RICHARD BOWDEN

My mother once said, in response to some of my reported behavior, "The first
time I ever saw him, he was naked...and hungry". I guess I didn't change much
during those years. I went to college in '64 and had to learn to cook.
College was a great place to be naked, so I did a lot of that there, too. I
was an honor student in high school and my parents were always supportive
whenever I showed an interest in anything creative, so by my Junior year, I
had my own band, eventually called "Shiloh". We got to be one of most popular
bands in Texas, and by the time all the band members got out of college, we
were making enough money performing to not have to get jobs. I think one of
the reasons we were so good, is that Don Henley was our drummer and lead
singer. “It don't get much better than that.”

We wanted a shot at the big time. We met Kenny Rogers and The First Edition
in Dallas in '68 and he offered to help us, so we all decided to move to L.
A. where we recorded and released the album "Shiloh", which is now among the highest priced records in the "Rare and Hard-to-Find" catalogs. We had a
regional hit, but things didn't work out. We got into a bad management deal
and broke up in 1970. Later that year, Don, our bassist (my cousin Mike
Bowden) and I landed a job backing Linda Ronstadt. Glenn Frey was the
fourth guy in that band. That's how the Eagles got started (I'm mentioned
in the book, "Eagles, To The Limit"). I left Ronstadt in early '74 and tried
to start another band. It didn't work out. Shortly after that, I was
honored to replace the late Clarence White in the Byrds' Roger McGuinn's solo
act. We did one album, "Roger McGuinn and Band" (CBS Records) and toured
until '76. McGuinn hooked up with Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review (I'm
mentioned in the book, "On The Road With Bob Dylan") and let the band go.
Dan Fogelberg was looking for a guitarist and I got the job. It was a great
gig for a while, but I wasn't satisfied with being a sideman. I left Dan,
went to the beach, broke my wrist on a dune buggy and took a year off for
being stupid.

In '78, I started another band, "Blue Steel". We recorded an album, "No
More Lonely Nights"(Infinity Rec.), and toured with the Eagles on their "Long
Run" tour in 1980. In the middle of the tour, our Record company folded.
We regrouped, went to another label, cut a second album, "Nothing But
Time"(Elektra Rec.), and then the band folded. I decided to move to
Nashville to write songs. The "band business" was just not working out.

I hit Nashville in the fall of '82 and met a songwriter named Sandy Pinkard.
He'd had several hits and wanted to write together. It didn't work out.
We started having too much fun making up stupid lyrics to our own songs, as
well as others, and without really trying, we found ourselves with a comedy
act. It worked out. For lack of a better name, we called ourselves "
Pinkard and Bowden". We recorded four Warner Bros. albums, "Writers In
disguise", "PG-13", "Live, In Front Of a Bunch Of D-dkh--ds", and "Cousins,
Cattle and Other Love Stories". We toured the country making people laugh
for almost 16 years. We were frequent guests on all the great morning radio
shows and eventually got our own late night TV commercial (the kind I really
hate but secretly always wanted to have), for a compilation album called
"Gettin' Stupid". Our songs can still be heard today and our records are
still available on the web at http://www.pinkardandbowden.com/.

[5] 1999 through 2000

In mid '98, tiring from almost thirty years of touring, and feeling the need
to tend to my widowed and aging mother, I moved the family, four-legged and
all, to Linden, Texas, my hometown. I am now the preferred host, banquet
speaker and entertainer for all community activities and local functions,
and I won a seat on the City Council. My move into politics has not
pre-empted my involvement in the entertainment business. I have three album
production projects in the works and I am playing music with some of my old
friends. And everybody still thinks I'm funny. This past summer (2000), I
went on the road with my old friend, Don Henley. I signed on as a guitar
tech, and ended up playing trombone on Hotel California (see photo page at
http://www.richardbowden.com/). I've also been appearing as "Special Guest Star"
with the Bob & Tom Band on occasion

After touring again early in 2001 with Don Henley, I signed on to do the
Eagles European tour as a guitar/bass tech. I also performed as an auxiliary
guitarist on stage during "Hotel California". The tour ended late summer and
I returned to my City Counseling duties at home, also helping with our annual
Lion's Follies (a local variety show that was produced by my father for many
years) and our Wildflower Trails of Texas Festival. In the three years I've
been back home, I've brought in celebrity friends to participate in the
festival; Kenny Rogers in 2000, Don Henley in 2001 and Jackson Browne in '02.
As 2002 kicked off, I managed to slip into the recording studio and complete
a new CD before leaving for my summer job on the Eagles North American Tour
which started in May and ended in early August with five Don Henley solo
shows. At this writing, my new CD entitled "Big Bad Johnson" is in the
process of being released. I am at home awaiting eminent fame and fortune
and scheduling some weekend performances with my band, Moon and The Starz, of
which two members were with me in the Roger McGuinn Band in the mid ‘70s
(the CD is available by clicking on the ComedyHome link on the front page and is available through www.mytexasmusic.com as well).

While I'm planning strategies for 2003 and chairing a nonprofit organization
that is soon opening a concert venue called Music City Texas Theater (we
have commitments to date for performances from several name artists such as
Jackson Browne, John Anderson, T. Graham Brown and others). As one never knows what kind of curve ball life will throw you, I'm saddened to announce that my lifelong friend and bass player, David Lovelace, was taken from this Earth by a massive heart attack at age 52. He was an amazing person and a fantastic musician. I am very fortunate to have been his friend. I am also fortunate that another great Linden friend and bassist, Pat Roberson, was able to step in to attempt to fill David's shoes. Although David will be forever missed, Pat is doing a remarkable job in taking his place in the band.

Things have really "worked out" now in 2004. I signed on for one last tour
with the Eagles in May and The Music City Texas Theater is rolling right along.
In June, Jackson Browne performed a solo acoustic show that was utterly
magnificent. Then on September 14 and 15, Don Henley and his band played here to
two sell out crowds. Both the Henley and Jackson shows were done as benefits
for the theater and now I am being compensated for my work here at home.
Things are lining up nicely for '05 and we have many great acts coming to perform
at the theater. If you have read this far, then you should go ahead and check
out the website for the theater: www.musiccitytexas.org. There is quite a
bit of information on the site that you may find interesting and some great
pictures of the acts that have performed here.

As far as my recording career is concerned, I plan to record another CD, but
not until I've sold all the copies of Big Bad Johnson that I have left, so if
you want to hear more from me on CD, then I suggest that you tell your friends
to spread the word and let's get those CDs sold. As far as live performances
are concerned, I am now, along with my fabulous band Moon & the Starz,
performing the First Saturday of Every Month at our Music City Texas Theater. I'm
still available for bookings and will be happy to travel to your fair city to
perform if the price is right.

[8] 2008 Update:

To explain the reason for the big gap in updates, until recently, my personal career has been on hold, as I have focused my activities on making the Music City Texas Theater a success. It is doing quite well, I might add, as we continue to have great shows, bringing in fantastic headliners such as Michael Martin Murphey (who recorded a live solo acoustic album at MCTT in 2006) and Robert Earl Keen who performed to a sold out crowd in December of 2007 and plans to come back in December of 2008.

On March 1, 2006, my beloved mother slipped away to Heaven. She was a great lady and she will be missed by many. She was a unique person and touched the lives of many of my musician friends. She was an “honorary Mom” to most of them, and she will never be forgotten for her sense of humor and her nurturing ways.

Also in June of 2006, the theater established the annual “T-Bone” Walker Blues Fest, sanctioned by his estate (“T-Bone,” known as the “Daddy of the Blues” was born in Linden, TX and is credited with introducing the electric guitar to the world of Blues). Learn more at www.tbonewalkerbluesfest.com). Keb’ Mo’ and Kenny Wayne Shepherd headlined the inaugural fest, and 2008 will feature Delbert McClinton, Marcia Ball, Stephen Bruton, Whitey Johnson and a host of other great blues acts.

In the fall of 2007, I was personally invited by Delbert McClinton to join him on his annual Sandy Beaches Blues Cruise in January of 2008 to perform a couple of solo comedy shows. I had a blast and I highly recommend taking the next cruise whether you are a blues fan or not. I may or may not be on it, but it is well worth the experience and it is a first class adventure one will never forget.

With all this going on, I am pleased to announce that Moon & the Starz and I managed to slip into the studio in late 2007 to record our first CD called “Rising Over Texas.” Officially released in May of 2008, the CD contains two new comedy cuts, but the rest is great original music written by members of the band and songwriter friends of the band. It contains one “remake” of the classic ballad “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” Several of the tunes feature other members of the band on lead vocals. Learn more by clicking on the MySpace link on the front page of this site or going to www.mytexasmusic.com and entering Richard Bowden with Moon and the Starz in the artist search.

With the release of the new CD, I am hoping to focus a bit more on getting the band to perform more shows outside the bounds of the Music City Texas Theater and expand our fan base in other cities. The CD is starting to get some airplay, so keep your eyes open for a possible live appearance near you.