Robert Lenn “Bobby” Barnard was born March 9, 1953 in Fort Worth, TX and died August 6, 2020 in San Antonio, TX. From an early age, his twin obsessions were sports and music, passions that stayed with him until the day he died.
As a youngster, he had experiences that foreshadowed both his tenacity and his incredible ability to be in the right place at the right time. The first time he played golf was at the famous Worth Hills golf course. On the 5th hole he made a hole-in-one...he was 10 years old and used a driver on the par-3 hole. When he was 14, he and a friend went to see the Jimi Hendrix Experience in Ft. Worth. Not only did he manage to get the Marshall speaker cover from Hendrix’s destroyed amp, which he tore in half and shared with his friend (a feat in itself). The boys also managed to find out Hendrix’s hotel and room number. A bemused Hendrix invited the boys in (even though he had “company”) and signed autographs and gave them souvenirs while he visited with them. He also directed them to drummer Mitch Mitchell’s room, who was also cordial. All those artifacts hung in Sundance Records for years and currently can be seen at Sig's Lagoon in Houston.
Bobby attended Texas Tech University for a year but left to join his brother Gary in managing Gary’s Budget Tapes and Records stores, first in Aurora, CO and then in Houston, TX. However, his dream was always to own a record store in a small town. In 1977, Bobby and his bride Nancy moved to San Marcos and opened Sundance Records. The first store was a tiny space on the courthouse square. The store would move twice, winding up in its longest running location on University Dr. in 1988. Each store bore Bobby’s indelible stamp. The “Michelangelo of the staple gun,” Bobby created a fantastic collage of news clippings, memorabilia and posters that covered every square inch of the store walls, counters and even the ceiling. The detailed collages depicted musical history, his own story and historical events that never ceased to blow the minds of first-time visitors.
Bobby marched to the beat of his own drum and it was that streak of individualism, combined with his incredible work ethic, that made him a legend in the Texas music industry and kept the store running for 35 years. Bobby inspired everyone who worked or shopped at Sundance. Two longtime employees, Tomas Escalante and Greg Ellis, opened their own stores, which Bobby painstakingly decorated from top to bottom. His legacy is felt in every square inch of those stores. Those two stores are Sig’s Lagoon in Houston (Tomas) and Groover’s Paradise in Austin (Greg).
Finally, no story about Bobby would be complete without his wife Nancy. Running a world class record store was Bobby’s dream, not hers, but she worked beside him every step of the way. She shared his incredible work ethic, and fortuitously, she was great at everything he was not. Theirs was a love story for the ages, spanning 43 years.
Services will be private. However, if you wish to share your memories of Bobby with Nancy, please do so at [email protected]
If you wish to make donation in Bobby’s memory, the family asks that you select the SIMS Foundation @ simsfoundation.org.
Bobby is survived by his wife Nancy Tarrant Barnard of Ingram, TX, his brother Gary Barnard of Benbrook, TX and an entire generation of music lovers who will never forget him!
