Robert "Bobby" Wannamaker was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He spent his childhood in the northeast hill country of the state. His father, Clyde "Junior" Wannamaker, played the fiddle and guitar and taught his son an appreciation for the folk music of the Mississippi hills. Wannamaker has five sisters, so the bond with his father was crucial.
At the age of 17, Wannamaker yearned for the city, and he left his family's farm to pursue a career in music. Though he wasn't particularly adept as a musician, he became noted for his musical ear. He made friends in Memphis, and they steered him toward Nashville, where country music was prominent.
Soon, Wannamaker had befriended musical luminaries and honed his production talents in the studio, working on projects with famous artists and up-and-coming musicians.
A few years later, he began traveling throughout the South, searching for undiscovered talent. His greatest discovery was a young blues prodigy named Marvin "Muscle" Shoals, who was gunned down at the age of 23 in his hometown of Cleveland, Mississippi, on the eve of his first major recording session. Shoals was already being touted as the next Howlin' Wolf.
After an extended and heated court battle with the singer/guitarist's remaining family members, Wannamaker won exclusive rights to Shoals' demos two years ago, and he plans to release a collection in the near future.
Though he has yet to produce the smash album he always dreamed of, Wannamaker has proven himself a shrewd businessman, earning his living by investing in the television and music industry. He recently completed a three-month rehabilitation for alcoholism in a Nashville facility, and he is currently producing an album of up-and-coming country musicians.
Wannamaker and his girlfriend, Wendy Toddings, divide their time between Nashville and Oxford. Wannamaker's lake house on Coles Point Road near Sardis, MS, is about 20 miles outside Oxford. He briefly rented that Coles Point home to Forrest Burgess.