Bo Bice
Template:Infobox musical artist 2Harold Elwin "Bo" Bice, Jr. (born November 1, 1975 in Huntsville, Alabama) is an American singer and musician who came in as the first runner-up in the fourth season of American Idol.
Biography
Early years
Bice was nicknamed "Bogart" by his grandmother as a child by his family, and it was later shortened to "Bo." He first made his mark at the age of 13, when he won a local school competition. Bice grew up with his sisters and brother, mother and stepfather, Earle, Nancy, Jenny and Sharan Downes, Jon Cochran. The family moved around the South frequently, they lived in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida; including the metro area of Atlanta. When Bice was 15 years old they moved to England in 1990, as part of Earle's European assignment with Coca-Cola in London. Bice spent his teenage years living in the suburbs of Gerrards Cross and Seer Green. The family were neighbors of Ozzy Osbourne. Bice attended London Central High School, a Department of Defense school primarily for children whose parents served in the military or worked at the U.S. Embassy. He would have graduated in 1994. In high school, he was found carrying his guitar everywhere, played football, attended proms, and had several girlfriends. It was around this time when Bice worked with some English alternative rock musicians. In the fall of 1993, Bice dropped out of high school just before turning 18 to move back to Alabama, where he earned his GED and attended classes at Calhoun Community College from November 1996 to May 1997. Upon graduating Calhoun and spending a semester at the University of North Alabama in Florence, Bice turned professional and performed in shows all across the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe. He is a veteran of the nightclub circuit, having performed solo and in rock groups such as Purge, Blue Sued Nickel (sic), and his current band SugarMoney. Among his credits are opening for Blackfoot and Warrant as well as performing live and recording with Johnny Neal, formerly of The Allman Brothers Band.
American Idol
A southern rocker in musical approach and appearance, Bice did not fit into the normal American Idol mold. However, his early performance of The Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post" drew raves from the judges and established him as one of the favorites in the competition.
For the 2005 season, Idol producers raised their required age limit from 16-26 to 16-28. Along with Constantine Maroulis, he was one of the oldest contestants to audition and participate on American Idol, as well as being the oldest contestants to have progressed the farthest in the singing competition. Bice and Maroulis are also notable for being among the first contestants to compete using the rock idiom.
In June 2005 Bice was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine that his last thought during the Idol finale was, "Please, God, don't let me win this thing." [1] In comments during a subsequent appearance on The Today Show, Bice backed off this stance a bit, saying that he thanked all those who had voted for him. He then played solo acoustic guitar and harmonica to one of his own compositions, in addition to singing his Idol songs with a band.
In Alabama, May 24 was declared "Bo Bice Day" by Governor Bob Riley. In fact, Bice's pride in being an Alabama native resulted in the adoption of Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit Sweet Home Alabama as his 'theme' during his tenure on American Idol.
2005-2006: The Real Thing
Signed to RCA Records, Bice's first single, released June 21, 2005, was his version of "Inside Your Heaven". The single debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and #1 on the Billboard Hot Single Sales chart. Bice's single replaced Carrie Underwood's version of the same song at #1, the first time in the history of the sales chart. The B-side was his rendition of the Ides of March hit "Vehicle", featuring an appearance by Richie Sambora. It was certified Gold in late July 2005. Bice was also invited to the Bonnaroo Music Festival by Trey Anastasio (formerly of Phish). He sang a song with Willie Nelson at a Birmingham concert and was invited by Nelson to perform at Farm Aid. Bice also appeared on Carlos Santana's 2005 album All That I Am on the song "Brown Skin Girl," which did not appear on his own solo album.
On June 15, 2005, Bice married long-time girlfriend Caroline Fisher in Helena. The Bices' first child, a son named Aidan Michael Bice, was born on September 24, 2005.[2].
On July 31, 2005, Bice broke his foot while performing in concert in Manchester, New Hampshire[3] but carried on with the tour. On August 18 Bice, who had been suffering from stomach pain for months, was rushed to the hospital for emergency intestinal surgery to remove a blockage. The surgery was successful, but he was sidelined from the tour for several shows. During his absence from the tour, fellow contestants Anwar, Nikko, Scott, Anthony and Constantine sang "Sweet Home Alabama" and wore Bo Bice T-shirts. [4] Bice returned to the tour for the final 2 concerts in Syracuse, New York, September 10 and September 11 (a benefit concert with proceeds going to the American Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Katrina). In addition, to playing that concert, he also opened his home in Helena to a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Bice continued to have health problems and was re-admitted to the hospital for complications related to the August intestinal surgery.
Bice's solo debut album, The Real Thing, was released on December 13, 2005. It opened at #4. The Real Thing has the seventh-highest opening for a debut album by an American Idol finalist; it is also noteworthy that Bo Bice is one of several non-winners (along with Clay Aiken, Joshua Gracin, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, and Chris Daughtry) to achieve good success in record sales. Bice's band SugarMoney appears with him on three tracks on The Real Thing's DualDisc version: "Cinnamon & Novocaine," "Sinner In a Sin," and "Whiskey, Women & Time."
Bice was the guest host for the The Fairly OddParents episode, Fairy Idol, on May 19 2006.
On September 12, 2006, Bice released a cover of The Chambers Brothers 1968 smash hit, "Time Has Come Today," through various legal digital music download sites. The tune, which does not appear on The Real Thing, is the theme song for a new Monopoly commercial. It has been rumored to be Bice's new single and possibly a track on Bice's second major album. The tune surprised many of Bice's fans who were not made aware of the song until days before the release.
On October 5, 2006, Bice underwent emergency surgery in Nashville, TN to correct a recurring intestinal problem. According to his official website, the surgery "was not easy or routine." The surgery came after several rounds of tests and doctors deemed his condition serious enough to operate immediately. All of his October tour dates were cancelled.
Bice sings the title song for the 2007 film Blades of Glory.
Bice is represented by Strategic Artist Management (management), and Buddy Lee Attractions (booking).
Bice currently resides in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee.
2007-present: New album
Over and over again, in interviews and on his official site, Bice has been getting the message out that his goal for his second album is for it to have more Bo. For example, in June the Birmingham Times reported Bice saying, “When it comes time to do the next one…I hope the vision will be more Southern rock …. and have more of a country influence. I hope [Clive Davis] allow me to season the album with more of me.” (June 10 ’06 Birmingham News) He repeated this again recently, “On the next album I’d like to go more rootsy, more country, more southern rock Bo.”[5]
Discography
Albums
| Album | Statistics | Singles |
|---|---|---|
|
The Real Thing
|
Singles released:
|
 |
TBA
|
Singles released: |
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Pop 100 | U.S. A.C. | U.S. Digital Songs | U.S. TRL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | "I Don't Want to Be" | American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers | - | 85 | - | 60 | - |
| 2005 | "Inside Your Heaven" | "Inside Your Heaven" (single) | 2 | 1 | - | 25 | - |
| 2005 | "Vehicle" | "Inside Your Heaven" (single) | - | 82 | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "The Real Thing" | The Real Thing | 56 | 33 | 13 | 55 | 1 |
| 2006 | "U Make Me Better" | The Real Thing | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | "Time Has Come Today" | Time Has Come Today | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | "Blades of Glory" | Blades of Glory soundtrack | - | - | - | - | - |
- Notes:
- "I Don't Want to Be", although a fan favorite, was not actually released as an official single.
- "Vehicle" was released as a double A-side with "Inside Your Heaven".
Notes
References
- Thomas, Ronnie (March 29, 2005) "Stepdad Downes recalls years Idol contender spent overseas". Decatur Daily.
- Bo Bice Day declaration
External links
- Bo Bice's official site from Sony BMG & 19 Recordings
- Interview with Bo Bice
- RCA Records
- Template:AI contestant
- BoBice.com 'official' site from Superstar Media
- Template:MySpace-music (MySpace managed by Bobice.com, Superstar Media)
- Bo Bice song lyrics
- 1975 births
- Alabama musicians
- American Idol participants
- American male singers
- American baritones
- American country singers
- American pop singers
- American rock singers
- American harmonica players
- Country rock musicians
- People from Huntsville, Alabama
- People from Birmingham, Alabama
- Living people
- People from London
- University of North Alabama people