Thanks to Tommy Jackson for the great review from Batesville Arkansas. I have been firmly entrenched in the corner of the wonderful Bellamy Brothers for more than 30 years now. Why I am such a fan has been reaffirmed to me many times over the years (even though I have never needed reaffirmation), though the recent Independence County Fair at Batesville where the Bellamys were headlining pounded that fact into my head once again! The Bellamys put on a killer 90-minute set that included virtually everything fans had come out to see and hear. From the opening, Feeling the Feeling to the moving Pray For Me encore, the show was pure magic. Included was this writers personal favorite Bellamy Brothers song, We Dared the Lightning, a great number about a father looking back over his teenage years and realizing how differently he feels about life now that he has kids of his own. This song is a rarity in that it was not written by either of the brothers. Also drawing huge fan reactions were You Aint Just Whistlin Dixie, For All The Wrong Reasons, and of course the song that started it all for the Bellamys, Let Your Love Flow, which came out an almost unbelievable 38 years ago. But truth be told, EVERY song sounded absolutely terrific, and EVERY one drew a huge reaction! Over the years I have had the pleasure of interviewing the senior member of the Bellamy Brothers on a number of occasions. The most recent opportunity came a few days ago, and in case you may not know which Bellamy Im referring to as senior, it is Howard, the older brother to David. A couple of things are all but certain anytime you talk to Howard. One thing is you are going to laugh a lot, and two, the guy doesnt shy away from anything he is asked. I have always thought Howard Bellamy has the greatest smile of any entertainer I know of, and that smile seems to come through on the phone, even if its a regular call and not on FaceTime. Howard laughed when asked if 2014 may be the most hectic year for the band travelwise. This year alone, the Bellamys have played India, Sri Lanka, Norway, France, Germany, Switzerland, Qatar, Australia, and Belgium in addition to all over the U.S.and Canada. I dont even look at where we are going, Howard joked. I just show up. He said he is always taken back when the huge international audiences sing the Bellamys songs back to them. Earlier this year came another surprise when the guys found out that Lovers Live Longer and If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me) are both very popular wedding songs in India. All things considered we think the Bellamy Brothers are the best country duo of all time. That opinion is based on almost unparalleled chart success as close to 20 number one hits will attest. But it also includes longevity as the Bellamys have been doing their thing since the 70s and are putting the finishing touches on a 40th anniversary album due out in the spring of 2015. Yes, as hard as it is to believe, 40th anniversary is correct. That success and staying power are all that much more incredible since mainstream country radio made the ludicrous decision several years ago not to play the Bellamy Brothers anymore. Despite that craziness, the brothers have always maintained a strong presence in the market by being very visible in a number of other areas, most recently UTube. This started a few years ago when their song Jalapenos was deemed too controversial by some of the suits in country music. The video though went viral on UTube, and one gets the idea that the Bellamys dont lose a great deal of sleep regarding how radio feels. Now they are at it again with a new EP available on ITunes and Amazon 3 called Boobs/Texas Girls. The lead song Boobs has a just-released accompanying video on UTube. Its a fun song featuring a rapper and some scenery that you might want to be sure and take your blood pressure meds before viewing, laughed Howard. It is already attracting wide attention and is sure to be a hit. After a rousing performance of the song at Batesville, David (the songwriter) commented laughingly, Theres another reason for radio not to play us. Howard remarked in the call that he and David continually think a lot what to do next in their careers. Such attentiveness to whats going on in pop culture has kept the Bellamys typically ahead of the crowd in pace-setting. One of their early clues that the industry was rapidly changing came back in the 90s. Howard said in fact that as far back as the early to mid 90s when he and David were doing interviews at radio stations around the country, most every one of them had a New Country tag before their call letters. There was nothing new about us, and we realized quickly we were in trouble. So in typical Bellamy fashion they reacted with a number of innovative ideas. One of those was starting their own label, a first at the time that many other performers now have followed suit with. Both strong believers, the Bellamys have captured more followers with some innovative, obviously straight from the heart gospel songs, like Drug Problem (probably not what you might think originally). Drug Problem actually is the story of a child being dragged to church each Sunday and how the process made for him becoming a better person. While gospel music is certainly not new to country music, the interesting fact is that the Bellamys wrote virtually all of their own gospel songs and didnt look to the standard hymns that country artists do typically. So not only does the new 40th anniversary album come out next year, famed biographer Tom Carter is also putting the finishing touches on the Bellamys life story. That book is slated for release in 2015 as well, and anticipation is growing for that product already. The anniversary album is also eagerly anticipated as well, because it will contain 15 or so new songs, and everyone knows the songwriting successes of Howard and David. The industry hasnt been kind to the Bellamys over the years as far as awards are conceded, but its not difficult to figure out thats another area the brothers arent that concerned about. What they are concerned about is pleasing their fans and treating people the way they like to be treated, Howard noted. We recommend the Bellamys show with much enthusiasm. These two beautiful voices accompanied by one of the best bands in the business make for one of the most entertaining shows on the road today. They dont say a lot; they sing a lot instead, but when either brother says something from the stage, I find myself hanging on to every word. They dont make a lot of idle chatter. They are two nice guys and two great entertainers. Tommy Jackson is a former Arkansas newspaper editor and currently does a weekly freelance entertainment column. He may be contacted at tommyjackson01@yahoo
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 17:22:23 +0000
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