Think of classic country and Western music and the names that spring to mind are Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Merle Haggard, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton… the list is endless.
However, it would be incomplete without the mention of one act that deserves a lot more recognition than they have garnered, and not just because they have been around for 60-odd years, but because of the significant role that they have played in contributing to the genre’s longevity and legacy.
They are the Bellamy Brothers, Howard and David, a duo who started out in the ’70s and have survived every upheaval and challenge to continue to entertain their legions of fans across 50 countries with their unique blend of contemporary country, country rock, urban cowboy and calypso.
The brothers, who are best remembered for the mega-hit single Let Your Love Flow, a song written by Neil Diamond’s roadie Larry E. Williams, that catapulted them into the mainstream and the consciousness of music lovers the world over.
They success continued to roll forward with hits such as If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me, You Ain’t Just Whistlin’ Dixie, Sugar Daddy and Dancin’ Cowboy. Grammy nominations and Country Music Awards (CMAs) followed as the brothers continued to rack up the hits, which they will be playing to fans in Dubai at a one-off concert under stars on the Emirates Golf Club’s lush lawns on Friday, January 20.
Gulf News tabloid! spoke to Howard prior to him coming to Dubai.
Do you have any message for country and western music fans who are likely to come watch you play in Dubai.
I sure do and I hope that they like the Bellamy Brothers’ music because that’s all they’re going to hear (laughs). But yes, we’ll be playing all our hits, that’s for sure, and we are really looking forward to being there. We’ve passed through Dubai before, but only at the airport, so we’re really excited to be doing a concert over there. I hear it’s a great place.
Touring has been a big part of the Bellamy Brothers’ life over the past half century. Can you describe how it has been playing in over 50 countries to all sorts of fans.
It like a dream come true not only to have a career which you enjoy and love doing but also to get to travel and see the world. It’s been unbelievable. Fortunately for us we had a big hit in the seventies with Let Your Love Flow and it opened up the doors for us all over the world. I have no complaints at all and even if I did you would not one would want to hear them.
What are the challenges that you have had to face over the years as country and Western music began its evolution with the emergence of musicians such as George Strait, Travis Trait, Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan in more recent times.
I think the world constantly evolves. Everything evolves and you have to accept that. Politically we evolve, we just hope for the best, There’s a part of the new music that I enjoy but the parts that you don’t enjoy are when it loses its creativity. It’s the redundancy of the music and lyrics, when everything starts sounding the same, that bothers you as an artist. But it doesn’t effect us because we have our fans, which just keeps growing amazingly. I like some of the new artists and particularly Blake Shelton, who has been a very close friend of ours for years. He used to do our songs in his show before he had the hits. So there’s a lot of talent out there but I wish they would be a little more creative.
It’s been a long time since your journey began in the ’70s. When you first set out, did you ever imagine it would be like this 50 years later? That you’ll still have a huge fan following and still doing tours?
Of course, we’ve travelled for so many years that it almost seems normal to us now, even though I know it’s not normal. Even though it gets to be our life it’s what we do and it’s a real pleasure to travel. You’ve got friends around the world and it’s an incredible feeling. We couldn’t have asked for more. But I can tell you that our career and the trip wasn’t easy. There were a lot of bumps in the road, all the challenges that we overcame and just kept going. Now the only thing that we have against us is time.
You mentioned Let Your Love Show. How did the song change your lives?
It absolutely changed our lives forever. Dave and I were born on a ranch in Florida, a cattle ranch. We knew no one in the music business and had no contacts at all. But we grew up singing with our family and friends. Our father was a rancher but he loved music. We always had music in our home so we grew up and got lucky writing some early songs that other artists recorded. We met a few people here and there and then we thought, maybe we can do this as a career. We kept at it and we got very lucky. It was not as if we worked at it every day, believe me, a lot of good breaks came our way and we’ve been riding the wave ever since.
You’ve obviously met and performed with some of the greatest country singers of our time. You even got to collaborate with some of them, like Kris Kristofferson and Crystal Gayle, on an album. What was the experience like for you?
We’ve known both Kris and Crystal for years. I’ve got some really good Kristofferson stories some of them I can’t tell you [laughs] but you know we’ve been very fortunate over the years to have worked with almost everybody in the business The album we did called Angels and Outlaws, a couple of years back, had everybody from Dolly Parton to John Jones and Alan Jackson on it, all the huge country acts. That was a real experience that they would come and do an album with us just as friends. That’s another great thing that has happened to us in this wonderful career and that we’ve got to meet such great people and work with them. We respect them and they respect you. It’s a great feeling.
Is there anything that people in Dubai should know about the Bellamy Brothers that they don’t already know?
Well we’re really better looking than a lot of people think we are [laughs]. But the excitement of coming to Dubai, I can’t express how satisfied we are to be there. We both feel very fortunate that we’ve become sort of the ambassadors of country music throughout the world. And at no time than now do we need it more. It’s a great honour.
You will probably hate me asking this question but, has it occurred to you and Dave, that at some time you will have to hang up your guitar and call time on what has been such an incredible journey.
At my age it does cross my mind more often than I like. But you have to accept that’s life and we have to accept the fact that at some point of time we’re not going to be doing the stuff we like doing. That’s the cycle of life and you learn to accept it. I think the big thing is accepting that. You’re never ready for it when it comes, but you try to train yourself for it, like everyone else. But hey we’ve all been fortunate to take the trip, haven’t we?
Don’t miss it!
The Bellamy Brothers perform at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai on January 20. Ticket prices start at Dh200 and are available on ticket-line.ae.
