BUS 22 TO BETHLEHEM

Bobby Cole put so much time and energy into creating "Mister Bojangles...." he pretty much forgot about the B-side!
With almost no production values, he simply got a few session players to back him on "Bus 22 to Bethlehem," which might have suited Bobby (ah, BOB) Darin, who was younger than Bobby Cole but going through a similar time...experimenting with folk-rock after having spent most of his time chasing the inspiration of Sinatra.
A difference between Bobby Cole and Bobby Darin is that Bobby knew Sinatra quite well. Cole was a king of the night scene in New York in the early 60's, when everyone from The Chairman of the Board to Art Carney would want to literally sit in with The Bobby Cole Trio. But by the late 60's both Bobby Cole and Bob Darin were sincerely creating good folk rock. Only neither were appreciated for making the attempt. That's called pigeon-holing. If you swing, you can't rock.
As you listen to this lost '68 folk-rock number you might find some Bob Darin here, or a bit of Bob Dylan too...but the lyrics are pure Bobby Cole. He was quite a literate man, and religion was always something important to him...whether the commercialization of it, the doubting of it, or the redemption in it. Over 30 years ago, Bobby was singing: "the Christians, and the Muslims exchanged frozen looks." Times have changed. Now they exchange mortar fire.
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