Pinkard & Bowden
Encyclopedia
Pinkard & Bowden is 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
.
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" (a duet by Shelly West
and David Frizzell
), "Coca Cola Cowboy" by Mel Tillis
, and "Blessed Are the Believers" by Anne Murray
. Richard Bowden, born September 30, 1945, had played in a band called Shiloh, whose membership also included Don Henley
. After Henley left to form the Eagles, Bowden briefly toured as a member of Roger McGuinn
's band, which opened for the Eagles.
Jim Ed Norman, a mutual friend, 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
's "Help Me Make It Through the Night
(Help Me Make Through The Yard)," Johnny Cash
's "Daddy Sang Bass
," Tanya Tucker
's "Delta Dawn
," B.J. Thomas' "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
," Eddie Rabbitt
's "Drivin' My Life Away
," Claude King
's "Wolverton Mountain
," 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
") and "Arab, Alabama," a partial parody of Waylon Jennings
' "Good Hearted Woman
."
PG-13 followed in 1985. 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.
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 Spike TV
). Pinkard & Bowden's parodies are sometimes topical in nature, such as "Friends in Crawl Spaces", a parody of Garth Brooks
's "Friends in Low Places
" which referenced serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
duo composed of singer-songwriters James "Sandy" Pinkard and Richard Bowden, who also play guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
. The duo's music comprises a mix of musical parody and original comedy songs. Pinkard has also written hit singles for Mel Tillis
Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....
, Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
, and Vern Gosdin
Vern Gosdin
Vern Gosdin was an American country music singer. He idolized The Louvin Brothers and The Blue Sky Boys as a young man and sang in a gospel quartet called The Gosdin Brothers. An inheritor of the soulful honky tonk style of Lefty Frizzell and Merle Haggard, Gosdin was nicknamed "The Voice" by his...
, among others. Between 1984 and 1992, Pinkard & Bowden recorded four albums for Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
Biography
James "Sandy" Pinkard was born January 16, 1947. He got his start in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
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" (a duet by Shelly West
Shelly West
Shelly West is an American country music singer. Her mother was the country music star Dottie West, whose career spanned three decades. Shelly West is best known for having hit duets with David Frizzell, and for their #1 hit "You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma"...
and David Frizzell
David Frizzell
David Frizzell is an American country music singer. He is the younger brother of country music legend Lefty Frizzell. His career first started in the late 1950s, but his biggest success came in the '80s, 30 years into his career....
), "Coca Cola Cowboy" by Mel Tillis
Mel Tillis
Lonnie Melvin Tillis , known professionally as Mel Tillis, is an American country music singer. Although he recorded songs since the late 1950s, his biggest success occurred in the 1970s, with a long list of Top 10 hits....
, and "Blessed Are the Believers" by Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
. Richard Bowden, born September 30, 1945, had played in a band called Shiloh, whose membership also included Don Henley
Don Henley
Donald Hugh "Don" Henley is an American singer, songwriter and drummer, best known as a founding member of the Eagles before launching a successful solo career. Henley was the drummer and lead vocalist for the Eagles from 1971–1980, when the band broke up...
. After Henley left to form the Eagles, Bowden briefly toured as a member of Roger McGuinn
Roger McGuinn
James Roger McGuinn is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist on many of The Byrds' records...
's band, which opened for the Eagles.
Jim Ed Norman, a mutual friend, 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
Sammi Smith
Sammi Smith was an American country music singer and songwriter. Born Jewel Faye Smith, she is best known for her 1971 country/pop crossover hit, "Help Me Make It Through the Night", which was written by Kris Kristofferson...
's "Help Me Make It Through the Night
Help Me Make It Through the Night
"Help Me Make It Through the Night" is a country music ballad composed by Kris Kristofferson and released on his 1970 album Kristofferson.Kristofferson said that he got the inspiration for the song from an Esquire magazine interview with Frank Sinatra...
(Help Me Make Through The Yard)," Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
's "Daddy Sang Bass
Daddy Sang Bass
"Daddy Sang Bass" is a 1968 single written by Carl Perkins, with some lines from "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" and recorded by Johnny Cash. "Daddy Sang Bass" was Johnny Cash's sixty-first release on the country chart. The song went to number one on the country charts for six weeks and spent a...
," Tanya Tucker
Tanya Tucker
Tanya Denise Tucker is a female American country music artist who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13...
's "Delta Dawn
Delta Dawn
"Delta Dawn" is a song written by former child rockabilly star Larry Collins and songwriter Alex Harvey , best known as a 1972 top ten C&W hit for Tanya Tucker and a number-one hit for Helen Reddy in 1973.-Lyrical story:The title character is a faded southern...
," B.J. Thomas' "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
" Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" is an American country and pop song made famous by B.J. Thomas.The song became Thomas' second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1975. In addition, it ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart three weeks after...
," Eddie Rabbitt
Eddie Rabbitt
Edward Thomas "Eddie" Rabbitt was an American singer-songwriter and musician. His career began as a songwriter in the late 1960s, springboarding to a recording career after composing hits such as "Kentucky Rain" for Elvis Presley in 1970 and "Pure Love" for Ronnie Milsap in 1974...
's "Drivin' My Life Away
Drivin' My Life Away
"Drivin' My Life Away" is a country song by Eddie Rabbitt. It reached number one on the Hot Country Singles in 1980, and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100....
," Claude King
Claude King
Claude King is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for his million selling 1962 hit, "Wolverton Mountain".-Biography:...
's "Wolverton Mountain
Wolverton Mountain
"Wolverton Mountain" was a hit that launched Claude King's career in the US in 1962. The song was written together with Merle Kilgore and was based on a real character, Clifton Clowers, who lived on Wolverton Mountain in Arkansas. The song spent nine weeks at the top of the Billboard country chart...
," Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
's "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
"Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" is a song written by songwriter Fred Rose. Originally performed by Roy Acuff, the song was later recorded by Willie Nelson as part of his 1975 album Red Headed Stranger. Both the song and album would become iconic in country music history, and jump start Nelson's...
" and Michael Martin Murphey
Michael Martin Murphey
Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, Country music, and Popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including Cowboy Songs, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter...
's "What's Forever For
What's Forever For
"What Forever For" is the title of a song written by Rafe VanHoy and recorded by Michael Martin Murphey. It was released in June 1982 as the third single from the album, Michael Martin Murphey. "What's Forever For" would be Murphey's second country hit and the first of two number ones on the...
." This album also included their only Top 40 hit on the country charts, "Mama She's Lazy" (a parody of The Judds
The Judds
The Judds were an American country music duo composed of Naomi Judd and her daughter, Wynonna Judd. Signed to RCA Records in 1983, the duo released six studio albums between then and 1991. One of the most successful acts in country music history, The Judds won five Grammy Awards for Best Country...
' "Mama He's Crazy
Mama He's Crazy
"Mama He's Crazy" is the title of a song written by Kenny O'Dell and recorded by American country music duo The Judds. The song was The Judds' second country hit and the first of fourteen number one country hits. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fourteen weeks on the...
"), as well as the parodies "Libyan on a Jet Plane" (Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
's "Leaving on a Jet Plane
Leaving on a Jet Plane
"Leaving on a Jet Plane" is a song written by John Denver in 1966 and most famously recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary. The original title of the song was "Oh Babe I Hate to Go" but Denver's then producer, Milt Okun, convinced him to change the title....
"), "She Thinks I Steal Cars" (George Jones
George Jones
George Glenn Jones is an American country music singer known for his long list of hit records, his distinctive voice and phrasing, and his marriage to Tammy Wynette....
' "She Thinks I Still Care
She Thinks I Still Care
"She Thinks I Still Care" is a song written by Dickey Lee and Steve Duffy which became the third C&W #1 hit for George Jones, spending six weeks at #1 in the spring/summer of 1962...
") and "Arab, Alabama," a partial parody of Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
' "Good Hearted Woman
Good Hearted Woman (song)
"Good Hearted Woman" is the title track from Waylon Jennings' 1972 album. "Good Hearted Woman" was written by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson and performed by Waylon Jennings, the song spent eighteen weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Singles Chart, reaching a peak of #3 in March 1972...
."
PG-13 followed in 1985. 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 have been compared to Homer & Jethro, 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 is often profaneProfanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
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
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
(now Spike TV
Spike TV
Spike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
). Pinkard & Bowden's parodies are sometimes topical in nature, such as "Friends in Crawl Spaces", a parody of Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks
Troyal Garth Brooks , best known as Garth Brooks, is an American country music artist who helped make country music a worldwide phenomenon. His eponymous first album was released in 1989 and peaked at number 2 in the US country album chart while climbing to number 13 on the Billboard 200 album chart...
's "Friends in Low Places
Friends in Low Places
"Friends in Low Places" is a song released by American country music artist Garth Brooks. It was the first single from his second album, No Fences. The song spent four weeks at #1 on the U.S...
" which referenced serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer was an American serial killer and sex offender. Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1987 and 1991. His murders involved rape, dismemberment, necrophilia and cannibalism...
.
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Writers in Disguise | 47 | Warner Bros. |
| 1985 | PG-13 | — | |
| 1990 | Live! | — | |
| 1992 | Cousins, Cattle and Other Love Stories | — | |
Singles
| Year | Single | US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | "Adventures in Parodies" | 64 |
| "Mama, She's Lazy" | 39 | |
| 1986 | "She Thinks I Steal Cars" | 92 |
| 1988 | "Arab, Alabama" | 87 |
| 1989 | "Libyan on a Jet Plane" | 79 |