Mould was born on October 16, 1960, in Malone, New York, to Willis F. Mould III and Sheila Murphy. He grew up in several places, including Minneapolis-St. Paul.
He is the fourth and the youngest child of his parents. His sister, Susan, was seven, and his brother, Brian, was five when he was born.
The musician's oldest brother, Stephen, passed away of nephroblastoma, right after he was born. He was only nine, so his parents were under a big cloud of sorrow when Bob came around.
His father was once considered the best TV repairman in town but he eventually took a job at the post office only to leave the work after finding it difficult.
Following this, Sheila started working for Bell Telephone as an evening switchboard. His mom was a religious Catholic woman, who had spent part of her childhood in a convent.
Mould started getting into music at the age of six. And although his dad had been a saxophonist in the army during World War II, he doesn't remember him playing a musical instrument.
Yet, he was the person who brought music into his life. Willis somehow realized music was important for his son and would buy the old singles for a penny each. He also had a little record player.
When the artist was around seven years old, his dad bought a mom-and-pop grocery store. The family then moved into the small house that had the store attached to it.
His dad passed away in October 2012 after a long battle with lung cancer.
It was a difficult time for his family and he had to take care of his mother, be with his siblings, and try to keep things moving forward. For him, it was the beginning of a 12-month writing process.
And on his 2014's Beauty & Ruin, he looked back on his life and long musical career, both being profoundly influenced by his dad.
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