John Cowan (born August 24, 1953) is an American

progressive bluegrass Bluegrass music is a Music genre, genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe, Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has r ...

vocalist and

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan became the band's bassist in 1972 after the departure of original bassist Ebo Walker and was noted as being the only member of New Grass Revival not to come from a bluegrass background. He was inducted into the

International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame For a professional in the bluegrass music field, election to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame is the highest honor the genre can bestow. An invitation can be extended to performers, songwriters, promoters, broadcasters, musicians, a ...

in 2020 as a member of New Grass Revival.

Biography

After the disbandment of the New Grass Revival, Cowan released a soul record of covers, called ''Soul'd Out'', for the Sugar Hill Records label in 1990. Cowan appeared as a duo with Sam Bush on the

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series, Lonesome Pine Special in 1992, and also appeared with other artists on the program. From 1988 to 1996, Cowan teamed with Rusty Young of Poco, Bill Lloyd of

Foster & Lloyd Foster & Lloyd was an American country music duo consisting of singer-songwriters Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd. After pairing up in 1986, the duo recorded three albums for RCA Records, charting nine singles on the ''Billboard'' country charts. Th ...

and Pat Simmons of

the Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

—in a band originally called Four Wheel Drive, which was later changed to The Sky Kings. Several singles were released but failed to chart well. Two albums were recorded but not released by RCA until 1997 after the group's demise as the Sky Kings, "Out of the Blue". Partly thanks to his collaboration with Simmons in Four Wheel Drive, Cowan also found himself the bass player for the Doobie Brothers from 1993 to 1995. His song "Can't Stand To Lose", co-written with Rusty Young, was featured on the Doobies' 2000 album ''

Sibling Rivalry Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among siblings, whether blood-related or not. In childhood, siblings generally spend more time together than they do with parents. Sibling bonds are influenced by factors such as parental ...

''. In addition, throughout the 1990s, Cowan picked up session work singing harmony vocals and/or playing bass on recordings of Travis Tritt, Steve Earle, Garth Brooks and Wynonna. From 1996 to 1998, Cowan was the bassist and backing vocalist in Sam Bush's touring band. The new century brought a blues record from Cowan. By 2002, his projects on Sugar Hill turned more to his "newgrass" stylings. Cowan performed on two bluegrass tribute albums for the British rock band

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of Graeme Edge (drums), Denny Laine (guitar/vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals), Ray Thomas (multi-instrumentalist/vocals) and Clint W ...

: '' Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to The Moody Blues'' (2004), and '' Moody Bluegrass TWO... Much Love'' (2011). In 2006, Cowan left Sugar Hill and went to the independent label Pinecastle Records. In 2008, Cowan was chosen to participate in a movie on the life of Billy Graham, entitled 'Billy: The Early Years.'Teen lands role as Billy Graham's sister in new film , www.tennessean.com , The Tennessean
/ref> In May 2010, Cowan rejoined The Doobie Brothers as their touring bass player (after their regular bassist, Skylark, suffered a stroke). In 2017, he released an album with fellow Doobie Brother Ed Toth and Chicago guitarist Keith Howland titled Button.

Discography

Studio albums

* 1986: ''Soul'd Out!'' ( Sugar Hill) s Johnny "C * 2000: ''John Cowan'' (Sugar Hill) * 2002: ''Always Take Me Back'' (Sugar Hill) * 2006: ''New Tattoo'' (?) * 2009: ''Comfort and Joy'' ( eOne) * 2010: ''The Massenburg Sessions'' (eOne) * 2014: ''Sixty'' (

Compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

) * 2024: ''Fiction'' (True Lonesome Records)

Live albums

* 2009: ''8,745 Feet: Live at Telluride'' (eOne)

As a member of New Grass Revival

* 1975: '' Fly Through the Country'' (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family (biology), family of Saltwater fish, marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the order (biology), order Beloniformes, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven genus, ge ...

) * 1977: '' When the Storm Is Over'' (Flying Fish) * 1977: '' Too Late to Turn Back Now'' (Flying Fish) * 1979: '' Barren County'' (Flying Fish) * 1981: ''

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

'' (Flying Fish) * 1981: ''The Live Album'' (

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

) [with

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

] * 1984: ''

Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film * ''Live'' (2023 film), a Malayalam-language film *'' Live: Phát Trực Tiếp'', a Vietnamese-langua ...

'' (Flying Fish) * 1984: '' On the Boulevard'' ( Capitol) * 1984: '' Deviation'' ( Rounder) with [

Béla Fleck Béla Anton Leoš Fleck (born July 10, 1958) is an American banjo player. An acclaimed virtuoso, he is an innovative and technically proficient pioneer and ambassador of the banjo, playing music from bluegrass, jazz, classical, rock and various ...

] * 1986: '' New Grass Revival'' (Capitol) * 1987: '' Hold to a Dream'' (Capitol) * 1989: '' Friday Night in America'' (Capitol)

As a member of The Sky Kings

* 2000: ''From Out of the Blue'' (Rhino Handmade) * 2014: ''1992'' (

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

)

Also appears on

* 1978: Bryn Haworth—'' Grand Arrival'' ( A&M) * 1978: John Prine—'' Bruised Orange'' ( Asylum) ocals on track 10, "The Hobo Song * 1987: Foster and Lloyd—'' Foster & Lloyd (album)'' (

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

) ocals* 1988:

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

—'' Copperhead Road'' ( UNI) ocals* 1989:

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...

—'' Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two'' ( Universal) ocals* 1992: Wynonna Judd—'' Wynonna'' (Curb / MCA) acking vocals* 1996: Kathy Chiavola—''The Harvest'' (

Demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

) ocals* 1996:

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones Béla Fleck and the Flecktones is an American jazz fusion band that is known for its eclectic style and instrumentation, combining jazz Musical improvisation, improvisation with progressive bluegrass, Rock music, rock, Classical music, classical ...

—''

Live Art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

'' (

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

) ocals on track 14, "Oh, Darling!"* 1999:

Jesse Winchester James Ridout "Jesse" Winchester Jr. (May 17, 1944 – April 11, 2014) was an American-Canadian musician and songwriter. He was born and raised in the southern United States. Opposed to the Vietnam War, he moved to Canada in 1967 to avoid ...

—''Gentleman Of Leisure'' (Sugar Hill) ocals* 1999:

Leftover Salmon Leftover Salmon is an American jam band from Boulder, Colorado, formed in 1989. The band's music is a blend of bluegrass, rock, country, and Cajun/ Zydeco (Polyethnic Slamgrass). Over their thirty years as a band, Salmon has released seven s ...

—''The Nashville Sessions'' (

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

) ocals* 2000:

The Doobie Brothers The Doobie Brothers are an American rock band formed in San Jose, California in 1970. Known for their flexibility in performing across numerous genres and their vocal harmonies, the band has been active for over five decades, with their greate ...

—''

'' (Pyramid / Rhino) ass, vocals* 2001: Candlewyck—''Candlewyck'' (Votive Records) ocals* 2003: Wayne Benson—''An Instrumental Anthology'' ( Pinecastle) * 2014:

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

—'' Tarpaper Sky'' (

New West New West Records is a record label based in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville and Athens, Georgia. It previously had offices in Burbank, California and Beverly Hills, California. From 2013 to 2018, New West's records in the U.S. were distributed b ...

) ocals* 2014: Candlewyck—''Play'' (Votive Records) ocals* 2016: Frank Solivan—''Family, Friends & Heroes'' (Compass) * 2017:

Button A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, or ...

—''Button'' ass, vocals* 2018: Michael Kelsh—''Harmony Sovereign'' (Sonoita Records) dditional vocals

References

External links

*
John Cowan
on

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, John 1952 births Living people American male singers American bluegrass musicians New Grass Revival members Singers from Ohio The Doobie Brothers members Musicians from Louisville, Kentucky Eastern High School (Louisville, Kentucky) alumni Guitarists from Kentucky Guitarists from Ohio American male bass guitarists 20th-century American bass guitarists Country musicians from Kentucky Country musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male musicians Sugar Hill Records artists RCA Records artists The Sky Kings members