Donnie Bowshier
Donnie Bowshier (born April 14, 1937 in Madison Mills , Ohio ; † March 1, 2002 ), also known as "Donnie Bowser", was an American country and rockabilly musician . Despite his long career, Bowshier only managed to jump into the charts once.
Life
Childhood and youth
Donnie Bowshier grew up in Madison Mills, Ohio, near Columbus . A polio attack when he was three years old left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Despite his disability, Bowshier always followed the music in his life as he also grew up in a musical family. As early as 1950 he founded his first band, the JR Melody Boys , with which he performed in the region.
Career
The JR Melody Boys consisted of Bowshier from Paul Hopkins ( guitar ), Walt Wilson ( steel guitar ), Charlie Gore ( fiddle ), Zeke Turner (guitar) and his brother Roger ( bass ). In 1953 the band received a recording contract with King Records and in the same year traveled to Cincinnati , Ohio, where they recorded their first record Strutt My Stuff with Slim Redman as singer , which was released on the sublabel Skip Records. After that, two more singles came out at King, including the Tight Shoe Boogie . Although the latter was well received on the radio, it sold poorly.
In 1955 the line-up of his band had changed slightly and Bowshier was increasingly appearing on the radio. For the past three years he has appeared regularly on WJEL in Springfield, Ohio, has appeared on WONE and has guest appearances on the Kenny Roberts Show. That same year, Bowshier and his band also traveled to Nashville , Tennessee , where they were guests at Ernest Tubb's Midnight Jamboree . DJ Sam Salyer joined the band in 1956. Bowshier also made his first rockabilly recordings at Dess in 1956. In addition to I Love You Baby , which was released in January 1958, he played his most famous song Stone Heart with the B-side Rock and Roll Joys . The record sold very well but missed the charts. Bowshier recorded other records for Sage Records .
After the release of Stone Heart , he took the stage name "Donnie Bowser" because DJs struggled to pronounce his last name correctly. Bowshier was now regularly represented in Hardrock Gunters Show and the WWVA Jamboree . Stone Heart was republished on four other labels by 1960. Bowshier took on more rockabilly records until the early 1960s, but then withdrew from the music scene for some time.
Bowshier took up his career again and took on some records for smaller labels in Nashville. In 1965, his first album was released on Top Tenn Records. Bowshier had now returned to country music, but then took a longer break. In 1972 he reported back with appearances in the Grand Ole Opry and in the Texan Cowtown Jamboree .
In 1989, after more than thirty years in the music business, Bowshier had his only chart placement with Falling For You . The song was recorded for the Florida Ridgewood label and reached number 90 on the Billboad country charts . In 1991 Bowshier recorded another album with Bobby Bare and continued to share the stage with stars like George Jones and Kent Westberry .
Donnie Bowshier died suddenly in 2002 after a heart attack .
Discography
| year | title | Record company |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Strutt My Stuff /? | Skip Records |
| 1953 | Bullfrog Boogie / We'll Never Part | King Records |
| 1953 | Tight Shoe Boogie / I Cried In My Sleep | King Records |
| 1957 | Rock and Roll Joys / Stone Heart | Dess Records |
| 1958 | I Love You Baby / Love So Rare | Dess Records |
| 1958 | I Love You Baby / Stone Heart | Sage Records |
| 1958 | I Love You Baby / Stone Heart | Fraternity Records |
| 1958 | I Love You Baby / Stone Heart | Robbins Records |
| 1958 | Got The Best of Me / It's Our Secret | Sage Records |
| 1960 | I Love You Baby / Stone Heart | ERA Records |
| 1960 (?) | I Thought I Heard You Call My Name / Tomorrow | Chalet Records |
| 1961 | Talk To Me Baby / Tomorrow | Bamboo Records |
| 1961 (?) | Pretty Things / I Hope You Hear | Stop records |
| 1963 | Move It On Over / Sing Me a Sad Song | JD Records |
| Oh My Mind / Honestly I Do | Starr Records | |
| Make The World Go Away / That's What I Need | QCA Records | |
| Girl I See In My Class / My Heart Still Loves You | Rome Records | |
| Stone Heart / Stop This Train | Choise Records | |
| Just No Way of Getting Over You / There'll Never Be Another (Someone Like You) | Bill-Don Records | |
| 1989 | Falling for You / You've Got My Arms To Come Back To | Ridgewood Records |
Web links
- Donnie Bowshier on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
- Entry in the All Music Guide
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bowshier, Donnie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bowser, Donnie |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American country and rockabilly musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 14, 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Madison Mills , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 1, 2002 |