No one's really sure where Colonel Cobalt was born or what year. Abandoned, some say he was raised by wolves and that his mother was a blacksmith, and his father was a piano tuner, accordion repairman and part time outlaw. No one knows how he got his name and why he calls himself a Colonel. He was denied military service as he was deemed mentally unfit.

The most persistent rumor is he likes the 11 herbs and spices of another famous Colonel's chicken.

As a child he was in and out of foster homes and spent two years in a detention center in Texas as a teen. Interviews with the foster parents have revealed that they all thought he was dangerous and extremely odd. He would spend hours alone in his room, listening to vinyl 45s on a Sears and Roebuck portable phonograph that had the name Becky Flanders written in the lid in black crayon. He grew his trademark beard when he was 11 years old, oddly enough, it was white even though the Colonel, as a child, had dark hair.

He roamed the country in his 20's and 30's busking on street corners with a guitar he made from a wooden crate and occasionally getting a gig in a beer joint or a child's birthday party. He was usually asked to leave after the first two songs, however.

Colonel Cobalt was always asked why he didn't turn professional or try to get a record deal. He always said he "Wasn't gonna have some SOB A&R pansy telling him to change this or that."

He disappeared for the next 30 years. There were rampant rumors of Cobalt sightings all over the world. Blurry photos from Cairo, Spain, Mississippi, New Zealand and local stories from hundreds of other locations seemed to be authentic, but one thing was certain, he was elusive and always moving.

No one knew where he got the money to maintain his lifestyle. One day he would be in a Ritz Carlton penthouse, the next, sleeping under newspapers on a park bench. Johnny Cash and Burl Ives would get postcards from the Colonel and the postmarks backed up the sighting rumors.

The postcards always had the same message, "Quit stealing my material! Best, CC"

Then, in the late nineties, he showed up in Nashville, the place where he said he would never set foot again, even to take a leak. He released three albums as Cobalt Minor that went nowhere. The music is available on iTunes. He told a waitress at Pancake Pantry iTunes had finally paid him and he was celebrating by blowing it all on a short stack.

He was busking again but always seemed to have a lot of money. Word was he was being supported by wealthy widows and divorcees, but he denies this saying he didn't need anybody's help or sass.

Remarkably, Colonel Cobalt and his band, Cobalt Minor have recently released a vinyl album of peculiar, and not particularly memorable songs, titled "Sharks Teeth".  A video of a live performance in a well known Nashville dive was recently posted to YouTube and other media sites. The critics have not been kind but he said "Those who can't do, critique".

He was recently overheard in a West side laundromat saying he had a whole 'nother album ready to release but he wasn't going to until "Sharks Teeth" had sold tens of dozens.

His entire fan club rented a 15 passenger van when they heard he was playing Bonnaroo, only to be crest fallen after finding out he was just a parking attendant for the festival.

Whatever happens next with the Colonel will no doubt be colorful and most likely, unnerving.