Lakewood Musician No. 1 on V107.3

In 1991, Bob Gatewood and his band Calabash had made a name for themselves not just in the Flats of Cleveland and northeast Ohio, but all the way to Key West, FL, in part by playing a medley of The Doors songs.

“People would just jump up and request a song, and we would play as much of it as we could,” Gatewood said. “It turned into this huge, long medley. We got really good at it.”

But when another cover band, which was opening for Calabash, did a Doors medley of their own, and proudly told Gatewood they stole the idea from Calabash and wanted to take their job, Gatewood said he knew it was time to make a change.

“I realized that, no matter how good you are, if all you’re doing is polishing up other people’s songs, there’s no way you’re going to have a truly unique product of your own,” Gatewood said.

Fast forward 20 years, and Gatewood, who lives in Put-in-Bay, is riding high off the August release of “Be Good to Yourself,” his second full-length, solo album. The single “No One Knows” is No. 1 on V107.3, ahead of Coldplay, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Death Cab for Cutie.

But he’ll be the first to say he couldn’t have done it by himself.

“Having these kinds of cats on a record really helps you out,” he said.

“These kinds of cats” include producer and guitarist Tom Bukovac, two-time Country Music Award winner for best guitarist, and Joe Vitale, former drummer for The Eagles. Sara Buxton, who’s written songs for Keith Urban, helped co-write a song on the album.

But Gatewood, a 1979 graduate of , said growing up in Lakewood was hugely influential.

“I grew up going down to with my buddies, jamming on our acoustic guitars to Queen and Aerosmith,” he said.

He cut his teeth at places like Cheers, which used to be at the intersection of 117 and Detroit avenues, and a bar near the Madison and Hilliard avenues. But they were soon replaced by an antique store and, in Gatewood’s words, an “all-male club.”

“My experience in Lakewood taught me that, as things around me change, I’ve got to keep on keepin’ on, or I’m going to have to find another line of work,” he said. “Had I not learned that lesson, I never would have been prepared when they closed the Flats.”

Gatewood is reuniting with Calabash for a show at Brother’s Lounge, 11609 Detroit Ave., on Saturday, Nov. 26. Anyone who brings a donation of personal care items, diapers or non-perishable food items for City Mission will automatically be entered for a prize drawing.