Pinkard & Bowden was an American
country music duo composed of singer-songwriters James "Sandy" Pinkard and Richard Bowden (), who also play
guitar and
bass guitar. The duo's music comprises a mix of musical parody and original comedy songs. Pinkard has also written hit singles for
Mel Tillis,
Anne Murray, and
Vern Gosdin, among others. Between 1984 and 1992, Pinkard & Bowden recorded four albums for
Warner Bros. Records.
Biography
James "Sandy" Pinkard was born January 16, 1947, in
Abbeville, Louisiana.
He got his start in
Nashville, Tennessee in the mid-1970s. Initially, he planned to become a singer, but after his singing career proved unsuccessful, he turned to songwriting. Among his hits as a writer were "
You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma
"You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" is a song from the film '' Any Which Way You Can'', performed by American country music artists David Frizzell and Shelly West. It was written by Larry Collins and Sandy Pinkard (of Pinkard & Bowden). The son ...
" (a duet by
Shelly West
Shelly West (born May 23, 1958) is an American country music singing, singer. Her mother was the country music star Dottie West, whose career spanned three decades. The younger West reached her peak in popularity during the 1980s before mostly r ...
and
David Frizzell), "
Coca Cola Cowboy" by
Mel Tillis, and "
Blessed Are the Believers
"Blessed Are the Believers" is a song written by Charlie Black, Rory Bourke and Sandy Pinkard (of Pinkard & Bowden), and recorded by Canadian country music artist Anne Murray. It was released in March 1981 as the first single from Murray's Gold ...
" by
Anne Murray.
Richard Bowden was born on September 30, 1945, in
Linden, Texas,
While in high school, he played in a
Dixieland band formed by his father Elmer, which also included his childhood friend
Don Henley
Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as "Witchy Woman", "Despe ...
. Bowden and Henley then formed a band called the Four Speeds, which changed its name to Felicity, then Shiloh.
Shiloh disbanded in 1971 over the band's leadership and creative differences between Henley and Bowden, as Bowden wanted the band to be more country while Henley did not. After Henley left to form
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
, Bowden briefly toured as a member of
Roger McGuinn's band, which opened for Eagles. Bowden came out with his own album in 2003 called "''Big Bad Johnson''".
Jim Ed Norman
Jim Ed Norman is an American musician, multi-platinum record producer, arranger and label-head. As an arranger and producer, he was one of the principal architects of the distinctive sound of West Coast 1970s pop and country rock. He was Preside ...
, who was also in Shiloh, introduced Pinkard and Bowden to each other, and the two began writing songs together. After discovering that they were both writing songs that were humorous in nature, the two decided to form a comedy duo, and released their debut album ''Writers in Disguise'' in 1984. It was led off by a parody
montage entitled "Adventures in Parodies," which included parodies of
Sammi Smith
Jewel Fay Smith (August 5, 1943 – February 12, 2005), known professionally as Sammi Smith, was an American country music singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1971 country-pop crossover hit "Help Me Make It Through the Night", whi ...
's "
Help Me Make It Through the Night (Help Me Make Through The Yard),"
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
's "
Daddy Sang Bass,"
Tanya Tucker's "
Delta Dawn,"
B.J. Thomas
Billy Joe Thomas (August 7, 1942 – May 29, 2021) was an American singer widely known for his pop, country and Christian hits of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
Popular songs by Thomas include "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968), "Raindrops Keep Fallin' ...
' "
,"
Eddie Rabbitt
Edward Thomas Rabbitt (November 27, 1941 – May 7, 1998) was an American country music singer and songwriter. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as "Kentucky Rain" ...
's "
Drivin' My Life Away,"
Claude King's "
Wolverton Mountain
"Wolverton Mountain" is a country music song and 1962 crossover hit that established Claude King's career as an American country singer-songwriter. The song was a rewrite of the original version by Merle Kilgore, which was based on a real person n ...
,"
Willie Nelson's "
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and
Michael Martin Murphey's "
What's Forever For."
This album also included their only Top 40 hit on the country charts, "Mama She's Lazy" (a parody of
The Judds' "
Mama He's Crazy"
), as well as the parodies "Libyan on a Jet Plane" (
Peter, Paul and Mary's "
Leaving on a Jet Plane"
), "She Thinks I Steal Cars" (
George Jones' "
She Thinks I Still Care
"She Thinks I Still Care" is a country song written by Dickey Lee and Steve Duffy. The song was recorded by multiple artists, including George Jones, Connie Francis, Anne Murray, Elvis Presley and Patty Loveless.
George Jones versio ...
"
) and "Arab, Alabama," a partial parody of
Waylon Jennings' "
Good Hearted Woman."
In 1985 the pair performed a concert with Ray Stevens at the Lanierland Music Park in Georgia.
That year they released the album ''PG-13''. A live album called ''Live!'' was released in 1990, with ''Cousins, Cattle, and Other Love Stories'' coming in 1992. This album was a split compilation, mixing live and studio tracks. All four albums featured songs that were co-written by
Tim Wilson, who would become a comedian and singer himself in the early 1990s.
Style
Pinkard & Bowden has been compared to
Homer & Jethro
Homer and Jethro were the stage names of American country music duo Henry D. "Homer" Haynes (1920–1971) and Kenneth C. "Jethro" Burns (1920–1989), popular from the 1940s through the 1960s on radio and television for their satirical version ...
, a country duo popular from the 1940s through the 1960s, whose act also comprised a mix of parody and original songs. Unlike Homer & Jethro, Pinkard & Bowden's material was often
profane
Profane may refer to:
* Profane (religion), a thing which is not sacred
* Profanity, foul language
* ''Profane'' (film), a 2011 film
* Profanity (instant messaging client)
Profanity is a text mode instant messaging interface that supports the XM ...
in nature;
Pinkard & Bowden was the first country comedy act to have explicit content warnings on its albums,
and the duo was banned from appearing on
The Nashville Network (now
Paramount Network).
Pinkard & Bowden's parodies are sometimes topical in nature, such as "Friends in Crawl Spaces", a parody of
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
's "
Friends in Low Places" which referenced serial killer
Jeffrey Dahmer.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Music videos
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinkard and Bowden
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1998
American country music groups
Country music duos
American parodists
Parody musicians
Warner Records artists