Those Unstoppable Bellamy Brothers

David and his brother Howard have been musicians almost as long as the two have been brothers.  The siblings first achieved chart gold with their 1976 hit “Let Your Love Flow” and kept on going with tunes such as “If I said You Had A Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me,” “Sugar Daddy,” “Redneck Girl,” “Old Hippie” and many others.

The Bellamy Brothers recently released 40 Years: The Album, featuring 20 classic hits and 20 new songs.  Along with talking about the new release, topics covered in the Q&A include today’s country radio, current production techniques and the strangest act that ever opened for the group.

What do fans think of 40 Years: The Album?

It’s been received really well.  We do a lot of the hits in our show and we also do a few of the new ones as well. … We’re pretty happy with the package overall.  Having the classic hits and then coming out with the new stuff, I think it was a good idea.  It doesn’t just rehash the hits.

Recording engineers as well as artists have complained that today’s production techniques result in recordings that sound louder yet too compressed.  When reviewing past hits for the package, what do you think of the production techniques compared to today?

The stuff we cut in the ’70s and ’80s, I think it had a warmer sound.  Now they compress everything down into MP3s.  It depends on what files you use.  MP3s are pretty bad.  I usually compare them to the old cassettes.  Cassettes didn’t sound too good, either.  We work with the formats we have.  Streaming and MP3s usually don’t sound too great.

What do you use for playback when listening to music for enjoyment?

I usually listen on my iPod. … I have one of the large ones.  I forget how many gigs it has.  I have maybe 10,000 songs on there.  It runs the gamut from old country to old rock ’n’ roll to old R&B.  There’s some modern stuff on there, a few things I like here and there.  But mostly it’s just classic stuff I grew up on and really like.

So you’re listening to MP3s?

Oh, yeah, sure. … I listen to CDs as well.  I just got a few new CDs.  Some of them sound good.  I have a recording studio at our ranch and listen in there.  They usually sound a little better in there.

Do you prefer vinyl over CDs?

I kind of do prefer vinyl in a lot of ways.  It has a warmer sound to me.  If you’re on the go, in the car and everything, you pretty much end up plugging in your iPod or shoving a CD in the player.  You get used to all the different formats.

How do you balance the setlist to present your new material but also perform enough hits to keep fans happy?

Our sets are made up mostly of hits and old hits.  Our fans are pretty vocal and they’ll scream them out.  We have a band, if somebody yells something out, we can play it.  Once in a while we’ll be stumped, if [the songs] go way, way back. … Then we throw in a few of the new things, the ones that we think fit into the set.  We chose the hits for our 40 years package, mainly on the popularity [of the songs] in our shows.  Those are the ones we get most of our requests for.

What are some of the trademarks of a David Bellamy-written song?

There aren’t any rules, really.  You can approach songwriting from any angle.  But there are certain things I like to include.  I like a strong melody.  It’s very important to us as to how a song feels.  Setting a mood or atmosphere around a song is very important and I don’t think people do that enough, anymore.  Having a very strong hook is a great thing but it’s not the only thing.  Having a great set of lyrics to go with a good hook makes a song a lot stronger.

You’ve written songs such as “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me” and  “Rebel Without A Clue.”  It sounds as if you enjoy a clever turning of a phrase.

It’s not always something you have to have, but if you have a good line and can come up with the melody and lyrics to support it, usually you can have a strong song out of that.  That’s the case with songs like “Beautiful Body…” and “Do You Love As Good As You Look.”

From a songwriter’s point of view, do you feel you have yet to write your best song?

I hope so.  You always want to keep doing better work and improving upon what you do.  But songwriting is one of those things I don’t think you ever master.  It’s a little bit like playing golf, I guess. You go out and have a good day then you go out the next day and forget everything you’ve learned. It’s an interesting thing, songwriting.  I’ve chased it my whole life and it’s probably still one of my favorite things to do. … There are a lot of aspects of this business that become a job or work, but songwriting is one of those things I’ve always been intrigued by, so it’s never been like work to me.  I think some of the new songs we did on this album were pretty good.  Howard and I both came up with some good songs.  As older artists we don’t get nearly the airplay we used to get.  But I think we came up with some things that are certainly comparable to what we did earlier in our career.

Do you feel your newer music would fit in on today’s contemporary country playlist?

I think it would work with the listener.  I think listeners would still like it.  I’m not sure it would work within the other music they play.  The music that is programmed now is a lot different.  Of course, they don’t even program younger artists that do real country music now. … I don’t know a lot about country radio now.  It seems to have gone to a space I don’t relate to very well.

Your early songs were all over Top 40 radio.  Did you and your brother consider yourselves as strictly country music artists when starting out?

We grew up singing country, rock, R&B, a little bit of reggae and gospel music.  Those things to use were a mixture, like a gumbo or something. It was just normal.  So we really didn’t care about formats so much.  I think we fit into the country format, probably better.  At the root of it all we grew up country and understand that world. … Folk music was very big.  Gospel music was very big to us.

When The Bellamy Brothers first received radio airplay, current Top 40 at that time was playing Eagles, Poco, and some of what was called the “mellow rock” of the ’70s – Loggins & Messina, Seals & Croft, and your music fit right in.

Our first real big tour was [when] we were the opening act for the final Loggins & Messina tour. … Then we opened for The Beach Boys, Doobie Brothers, Conway Twitty, so we kind of ran the gamut.  But it was all music we loved.

What was one of the oddest acts that ever opened for you?

We’ve had a lot of strange acts.  One time we did play a show with a roller-skating chimp and Bob Hope.  That was very bizarre.  Bob Hope actually opened for us.  We were doing a home show at, I think, the old Astrodome in Houston, or something like that.  They had this roller-skating chimp that came out and did his thing.  Bob Hope came out and did about 15 minutes of standup with his golf club. Then we came on.  We did that for three days in a row. (laughs)  It was a very bizarre thing but it seemed to work among all the home show stuff.

Do you like touring?

We do.  I don’t think we’d continue to keep up the schedule we do and everything [if we didn’t like it].  We tour the world pretty much every year.  We still like it.  Some days the travel gets a little long but we like doing the shows and playing for people.

Other than you and Howard, how many people are needed for a Bellamy Brothers tour?

Usually 10 or 12.  Sometimes we cut it down to 10 when we fly to Europe. … We’ve got it down to kind of a science.  We have a crew that’s been with us a long time.  They know what we need.  We can walk in and do a show almost anywhere.  We can do almost any size venue.  I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve survived so many years.

Have the two of you made a lot of friends through years of touring?

Sure. Sometimes it will be the guest manager at a hotel in Switzerland that we’ve known for a few years.  You run into people that you’ve established relationships and gotten to be friends with over the years. A lot of my best friends, and Howard’s, too, are in other countries or other states.  My wife says, “All your friends are in Texas or Switzerland.” I don’t know how that happens but you end up becoming friends with people in different places.  Of course nowadays it’s easier to keep in touch with people because you’re on Facebook, or emailing or something.

Were those early years of fame an easy experience?

After a couple of years it got to be pretty easy.  The first couple of years we almost killed ourselves. It was a big change for us right at the beginning because we came from a little dirt farm in Florida and moved on to the Sunset Strip in Hollywood and then jetted off to Europe. We went to Europe virtually unknown, were there for a weekend and then couldn’t leave our hotel rooms. … Back then there were three or four channels in Europe.  We did these Eurovision shows and were known, literally, overnight from that.  That was a little bit odd for us because we weren’t ready for it.  We’d be in Hamburg one day and then the next day we’d be jetting off to Tokyo to do the Tokyo Song Festival.  We tried to keep up with that.  At that point in time we thought we were bulletproof.  So the first couple of years was pretty tough. … Our parents raised us pretty good and I think that kicked in and we [later] settled down and became adjusted to it pretty easy.

The Bellamy Brothers recorded The Everly Brothers’ “Bird Dog.”  The Everlys were notorious for their bickering.  Did you and Howard ever worry that the two of you might go down that path?

I don’t think there was [a concern].  I could probably count the disagreements I’ve had with Howard on one hand, and they weren’t very serious.  In a lot of ways when we were kids, our parents taught us to work together and work hard on the ranch.  I guess we carried that on into it.  We have a very close family.  I don’t think we ever worried about running into those kind of trappings.  We always watched out for each other first.

Has that work ethic you and your brother learned on the ranch been part of your life all these years?

It has.  We’ve always been able to center ourselves and not get caught up in the glitz and hype.  Just sort of remain where we are and do our shows.  We’ve never been a crazy band as far as antics.  We’ve always tried to deliver good shows to our fans.  I think that is what is most important to us.

Were there moments during those first few years where your music provided moments for you to meet your own idols?

I have had a couple of moments like that.  I bumped into Van Morrison on an elevator one time.  That was pretty interesting.  I met Bob Dylan, who was very gracious and told us how much he liked “Old Hippie.” It’s kind of weird when Dylan is sitting there saying, “I like your song.”  What do you say back?  “I like yours, too?”  It’s just an odd thing.  It’s very fun to meet people like that.

And one time we ran into Chet Atkins at a health food store and he kept complimenting us over and over about “You Ain’t Just Whistlin’ Dixie.” It was one of his favorite songs.  We’re sitting there going, “Oh, my God.  I gotta call my dad.”  It’s always fun to have those moments.

Do you and your brother have any kind of regiments to follow in order to stay healthy while touring?

We try to stay healthy … just about our whole career. … We try to either swim or walk [for exercise].  We try to eat as good as we can.  On the road it’s not always easy.  Our tour bus usually stops at grocery stores more than at restaurants.  We’re always in there looking for a snack on the bus that won’t kill us instead of going to some fried chicken joint.

Have you and Howard ever talked about retiring?

Not seriously.  I think, maybe 10 years ago we actually talked more about retiring than we have now.  There are so many shows offered to us now and both of us feel pretty healthy at the moment.  People seem to book further out than they have. They call our agents and try to book a couple of years ahead.  It’s crazy because sometimes I don’t know what I’m doing next week and somebody wants to book a date two years from now in Italy or somewhere.

I talk to our agents about it all the time.  We’re working on a Czech Republic tour for 2017 right now.  All these things … India wants to do something at the end of 2016.  It’s very odd to sit there and try to juggle this.

Was there ever a time you or Howard considered solo careers?

We’ve both experimented in the studio with a song  on our own.  But it always ended up with [Howard] calling me, saying, “I need you to write a second verse for this song,” or I would call him and say, “I need you to sing harmony over here,” so it would become a Bellamy Brothers song anyway.  We work separately but it all ends up working back together.  We don’t worry about it.  We just kind of keep it like it is.  There’s so much to do as The Bellamy Brothers, we don’t really have time to go outside of that much.

What advice could you give a rising artist who is just now getting airplay and is getting offers for his or her first national tour?

Advice is a really hard thing to give. I would just tell them to try to stay grounded. … If you have a good support system – ultimately that’s what Howard and I have.  We didn’t plan it that way, we were just lucky enough to have it.  But if you have a good family, a good wife or good husband, somebody that keeps you grounded in all of this craziness, that’s probably one of the most important things.

Upcoming shows for The Bellamy Brothers:

Nov. 13 – Panama City Beach, Fla., Aaron Bessant Park (Emerald Coast Cruizin )
Nov. 14 – Pinellas Park, Fla., England Brothers Park (Greater Pinellas Country Fair)
Nov. 27 – Waxahachie, Texas, Rocket Café
Nov. 28 – Fort Worth, Texas, Whiskey Girl Saloon
Dec. 4 – Hankinson, N.D., Dakota Magic Casino
Dec. 5 – Bristow, Okla., Freeland Center
Dec. 11 – Bryan, Texas, Rockies Nightclub
Dec. 12 – Llano, Texas, Lantex Theatre
Jan. 8 – Grant, Okla., Choctaw Event Center
Jan. 16-23  Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Holland America Line – MS Westerdam (Country Music Cruise)
Jan. 29 – The Woodlands, Texas, The Big Barn
Jan. 30 – Royse City, Texas, Southern Junction
Feb. 6 – Weirsdale, Fla., Orange Blossom Opry
Feb. 13 – Waco, Texas, Karem Shrine Temple
Feb. 20 – Kinston, N.C., Lenoir Community College
Feb. 25 – Newberry, S.C., Newberry Opera House
March 2 – Fort Myers, Fla., Indian Creek RV Resort
March 17 – Aalborg, Denmark, Kongress & Kulturcenter
March 18-20 – Zurich, Switzerland, Schutzenhaus Albisguetli
March 24 – Stockholm, Sweden, Cruise
March 26 – Reykjavík, Iceland, Eldborg Hapa Theatre
April 6 – Jamestown, N.D., Jamestown Civic Center
April 7 – Bismarck, N.D., Bismarck Event Ctr. Arena
April 9 – Havre, Mont., Havre Police Protective Assoc./MSU Northern
April 10 – Missoula, Mont., University Of Montana 
April 12 – Billings, Mont., Alterowitz Gym
April 15 – Denver, Colo., Grizzly Rose
April 26 – Weatherford, Okla., The Pioneer Cellular Event Center
April 30 – Stafford, Texas, Redneck Country Club
May 27 – Terrell, Texas, Silver Saloon
May 28 – Monticello, Miss., Atwood Water Park (Atwood Music Festival)
June 24 – Big Spring, Texas, Funtastic Fourth Festival
July 15-16 – Shipshewana, Ind., Blue Gate Restaurant/Theatre
July 22 – Twin Lakes, Wis., Country Thunder USA
Aug. 5 – Johnson, Minn., “Friends & Neighbors Celebration”
Aug. 10 – Hermiston, Ore., Umatilla County Fair
Aug. 11 – Tillamook, Ore., Tillamook County Fair
Aug. 13 – Regina, Saskatchewan, Hawg-A-Rama Points West Farm
Nov. 5 – Wellington, Texas, Wellington Ritz Theatre
Sept. 3 – Leknes, Noreway, Lofoten Country Fesitval
Sept. 17-24 – Venice, Italy, rock and Blues Cruise
Sept. 24 – Bad Füssing, Germany, Grosses Kurhaus
Oct. 15 – La Marque, Texas, Bayou Fest
Nov. 5 – Wellington, Texas, Ritz Theatre
Nov. 11 – West Wendover, Nev., Peppermill Concert Hall
Nov. 18 – Pigeon Forge, Tenn., Country Tonite Theatre 

For more information, please visit The Bellamy Brothers’ website, Facebook page and YouTube channel.