Moe Bandy

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	Moe Bandy

		More than thirty Top Ten singles since his 1974 chart-topper "I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today", Moe Bandy is still singing songs that drive right to the heart of country. He's honest, down-to-earth, likable... a star in the truest sense of the word, who always remains accessible to his audiences.

	Moe's unique ability to touch the soul of a country music fan comes naturally. In life, as well as music, he has never been anything but country. He was born in Meridian, Mississippi and raised in San Antonio, Texas, along with his four brothers and sister. Moe still lives in the area on a 31 acre farm with his wife and their three children. "It's good, if you can, to live where you're from," he says, "because it keeps your feet on the ground."


	Moe's first musical training came informally from his parents. "My mom played piano and my dad played guitar. He was a big Hank Williams fan - and still is."


	After high school, Moe became a sheet-metal worker by day and a country singer by night - which rolled up 70 hour workweeks. He says it nearly killed him, but he had to put food on the table - and, at the same time, he wasn't about to stop playing his music. "The minute I heard that applause, I was hooked," recalls Moe.


	On several occasions, Bandy paid for his own recording sessions with independent labels. These efforts received some local air play. He also gained exposure on a local television show every Tuesday night called "The Country Corner Furniture Program", and, like most country stars, Moe paid his dues playing honky-tonk clubs throughout Texas.

	Moe got his big break in 1974 when he recorded a song called, "I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today". Moe hocked his furniture for $900 to pay for the session.

	At this point, Moe's Story sounds more like Hollywood than Nashville because, unlike thousands of other would-be stars who make a record and return home broke, Moe Bandy had a hit. "I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today" put Moe's name on the country charts, and, more importantly, he followed up his first hit and established himself as a legitimate country star with two Top 10 singles, "Honky Tonk Amnesia" and "Bandy The Rodeo Clown" which was written for Moe by Whitey Shafer, and the legendary Lefty Frizzell shortly before Frizzell's untimely death.

	In 1975, Moe signed with Columbia Records and his string of hits continued with such classics as "Hank Williams You Wrote My Life" (1975), "I'm Sorry For You My Friend" (1977), "Two Lonely People" (1978), "It's A Cheatin' Situation", "I Cheated Me Right Out Of You" (1979), "Barstool Mountain" (1980), "Following The Feeling" (1981), "She's Not Really Cheatin' (She's Just Gettin' Even)" (1982), and "I Still Love You In The Same Ol' Way" (1983). He was named "Most Promising Male Vocalist" of 1975 by the Academy of Country Music, and his 1979 single "It's A Cheatin' Situation" won the ACM's "Song of the Year" honor in 1980.

	The occasional rodeo references in Moe's catalogue - "Bandy The Rodeo Clown," "Rodeo Romeo," "Someday Soon" - are true to Moe's experience. Bandy worked on a ranch as a working cowboy and competed in bull riding and bareback bronco riding in rodeos for several years, and he has the broken bones to prove it. Also, his brother Mike has been to the PRCA National Finals Rodeo seven times in the bull riding event. So it seems fitting that the International Rodeo Association proclaimed Moe "Entertainer Of The Year," and the Rodeo Cowboys Association their "Texas Entertainer Of The Year."

	In 1979, Moe began to occasionally team up with label mate Joe Stampley - and a collaboration of hit records followed such as ("Just Good Ol' Boys", "Holdin The Bag", "Tell Ole I Ain't Here, He Better Get On Home", and "Where's The Dress"). And together they won "Vocal Duo of the Year" honors in 1980 from the Country Music Association and in 1980 AND 1981 from the Academy of Country Music. They also received a gold album for Just Good Ole Boys, and racked up awards in 1984 as Best Country Video from the New York Film Festival and the Prestigious American Video Awards for "Where's The Dress".

	At a level of achievement where he might be expected to relax his musical efforts and enjoy the rewards of his success, Moe Bandy is approaching his career with renewed enthusiasm. On July 4, 1986, before a packed crowd of 51,000 fans at the Central State University Stadium in Edmond, Oklahoma, Moe signed his new recording contract with MCA/Curb Records. In December of that year, he completed work on his debut album for MCA/Curb (his 22nd LP), collaborating for the first time with hit-making producer Jerry Kennedy (The Statlers, Mel McDaniel, Reba McEntire). The album, YOU HAVEN'T HEARD THE LAST OF ME, was released during January, 1987 and subsequently produced two hit singles. "Till I'm Too Old To Die Young" made it to the #1 slot on Cashbox Magazines' Country Singles Chart and firmly reestablished Moe as a hitmaker for the 80's. Moe racked up another "Top 10" hit with the albums' title cut "You Haven't Heard The Last Of Me".

	Bandy's newly-released album, "No Regrets", is similarly impacting 1988. The first single from the album, "Americana", has become another Top Ten hit for Moe, and the album itself is already broken well into the Top Forty on the charts.

	Moe Bandy has tailored his image and sound for the 80's while maintaining his traditional country music roots and turning out hits that touch the entire range of human emotion. He continues to be one of the hardest working country stars in the business - playing close to 200 dates each year. It is Moe's simple, no-frills honesty that has made him the very definition of country music and has kept his songs favorites with the fans for more than a decade.