American musicianFor other people named Robert Buck, see Robert Buck (disambiguation).

Musical artist

Robert Norman Buck (August 1, 1958 – December 19, 2000) was an American guitarist and founding member of the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Some of his compositions with Natalie Merchant are among the most popular songs recorded by 10,000 Maniacs, including "What's the Matter Here", "Hey Jack Kerouac", "You Happy Puppet" and "These Are Days".

Contents

• 1 Early life
• 2 Career
• 3 Personal life and death
• 4 Discography
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Early life

Buck was born August 1, 1958 in Jamestown, New York. He graduated from C*adaga Valley High School in 1976 and received an *ociate's degree in anthropology from Jamestown Community College.

Career

Buck decided to pursue a career as a professional guitarist after seeing The Jimi Hendrix Story. Buck, Dennis Drew, Steven Gustafson, John Lombardo, and Natalie Merchant formed 10,000 Maniacs in 1981; Buck was the band's lead guitarist.

The band's folk-rock music became popular with college students. Its 1987 album, In My Tribe, sold more than a million copies. In 1989, Blind Man's Zoo reached number 13 on the U.S. charts and was certified gold. Buck was the co-writer of some of the band's best-known songs, including "These Are Days", "Hey Jack Kerouac", and "What's the Matter Here?" He performed with the band at the Inaugural Ball in 1993. That same year, the band was profiled in Rolling Stone.

Buck was listed in Guitar Player magazine as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

Personal life and death

Buck was married to Terri Newhouse from 1979 to 1981.

Buck was airlifted from the WCA Hospital in Jamestown to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian Hospital onNovember 30, 2000. He died of from liver disease on December 19, 2000.

Discography

With 10,000 Maniacs

• Human Conflict Number Five (1982)
• Secrets of the I Ching (1983)
• The Wishing Chair (1985)
• In My Tribe (1987)
• Blind Man's Zoo (1989)
• Hope Chest: The Fredonia Recordings 1982–1983 (1990)
• Our Time in Eden (1992)
• MTV Unplugged (1993)
• Love Among the Ruins (1997)
• The Earth Pressed Flat (1999)
• Campfire Songs: The Popular, Obscure and Unknown Recordings (2004)

Other credits

• Victory Gardens (1991) with John & Mary – lead guitar, mandolin
• The Weedkiller's Daughter (1993) with John & Mary – lead guitar
• The Pinwheel Galaxy (2003) with John & Mary – backwards guitar
• Kerouac: Kicks Joy Darkness (2000)

References

External links

• 10,000 Maniacs official site
• Robert Buck at IMDb