Bo Bice has music in his blood. Born Harold Bice in Huntsville, Alabama on Nov. 1, 1975, Bo was raised in the south by his song-singing, instrument-playing, music-worshiping parents. "My father played guitar, banjo and mandolin. My mother and her three cousins were in a group called the Singing Jays, and my mom sang at the Grand Ole Opry. I guess that's why I always took music for granted. I remember how weird it was the first time I realized not everybody could sing" Bo laughs.
Bo's parents had extensive record collections, inspiring Bo to buy his first album, by Steve Miller, at the age of five. Soon, Bo was adding Boston, the Rolling Stones, and the James Gang to his growing pile. On his ninth birthday, he received his first real guitar - an electric Squire Telecaster - as a birthday present. "That's not a little thing for a nine-year-old" Bo laughs. "It cost $500 and that was a lot of money for my parents. I had that guitar around my neck all the time." That same year, Bo performed in public for the first time, singing "God Bless the U.S.A." in a talent contest at the Atlanta Civic Center.
Bo's musically rich childhood prepared him well for his future. Bo has been on the music scene, writing songs, recording, producing and playing in bands since he was in high school. In the last year, every personal and professional dream he kept alive throughout the years has come true. He's gone from guitar-store manager to American Idol, and he's recently completed work on his first solo album.
The record, titled The Real Thing, will be released on December 13th. It includes several original songs on which Bo shares writing credit such as "It's My Life", which Bo wrote with Clif Magness, and Kara DioGuardi. The record, which is produced by Clive Davis, also features collaborations between Bo and eight different producers and songwriters including Chad Kroeger (of Nickelback), Max Martin , John Shanks, and Marti Frederickson.
Bo has a lot to say about the songs on his new record. "The Real Thing", a classic epic pop track written by DioGuardi and Frederickson, is "about a man saying to a woman, 'I know you have these feelings and you're not saying them and it looks like you want to say them'" says Bo. "Nothing Without You", which Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and John Shanks wrote together, comes complete with soaring hooks and powerful vocals that reflect the arena-rocking backgrounds of its creators. "The hook says that all of this means nothing without you. If you go through life without sharing it with someone you love, it's meaningless" says Shanks, who also produced the song. Moody pop ballad "Remember Me", written by DioGuardi and Fredericksen, is one of Bo's favorites. "Marti and Kara wrote it for me. I've played it live several times, it's such a cool song". DioGuardi elaborates, "it's about a love gone bad. It says now that we're done and I'm crushed, don't ever forget about me."
After years of fantasizing about success in the music industry, finally achieving it is incredibly gratifying and humbling, says Bice. "All these elements have brought me to this point. To have been working in music for so long, and dreaming about doing what I'm doing now. I'm just grateful for the opportunity to not only to be able to do what I do, but to do it with the caliber of people that are making this happen. It's like having your Fantasy Football team. With everything behind this album, if it doesn't do well, it's obviously because I suck, because everybody else around me is incredible!"
After a bumpy summer that included hospitalization and emergency surgery to treat an intestinal blockage, Bo finally found his stride in the studio and is feeling both confident about the record he's about to release and reflective on how he got here.
"I've produced a couple of Christian-rock bands, back in Birmingham. I did the Nashville thing earlier and I did the songwriting thing as a career. So all that stuff is really the backbone to being able to walk in the studio and do a song that I've never even heard before. It's a language. It's like I couldn't walk out to a damn construction site and have some guy go, 'Hey man gimme that double-wedged hammer slide!' I'd be like, 'what the hell?!'"
So what does the future hold for Bo Bice? Two years ago he was looking forward with determination to a life filled with music, on a smaller scale. Now, he's thinking about promoting his new record, and exploring the multitude of options his fame has created. Don't be surprised if you see Bo guest starring on a TV show, every once in a while, if he can pry himself away from music for long enough.
"I never set out to be somebody on TV but I hope that I'm able to continue to do things on TV, you know, without becoming an actor. I want to do little silly things. Something that's relevant, something that I can enjoy,"
