Bo Bice

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Bo Bice
Bo Bice in The American Idol Experience motorcade at Walt Disney World.
Background information
Birth name	Harold Elwin Bice Jr.
Born	(1975-11-01) November 1, 1975 (age 48) Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Origin	Helena, Alabama, U.S.
Genres	Southern rock hard rock country rock
Occupation(s)	Singer musician
Instrument(s)	Acoustic guitar electric guitar lap steel guitar mandolin harmonica piano saxophone vocals
Years active	2005–present
Labels	RCA Sugarmoney Saguaro Road Lofton Creek
Formerly of	SugarMoney Blood, Sweat & Tears

Harold Elwin "Bo" Bice Jr. (born November 1, 1975) is an American singer and musician who was the runner-up against

Bice was born in Huntsville, Alabama to Nancy and Harold Elwin Bice. His mother was a gospel singer as were his grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunts. Bice was nicknamed "Bogart" as a newborn by his grandmother, "Granny Madge", because she thought he had "Humphrey Bogart eyes". His family continued to call him Bogart, but when Bice was in kindergarten he shortened it to "Bo" because he did not think Bogart was cool. Bice's parents divorced when he was very young, and his mother remarried years later. Bice grew up with his mother and step-father, Earle Downes, a Coca-Cola manager, step-sisters Jenny and Sharan Downes, and half-brother John Cohran. Bice has two other half-siblings, Candace and Matthew, on his biological father's side. The Downes family moved around the South frequently. They lived in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, including the metro area of Atlanta. In 1990 when Bice was 14 years old they moved to England, as part of his step-father's European assignment with Coca-Cola in London.

Bice spent his teenage years living in

Upon leaving Calhoun and spending one 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 was a veteran of the nightclub circuit, releasing his first CD in 1995 with his band Purge.^[2] His other pre-Idol bands include Blue Suede Nickel and SugarMoney. Among his credits were opening for Blackfoot and Warrant as well as performing live and recording with Johnny Neel, formerly of The Allman Brothers Band. Bice had recorded other albums prior to his stint on American Idol, which included Ex Gratia (1999) with his band Purge, and Recipe for Flavor (2000) with SugarMoney. In 2001, Bice was charged with purchasing cocaine at a strip club. In 2003, Bice was arrested for possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and public intoxication. He avoided jail time by agreeing to enter a drug program.^[3][4][5]

For the 2005 season, Idol producers raised their required age limit from 16–24 to 16–28. In August 2004, Bice’s mother and several other family members encouraged him to go try out, since he was within the eligible age limit (he would turn 29 in November 2004). Along with

In June 2005, Bice was quoted in

.

Idol performances

Week	Theme	Song	Original artist	Result
Auditions	Contestant's Choice	"In a Dream"	Badlands	Advanced
	Contestant's Choice	"Whipping Post"	The Allman Brothers Band	Advanced
Hollywood Round 1	Contestant's Choice	" The Letter "	The Box Tops	Advanced
Hollywood Round 2	Contestant's Choice	" God Bless the USA "	Lee Greenwood	Advanced
Hollywood Round 3	Contestant's Choice	"Buddy Holly"	Weezer	Advanced
Top 50	Contestant's Choice	"Get Ready"	The Temptations	Advanced
Top 24	Contestant's Choice	"Drift Away"	John Henry Kurtz	Safe
Top 20	Contestant's Choice	"Whipping Post"	The Allman Brothers Band	Safe
Top 16	Contestant's Choice	"I'll Be"	Edwin McCain	Safe
Top 12	Song of the 1960s	"Spinning Wheel"	Blood, Sweat & Tears	Safe
Top 11	Billboard Number Ones	"Time in a Bottle"	Jim Croce	Safe
Top 10	1990s	"Remedy"	The Black Crowes	Safe
Top 9	Classic Broadway	"Corner of the Sky"	from Pippin	Safe
Top 8	Year They Were Born	"Free Bird"	Lynyrd Skynyrd	Bottom 2
Top 7	1970s Dance Music	"Vehicle"	The Ides of March	Safe
Top 6	21st Century	"I Don't Want to Be"	Gavin DeGraw	Safe
Top 5	Leiber & Stoller Current Billboard Chart	"Stand by Me" "Heaven"	Ben E. King Los Lonely Boys	Safe
Top 4	Country Gamble & Huff	"It's a Great Day to Be Alive" "For the Love of Money"	Jon Randall The O'Jays	Safe
Top 3	Clive Davis' Choice Judge's Choice Contestant's Choice	"Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" "In a Dream"	Elton John The Rolling Stones Badlands	Safe
Finale	Idol Single Contestant's Choice Contestant's Choice	"Inside Your Heaven" "Long Long Road" "Vehicle"	Carrie Underwood/Bo Bice Christian Leuzzi The Ides of March	Runner Up

Post-Idol, marriage and fatherhood: 2005

Signed to

certified Gold in late July 2005. Bice was invited to the Bonnaroo Music Festival by Trey Anastasio. He sang a song with Willie Nelson at a Birmingham concert and was invited by Nelson to perform at Farm Aid. Bice appeared on Carlos Santana's 2005 album All That I Am with the song "Brown Skin Girl". On June 15, 2005, Bice married long-time girlfriend Caroline Fisher in Helena, Alabama. Bice had met her when he was working as a guitar store manager, and frequented the Ragtime Cafe in Hoover, Alabama where she was working her way through college as a waitress. Their first child, a son, was born in September 2005.^[8] A second son was born in August 2008.^[9] A third son was born in January 2010 this was Ean Bice.^[10] Their fourth child and first daughter was born in April 2012.^[11] They reside in Covington, Georgia.^[12]

On July 31, 2005, Bice broke his foot while performing in concert in

Sweet Home Alabama" and wearing Bo Bice T-shirts.^[14] Bice returned to the tour for the final two 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 opened his home in Helena, Alabama to a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

On October 7, 2005, Bice introduced his own band, SugarMoney, in Mobile, Alabama at Bayfest. He performed two concerts the following week, including a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but was back in the hospital the next day with surgery complications. In November Bice was named "Heartland Hero of the Week" on John Kasich's show, Heartland, for giving up his house to the family displaced by Hurricane Katrina and for using his music to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Jim Croce's family awarded Bice the "Jim Croce 20th Annual Music Award" because the Croce family had been greatly moved by Bice's performance of Croce's song "Time in a Bottle" while he was a contestant on American Idol.

The Real Thing and recurring medical problems: 2005–2006

Bice's solo debut album,

coughing up blood while rehearsing for a performance on the 2005 Radio Music Awards, and had to miss the show.^[15]

In February 2006, Bice kicked off a radio promo tour. During the ensuing year of promotional appearances and touring, Bice continued to suffer with the recurring intestinal condition which had not been repaired by the August 2005 surgery. In the span of just a few months during his various tours, Bice was hospitalized 20 times, checking out of the hospitals each time to honor his performance commitments. In March 2006, Bice sang on the American Idol Top 16 Results Show. In April 2006, Bice was one of the celebrity drivers featured in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race held in Long Beach, California, that was sponsored by Toyota to benefit various children's hospitals of Southern California. On September 12, 2006, Bice released a cover of The Chambers Brothers 1968 smash hit, "Time Has Come Today", which was the theme song for a new Monopoly commercial. In September 2006, Bice was a special guest star in a TV special called Decades Rock Live: Lynyrd Skynyrd & Friends—the friends being Bice, Hank Williams Jr., and 3 Doors Down.

On October 5, 2006, Bice underwent emergency surgery in

gold record for The Real Thing not long after RCA

dropped Bice from its roster.

Sugar Money Records, See The Light and 3: 2007–2013

In the spring and summer of 2006, Bice began to talk of his hopes for a second CD, saying that "[he]'d like to go more rootsy, more country, more southern rock Bo."

Strategic Artist Management). He spent the next few months planning, writing, and recording music for his new album, See the Light. Bice introduced many of his newly written songs on a short acoustic tour which began in May 2007 and ended a few weeks later with his hospitalization for flu and bronchitis. See the Light

was released October 23, 2007.

In October 2007, Bice made an appearance on the TV show

Beatles' Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

.

On September 13, Bice participated in "Share the Beat", a benefit for the Georgia Transplant Foundation and the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness. Bice sang two tracks on the Brothers of the Southland CD,[17] a compilation spearheaded by The Marshall Tucker Band's George McCorkle who had died from cancer just days prior to the recording sessions. On December 2, Bice was invited to Washington to perform for President Bush. Throughout 2009, Bice continued touring to support See the Light. Bice did tour dates with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Bice was honored with the prestigious Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Service Award for volunteering more than 4,000 hours of his time for worthy causes, such as Habitat for Humanity, Katrina assistance, muscular dystrophy, organ transplants, two concert tours for the military troops in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, Safe House, and many others. In addition to the hours for which he received recognition, he has donated instruments, music equipment, meaningful personal memorabilia, and some of his own paintings to be auctioned off for charities.

Bice started 2010 with an acoustic tour to introduce some newly written songs that he was recording for his upcoming album.^[

Saguaro Road Records on May 18, 2010.^{[citation needed]} On October 12, 2010, Bice guest-starred on the syndicated game show Don't Forget the Lyrics! and won the $50,000 grand prize for his charity, MusiCares. Bice was the first celebrity contestant to win the grand prize by correctly singing the lyrics to all the songs in his round.^[18]

In 2013, Bice sang "

Feed the Children 300 in Sparta, Kentucky.^{[citation needed}

]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions			sales threshold )
		US [19]	US Indie [20]	CAN [21]
2005	The Real Thing Release date: December 13, 2005 Label: RCA Records	4	—	60	US: Gold[22] US sales: 673,000[23]
2007	See the Light Release date: October 23, 2007 Label: StratArt Records	150	31	—	US sales: 62,000[24]
2010	3 Release date: May 18, 2010 Label: Saguaro Road	154	—	—	US sales: 11,000[25]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions				sales threshold )	Album
		US [26]	US AC [27]	US Adult [28]	US Pop [29]
2005	"I Don't Want to Be"	—	—	—	—		non-album singles
	"Inside Your Heaven"	2	—	—	—	Canada: Platinum[30] US: Gold[22]
	"Vehicle"	—	—	—	—
2006	"The Real Thing"	56	17	11	17		The Real Thing
	"U Make Me Better"	—	—	—	—
2007	"Blades of Glory"	—	—	—	—		Blades of Glory (soundtrack)
	"Witness"	—	—	—	—		See the Light
2010	"You Take Yourself with You"	—	—	—	—		3
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Video
2007	"Blades of Glory"
	"Witness"
2010	"You Take Yourself with You"

References

1. ^ "Blood Sweat & Tears official web site". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
2. ^ Ortega, Shawna (July 23, 2008). "Bo Bice: Songwriter Interviews". Songfacts. Archived from the original on October 18, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
3. ^ 100 Celebrities Arrested For Drug Possession from PopCrunch.com
4. ^ "Idol" Finalist Dodged Cocaine, Pot Raps from The Smoking Gun
5. ^ "'Idol' Singer Bo Bice Has Drug Rap Sheet, Court Papers Show". MTV News.
6. ^ Kaufman, Gil. "'American Idol' Vets Bo Bice, Constantine Maroulis Can't Stop Rockin'". MTV. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
7. ^ "Bice: 'Please, God, Don't Let Me Win This Thing.'". Beaver County Times. June 15, 2005 – via Google News Archive Search.
8. ^ "'American Idol' runner-up Bo Bice marries". USA Today. June 30, 2005.
9. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: American Idol Runner-Up Bo Bice & Wife Welcome Baby Boy". Us Magazine. August 5, 2008. Archived from the original on September 3, 2008.
10. ^ "Bo Bice Welcomes Son Ean Jacob". People. January 22, 2010. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved February 25, 2020.
11. ^ "Bo Bice Welcomes Baby Girl". Taste of Country. April 24, 2012.
12. ^ "Newton County's Newest Resident- Bo Bice". Covington-Newton County Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
13. ^ "Bo Bice busts his foot onstage". TODAY.com. August 2005.
14. ^ foxes on idol Archived October 16, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
15. ^ "Top News, Latest headlines, Latest News, World News & U.S News". United Press International. Archived from the original on January 24, 2009.
16. ^ "seMissourian.com: Entertainment: Banking on Bo (09/08/06)". seMissourian.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2006.
17. ^ Southern Fried Magazine August 1, 2007
18. ^ "Bo Bice, Taylor Hicks to appear on 'Don't Forget the Lyrics' (with videos)". AL.com. October 12, 2010.
19. ^ "Bo Bice Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
20. ^ "Bo Bice Album & Song Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
21. ^ "CANOE -- JAM! Music SoundScan Charts - December 25, 2005". JAM!. Archived from the original on December 26, 2004. Retrieved August 1, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
22. ^ ^{a b} "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
23. ^ Lisa de Moraes (May 23, 2011). "American Idol finale: After 10 years, the beat goes on". The Washington Post.
24. ^ "Idol sales: Cook returns to top 10 at year's end". USA Today.
25. ^ "'Idol' album sales: Fantasia sells best; Chris Sligh, Josiah Leming debut". USA Today.
26. ^ "Bo Bice Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
27. ^ "Bo Bice Album & Song Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
28. ^ "Bo Bice Album & Song Chart History: Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
29. ^ "Bo Bice Album & Song Chart History: Pop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
30. ^ "Gold and Platinum - July 2005". CRIA.ca. Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved July 1, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bo Bice.

• BoBice.com 'official' site from Superstar Media
• Bo Bice Day declaration
• Thomas, Ronnie (2005-03-29) "Stepdad Downes recalls years Idol contender spent overseas". Decatur Daily.