Bob Harris is a broadcaster, writer and music industry figure from Illinois, United States. He is a fingerstyle guitarist and is closely associated with the British music scene, where he works across radio, television, print and documentary production.

Broadcasting career

Harris spends nearly four decades at the centre of the British music industry. He presents programmes on Radio 1 and Radio 2, and is also known for the television series Whistle Test. His broadcasts are described as influential in bringing bands into mainstream awareness, and he is regarded as a trusted guide for listeners with a strong interest in music.

He develops a reputation for supporting new and cutting-edge music, with a particular commitment to country music and its sub-genres. He is sometimes described as the “John Peel of country music” because of that focus.

Awards and recognition

Harris receives the Country Music Association’s International Broadcaster of the Year award in 2004. He also appears on international panels at the Americana Music Awards in Nashville and gives the keynote speech at NXNE in Toronto in 2008. In addition, he is given a Fellowship by the University of Northampton and is the penultimate subject of This Is Your Life.

Other work

Outside broadcasting, Harris co-founds Time Out magazine and writes books, newspaper articles and magazine columns. He also produces records, undertakes rock tours, interviews a president, voices television and radio documentaries, works on major advertising campaigns including the Beatles USA campaign for Anthology 3, and appears in films.

He and his wife Trudie found the Whispering Bob Broadcasting Company, an independent radio production house that makes documentaries for Radio 2, including When John Met Paul with Paul McCartney. That programme broadcasts in July 2007 and wins a Sony Silver Award in 2008.

Personal health

Harris is diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2007 and continues to live with it.