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Pinkard & Bowden was a comedic country music duo comprised of the singer-songwriters James “Sandy” Pinkard and Richard Bowden, who also play guitar and bass guitar.
Between 1984 and 1992, the duo recorded four albums for Warner Bros. Records, and all of them featured songs co-written with Tim Wilson.
Pinkard & Bowden are noted for their combination of parody songs and original comedy songs, and is often compared to the Homer & Jethro country due that was popular in the 1940s – 1960s. Compared to Homer & Jethro, Pinkard & Bowden’s material tend to contain much more profanity, and they were the first country comedy act with Explicit Content Warnings on their albums. The due was even considered too profane for The Nashville Network.
Pinkard and Bowden were introduced to each other by their mutual friend Jim Ed Norman, and they soon discovered that they both liked to write comedic songs. They formed a duo and released the album “Writers in Disguise” in 1984.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsBeHAu8XZg
Albums
Pinkard & Bowden released their first album “Writers in Disguise” on the Warner Bros label in 1984. It entered the US Country chart, peaking at #47. The follow-up album “PG-13”, released in 1985, failed to chart. In the early 1990s, Pinkard & Bowden released two new albums on Warner Bros: “Live!” in 1990 and “Cousins, Cattle and Other Love Stories” in 1992. None of those albums charted.
The debut album Writers in Disguise included parodies such as Help Me Make It Through the Yard (Sammi Smith – Help Me Make It Through the Night), Mama She’s Lazy (The Judds – Mama He’s Crazy), Libyanon a Jet Plane (Peter, Paul and Mary – Leaving on a Jet Plane), She Thinks I Steal Cars (George Jones – She Thinks I Still Care), and Arab, Alabama (Waylon Jennings – Good Hearted Woman).
Singles
Two of the songs on Writers in Disguise were released as singles in 1984. “Adventures in Parodies” reached #64 on the US Country chart, while “I Lobster But I Never Flounder” failed to chart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuDgIdc118o
The single “Mama, She’s Lazy” from PG-13 reached #39 on the US Country chart, while “The Ballad of Dick and Jane” didn’t chart.
Pinkard & Bowden also released these four singles:
- The Christmas Gift (1985).
- She Thinks I Steal Cars (1986). Reached spot 92 on the US Country chart.
- Arab, Alabama (1988). Reached spot 87 on the US Country chart.
- Libyan on a Jet Plane (1989). Reached spot 79 on the US Country chart.
James “Sandy” Pinkard
James “Sandy” Pinkard was born in January 16, 1947, in Abbeville, Louisiana.
The entered the music industry in Nashville in the mid-1970s, where he initially wanted to be a singer but switched over to songwriting. Examples of lyrics by him for other artists are “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” (a duet by Shelly West and David Frizzell), “Coca Cola Cowboy” with Mel Tillis, and “Blessed Are the Believers” sung by Anne Murray. He has also written for Vern Gosdin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qma8hU3pBtM
Richard Bowden
Richard Bowden was born on September 30, 1945, in Linden, Texas.
In high school, he played in his father’s Dixieland band, a band that also included his childhood friend Don Henley.
Eventually, Bowden and Henley formed their own band: the Four Speeds. Four Speeds became Felicity, and then Shiloh, before disbanding in 1971 due to creative differences. Bowden wanted Shiloh to become more country, which Henly opposed since he wanted to play rock. Henly went on to form the rock band Eagles in 1971, which became one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s.
After the end of Shiloh, Bowden briefly joined Roger McGuinn’s band on tour, which opened for Eagles.