck a note in harmony with coincidence. The guitarist on stage before him had never played with Bobby but they knew each other. “How about I back you up?” he asked. Then a drummer offered to sit in, next came a bass player, and a band was born. After the encore, Bobby was asked repeatedly for his business card. “Folks wanted to book me on the spot.”
His original stomping grounds were Sperryville’s Blue Moon and the patio at the Blue Rock Inn on Route 211 in Washington. From 2002 to 2005, Bobby Glasker and Friends owned that patio once a month or so from late spring until the weather ended outdoor music.
“They needed a lot of room for Bobby’s big sound,” remembered Jim McCullough, then chef and general manager of the Blue Rock. “Bobby gave young people as well as those never too old to rock and roll great music in their own backyard. Folks came from Warrenton, Front Royal and Culpeper. It was a happening scene, and Bobby made the locals proud because they had the coolest music around.”
Since rocking those houses, Bobby has been the front man in a changing lineup of musicians at wineries, breweries, cideries and festivals east and west of the Blue Ridge. Fifteen years ago, he and the band landed a job every now and then. Now Bobby G and the Heavies — Anders Drew and Michael Grove on guitars, George Glascoe on bass and Paul Norris on drums — are booked solid for weeks ahead and turning down offers from far flung venues. And when Jack Norris, the drummer’s son, is home on leave from the U.S. Marines, he joins them with his trombone. “I couldn’t do it without them,” Bobby acknowledged.
“As a kid, I spent hours playing a broom in front of a mirror,” Bobby “G” Glasker recalled. (Photo/Luke Christopher)
It’s old-time rock ‘n’ roll, covers of golden oldies that sooth the soul, and if you wanna dance, they’ve got a back beat you can’t lose. It’s hard to stay seated, especially with Bobby roaming the dance floor, mike in hand, encouraging listeners to join him. And those who resist and stay in their seats have, at the least, fingers snapping and toes tapping to the tunes.
But music is only part of the story.
In 1985, newly graduated from Virginia State University with a degree in business administration, Bobby came home to Gid Brown Hollow and the house his father bought from Bobby’s grandfather when Ellis from Woodville married Maybelle from Gid Brown. He didn’t plan to stay in the homeplace in the county where he was born; he intended to move down country for work.
His father suffered a stroke. Ellis recovered, only to be diagnosed with cancer. His mom struggled with congestive heart failure. And there was his older brother who would always need to live at home. Roy had cognitive disabilities. He could take care of himself and manage the basic skills of daily living. He loved the outdoors and kept busy with mowing and other yard work, and when weather sent him indoors, he had his Western movies and sports contests on TV. But Roy couldn’t hold a job, handle finances, drive or deal with other complications of modern life.
“Stay,” Bobby’s father asked. “Your mother needs you, we all need you.” So, Bobby stayed. He cared for his parents until they passed, and with the help of his aunt and then his niece, Crystal Porter, he’s been his brother’s keeper, in their family home, to this day.
“For me, growing up Black in Rappahannock was a good life,” Bobby said. “I always felt I was treated fairly, and I never experienced any real problems. I know people who did, but I’m thankful I didn’t. Maybe my music helped pull me through.”
Robert Glasker in 1992 accepting his degree in business administration and management from Virginia State University. But instead of heading down country to conquer the business world, Bobby settled in the hollow and found other paths to happiness and success that let him put family first.
When teaching began
But music wasn’t enough. In 1992, he began substituting at the elementary school. Over Christmas break, the special education teacher resigned and after two months of substituting in that class, Bobby was asked to finish out the year there.
Then another coincidence — the special ed teacher hired over the summer backed out two weeks before the start of school, and Bobby was asked to return. This time, after two months of subbing, the administration noted that with his business administration and management degree already in hand, he needed just special education certification to be hired as a full-time teacher. So, Bobby went back to school part time while substituting full time until he gained certification in 1999. Since then, he has focused on children with special needs at Rappahannock County Elementary School.
“He’s such a popular teacher,” said Mary Jane Capela, who taught special education for lower elementary grades while Mr. G worked with the older kids. “He related to the children and the teenagers so much better than the rest of us.”
“When you mention Bobby’s name, people always smile,” said Jan Makela, who taught with him, worked with him to support the annual coffeehouse fundraiser for the school band program and now volunteers with him to support the John Jackson Blues Festival.
“He has a gift for building up young people, for making kids feel good about themselves. And he never, ever said no to helping with the band fundraisers,” she recalled. “When Bobby Glasker and Friends hit those first chords of ‘Mustang Sally,’ everybody was up and dancing.”
“With a calm, patient demeanor and a warm sense of humor, Mr. G, as he’s affectionately known by students and staff, creates a nurturing and inclusive environment where every child feels safe and empowered to succeed,” adds Assistant Superintendent of Schools Carol Johnson, who taught with Bobby and was his assistant principal and principal. “He is not only a trusted mentor and advocate for students but also a beloved colleague and a deeply valued member of the RCPS community.”
Bobby Glasker with Roy and Layne Vickers in her classroom at the middle school in August of 2020. (Photo/Luke Christopher)
Certainly, Bobby G gets a big jolt of job satisfaction on the bandstand. “I can see how people love the music, and I really enjoy watching them have a good time,” he said. “We can feel their enthusiasm, and it helps us put on a better show.
“But it can’t compare with teaching,” Bobby continued. Teaching gives him retirement savings and a steady income, he acknowledged, but the intrinsic reward is so much greater. “When you see children learn and when they come back years later to thank you for helping them — kids you didn’t even teach — that’s the biggest reward … I’d never give up teaching. I’d give up music first.”
Fortunately for fans of Bobby G and the Heavies, he won’t have to make that choice. Mr. G is set to retire in a few years, and weekend gigs will do just fine to fill his dance card until he leaves the classroom. “Maybe I’ll travel more for music then,” he mused.
But no matter how his personal concert tour ends, he’s satisfied. “I have no regrets for the choices I’ve made and what I’ve done,” he said. “No regrets at all. I’ve been in the right place at the right time — right where God wanted me to be.”
(Photo/Luke Christopher)
