I gave my father, another historian who taught me banjo at the age of seven, a copy of Bob's "Full Circle" CD. He was very fond of it, and struck up a correspondence with Bob in which Bob was very kind.

As Bob always was to all of us.

As much as his scholarship and musicianship, it was his kindness that contributed to the preservation of traditional music.

Bob followed my dad across the bar by just a couple of months.

Quite a lot of good singing, pickin', and squeezing has been added to the celestial choir this tearful year.