Bands of brothers

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Nov 25, 2005 by J. ADRIAN STANLEY THE GAZETTE

"This business has always been nutty," Howard Bellamy declared over a scratchy cell phone connection.

Bellamy, half of one of country music's most successful duos, the Bellamy Brothers, has certainly learned this lesson firsthand. Rising from what looked to be a dead-end career playing bars to international stardom in 1975 after the release of the No. 1 single "Let Your Love Flow," Bellamy embarked on a career that was nothing short of weird.

After that monster pop hit, Bellamy and his brother, David, found themselves in a rather awkward position.

"The disco craze hit, and we couldn't figure out how to write a song for pop radio," he said. "That's kind of why we directed ourselves into the country market -- kind of with our own flavor of country. I don't know if it was strategy or just survival."

Whatever it was, it worked. The Bellamy Brothers racked up the hits -- and the awards -- with songs like "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)," "Dancin' Cowboys," and "Do You Love as Good as You Look?" They were all over country radio through the late '70s and the '80s before starting their own label in the early '90s and easing out of the mainstream market.

"We've had our label for 12 years, and it gives you a lot of freedom and you sacrifice things like radio hits, but you're not going to get those anyway as an artist that's been around as long as we have," Bellamy said. "Freedom is very important when you get into this position, and you just don't want someone telling you what to do. They never knew what they were talking about then, I don't know why they'd know now."

The fact is, few label executives understood the Bellamys' experimental ways. First, the duo combined their love of rock and pop with country. Then they brought in other influences and made reggaetry and rap-country -- long before this eclectic approach was the norm.

"Back then, some people actually thought we were crazy, but now it's kind of come into its own," he said. "We get requests now for a lot of stuff that never surfaced as huge hits, but they know we were some of the first guys to ever do that stuff."

Folks in Colorado Springs will be able to make requests when the Bellamy Brothers play a hit-packed night at Cowboys on Saturday.

Although the Bellamys have faded from the spotlight, they're still in high demand in American honky-tonks and all over Europe -- where they continue to have a strong market. Always prolific, the Bellamys have continued to release a steady stream of CDs. They're working with some of today's hot acts -- including Blake Shelton -- to rerecord their hits.

Howard Bellamy is fond of many new artists, including Shelton, Gretchen Wilson and Keith Urban. But he objects to some modern trends.

"I like the real stuff," he said. "There's stuff out there that's really manufactured right now, and it just doesn't turn me on."

In addition to pure music, Bellamy appreciates a simple life. He grew up on a rustic ranch in Florida with a musiciancowboy dad. The cattle ranch, which has been in the Bellamy family since 1870, is once again home to the Bellamy Brothers. Bellamy treasures his private life and says he doesn't understand the exposed lives of the new generation of celebrities.

"There's no mystique -- that's a thing of the past," he said. "I see these reality shows and people going on 'Larry King (Live)' laying their lives before the world -- it's just amazing to me. We've always been the kind of people who like to hide their problems -- and everybody has them -- but it seems today like you really can't get on a big show unless you're a wacko."

Like many older artists, Bellamy feels a little left behind by the fast-moving music business. He points out that country music used to honor its aging heroes, but now rock music seems more interested in its gray-haired idols. To him, it seems like a shame, but he's glad his fans have shown more loyalty than the industry.

"I've always compared (life) to a porpoise -- you know, you're underwater one minute and you're flying the next," he said. "But I think if you're content with yourself and what you're doing doing at the time, I think you're on top."

details

The Bellamy Brothers

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Cowboys, 3910 Palmer Park Blvd.

Tickets: $15-$19, 596-1212