Moe Bandy figures that, as career choices go, he made the right one. No doubt, singing and entertaining have provided Moe with an amply rewarding lifestyle over the past 40 years. But there was a time when the life of a rodeo cowboy seemed the way to unfettered riches and fame. As he and wife Tami sit comfortably inside the Country Weekly/NASH offices, Moe takes a few moments to explain why country music won out over brave bulls and bucking broncs.
“My brother and I were raised on rodeo and bull riding,” says Moe, who grew up in San Antonio. “But I always say that I had to quit because of my back—I have a yellow streak down it. I broke so many bones and needed shoulder surgery one time. I got hurt pretty good a couple of other times, so I went into music. I couldn’t handle all that.”
Moe describes the injuries and body blows with the same laconic, easygoing manner in which he might order lunch. But that even-keeled personality has likely helped Moe handle the vagaries of a country music career that began back in 1974 with his Top 20 single “I Just Started Hatin’ Cheatin’ Songs Today.” He turned 71 in February, but keeps an active touring schedule worthy of a young buck. And he’s not through making new music.
“We have a live album that I cut in Austin that will be out soon on iTunes,” Moe says. “And I am in the process of cutting a new album. It’s all original stuff, and we’re real excited about it. That one should be out by this summer, maybe July or August.”
All of which should come as welcome news for fans who have been in Moe’s corner since the early days. The burly, bearded singer came along at a time when country music resided in a state of flux, with one faction leaning toward the pop country, or Countrypolitan, style and others experimenting with sounds that would form the genesis of the Outlaw movement. But Moe’s music stayed true to honky-tonk roots and tradition, without compromising to trends.
“I came in when people were putting strings on the music,” Moe explains. “Eddy Arnold and Ray Price did a lot of that, and I loved it. They had some great songs.” Moe breaks into a smile and adds, “But I can’t do anything that’s not country. I guess it’s just my voice, but everything comes out country, pretty much.”
Following his 1974 debut, Moe was as prolific a singles artist as anyone around. During the latter years of the 1970s, Moe was releasing at least three singles a year on his own. He was also recording with Joe Stampley, and the two put out additional singles, giving both some extra chart positions.
“We were a recording machine there for a while,” Moe says with a laugh. “Ray Baker, my producer, liked to go in the studio and get a lot of songs down, and I’m glad he did it that way. There was about a 10-year period there where I would have two songs on the chart simultaneously, one going up and the other going down. They were almost meeting themselves.”
Those hits included “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life,” “Bandy the Rodeo Clown,” inspired by his former career aspiration, “Two Lonely People” and “One of a Kind.” Moe practically made a cottage industry from so-called cheating songs, which he surely came to embrace despite the protestations of his debut single. He scored a No. 2 hit in 1979 with “It’s a Cheating Situation,” featuring Janie Fricke on backing vocals, and his only solo No. 1 with “I Cheated Me Right Out of You” later that same year. “She’s Not Really Cheatin’ (She’s Just Gettin’ Even)” landed at the No. 4 spot in 1982.
One of his all-time favorites remains “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life,” written by Paul Craft, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame shortly before his death in 2014. “He wrote that song and pitched it to us as bluegrass,” Moe remembers. “Of course, Paul wrote a lot of bluegrass songs, so it wasn’t too unusual. We took it and put the Hank Williams traditional flavor on it and that became a big hit [No. 2 in 1975]. Paul was a wonderful writer,” Moe adds solemnly. “I was glad that he was able to be there for his induction before he passed.”
“Americana,” a Top 10 in 1988, has gained momentum over the years, and it’s now one of his most-requested numbers. The tune, a salute to small-town America and a celebration of its values, brought him considerable attention at the time from none other than President George H.W. Bush.
“President Bush really liked the feel of the song and what it had to say,” Moe recalls with a smile. “I played it at the White House. It wasn’t one of my real big chart records but it’s just a monster on the road,” Moe says. “It’s played a lot on holidays and things like that. It is one of those songs I have to do at my concerts. I would say that and ‘It’s a Cheating Situation’ are the ones fans ask for the most.”
Janie Fricke is often on hand to help out with the latter. “I do shows with Janie sometimes,” Moe says. “We have one coming up in Texas. We always do that song together and she is still singing great.”
Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley, 1980’s CMA Vocal Duo of the Year
In 1979, Moe’s career was amped up even further as he teamed up with Joe Stampley, a solo artist with plenty of hits under his own belt. The two established artists formed their team almost by accident, following a conversation at the Hard Rock Cafe in London, where they were booked on the same shows.
Joe mentioned something to the effect that “Moe and Joe” evoked a lyrical sound similar to “Waylon and Willie.” During the same conversation, Joe asked Moe if anybody had ever told him that the two looked alike. “I joked with him and said, ‘Man, I hope not.’ I mean, we both had beards, but that was about the only thing similar,” Moe recalls with a smile. “Well, anyway, Joe’s piano player Ansley Fleetwood was sitting there and said something like, ‘What if we could find a song for you two?’ And he came back a couple days later and said that he had one for us.”
The song was “Just Good Ol’ Boys,” whose message is exactly as it implies, which still needed a chorus. Moe and Joe liked it enough to add the chorus and record it. “I had a session and brought Joe in with me,” Moe points out. ‘The record label, Columbia, heard it and knew that they could do a big thing on it. And it just took off.”
Did it ever! “Just Good Ol’ Boys” reached No. 1 in 1979, and their follow-up, “Holding the Bag,” peaked at No. 7. On the strength of those back-to-back megahits, Moe and Joe, officially billed as Moe Bandy & Joe Stampley, won the 1980 Country Music Association award for Vocal Duo of the Year.
“It was great,” Moe assesses in his forthright manner. “We toured all across the U.S. We brought all the good old boys out—and the good old girls, too. Then, Joe and I had a bar in Houston and then another one in Shreveport [Louisiana], but that one didn’t last too long. We had some great times.”
Oddly enough, the pairing ended up adversely affecting their solo careers. They basically split as an act in 1985, a year after their last Top 10 hit, “Where’s the Dress,” a satirical commentary aimed at the colorful pop star Boy George of Culture Club.
Now, however, Moe and Joe get the act back together on occasion, including a concert in Branson, Mo., later in the year. “We do about three or four shows a year,” Moe says. “In fact, the only show I’ll do in Branson this year is the one with Joe.” That seems an oh-by-the-way comment, except for the fact that Moe actually lives in Branson and once had a popular theater in the performing town. “I broke the Branson habit,” he says, laughing somewhat wryly. “I went there in 1990 when the city had the big boom. It was an unbelievable time. I still have fun playing there.”
Moe performing for Country’s Family Reunion’s
Honky Tonk series on RFD-TV.
photo by Phil Johnson/Webster PR
Besides touring on land, Moe also stays busy at sea. He hosts his own cruise, featuring himself and his band, and is a regular on the yearly Larry’s Country Diner/Country’s Family Reunion cruise, which recently set sail to the Caribbean. “Those are so much fun,” Moe says genuinely. “You have thousands of fans running around and you get to spend time with them, and that is something I absolutely love. I guess that’s because I’m glad they’re still with me—and I’m still with them.”
And he plans to keep it that way. “I have been blessed in a lot of ways,” Moe says. “My health is good and I have had so many wonderful highlights, like getting the CMA award and playing at the White House, which is one of the greatest things to ever happen to me.”
As such, he’s not hanging up his performing hat anytime in the near future. “I do have a busy touring schedule, but I’m still enjoying it,” Moe says, smiling. “I hope I can keep my hat on for a long time.”
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