Marion Bandy, who was nicknamed Moe by his father when he was a child, grew up in the home-town of the legendary Jimmie Rodgers. He later stated: "My grandfather worked on the railroads with Jimmie Rodgers. He was the boss of the railway yard in Meridian and Jimmie Rodgers worked for him. He said that he played his guitar all the time between work."
The Bandy family moved to San Antonio, Texas when Moe was six years old. His mother played piano and sang. Bandy was taught to play the guitar by his father, but made little use of the ability until he was in his teens. His father's wish that Moe also play the fiddle never materialized. He made some appearances with his father's country band, the Mission City Playboys, but generally during his high school days, he showed little interest in music but a great deal in rodeos. He tried bronco-busting and bull-riding and by the time he was 16, he was competing in rodeos all over Texas.
Career success
In 1962, tired of the bruises and fractured bones, he began to pursue a career in country music. He assembled a band that he called Moe And The Mavericks and found work playing small beer joints, honky tonks and clubs over a wide area around San Antonio, Texas. When he was young he tried to sound like Hank Williams and George Jones - "I even had my hair cut short like his".Although work was plentiful, the pay was poor and during the day he worked for his father as a sheet metal worker. This was to last for the next 12 years, during which time he made a few recordings for various small labels. In 1964, he had his first single, "Lonely Lady", on the Satin label, but it made little impression. He did manage to get his band a residency on a local television program called Country Corner and in this capacity, he provided backing for several touring stars.
In 1973, he went solo when record producer Ray Baker, who had listened to Bandy's demos the previous year, suggested he come to Nashville. Bandy managed to obtain a loan and recorded a song called "I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today". Initially released on Footprint Records with a limited pressing of 500 copies, it soon came to the attention of the Atlanta-based GRC label. In March 1974, it entered the US country charts, eventually peaking at number 17. Other hits followed, including "It Was Always So Easy To Find An Unhappy Woman (Till I Started Looking For Mine)" and "Don't Anyone Make Love At Home Anymore".
In 1975, a song written by his friend Lefty Frizzell and Whitey Shaffer gave him a number seven country hit, firmly establishing his reputation. "Bandy The Rodeo Clown" was to become not only one of his own favorites but also one of his most popular recordings. (Shaffer was greatly amused by the way Bandy pronounced woman as "woh-min", and began to send him songs with the "woh-min" in them.)
Bandy sang in a simple style that extracted the utmost from his songs of lost love, sadness and life. Although by no means a Hank Williams sound-alike, his method of putting across his honky tonk songs shows a distinct influence from Williams. He met with immediate success at Columbia Records with Paul Craft's "Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life" and quickly added further hits, including "Here I Am Drunk Again".
From 1977 through 1979, he was a country chart regular with singles such as "I'm Sorry For You, My Friend" (the song Williams had written for their mutual friend Lefty Frizzell), "Cowboys Ain't Supposed To Cry", "That's What Makes The Jukebox Play" and a duet with Janie Fricke, "It's A Cheating Situation".
Moe Bandy Website
Moe Bandy Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1974 | I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today | 11 | — | GRC |
| It Was Always So Easy | 9 | — | ||
| 1975 | Bandy the Rodeo Clown | 27 | — | |
| 1976 | Hank Williams You Wrote My Life | 13 | — | Columbia |
| Here I Am Drunk Again | 17 | — | ||
| 1977 | I'm Sorry for You My Friend | 18 | — | |
| The Best | 18 | — | ||
| Cowboys Ain't Supposed to Cry | 22 | — | ||
| 1978 | Soft Lights and Hard Country Music | 34 | 5 | |
| Love Is What Life's All About | 33 | — | ||
| 1979 | It's a Cheating Situation | 19 | 13 | |
| One of a Kind | 44 | — | ||
| 1980 | The Champ | 57 | 6 | |
| Following the Feeling | 44 | — | ||
| 1981 | Rodeo Romeo | 48 | — | |
| Encore | — | — | ||
| 1982 | She's Not Really Cheatin' (She's Just Gettin' Even) | 19 | — | |
| Salutes the American Cowboy | — | — | Warwick | |
| I Still Love You in the Same Ol' Way | — | — | Columbia | |
| Greatest Hits | 49 | — | ||
| 1983 | Sings Songs of Hank Williams | — | — | |
| Devoted to Your Memory | 41 | — | ||
| 1984 | Motel Matches | 45 | — | |
| 1985 | Keepin' It Country | — | — | |
| Barroom Roses | — | — | ||
| 1987 | You Haven't Heard the Last of Me | 10 | — | MCA |
| 1988 | No Regrets | 28 | — | Curb |
| 1989 | Many Mansions | 48 | — | |
| 1990 | Greatest Hits | — | — | |
| 1993 | Live in Branson, MO USA | — | — | Laserlight |
| 1995 | Picture in a Frame | — | — | Intersound |
| Gospel Favorites | — | — | ||
| 1996 | A Cowboy Christmas | — | — | |
| 1997 | Act Naturally | — | — | |
| 2005 | Too Old to Die Young | — | — | Pegasus |
Albums with Joe Stampley
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | |||
| 1979 | Just Good Ol' Boys | 11 | — | Columbia |
| 1981 | Hey Joe! Hey Moe! | 23 | 170 | |
| 1982 | Greatest Hits | — | — | |
| 1984 | Alive and Well | 21 | — | |
| 1985 | Live from Bad Bob's, Memphis | — | — | |
| 1999 | The Best | — | — | Intersound |
| 2000 | Live at Billy Bob's Texas | — | — | Smith |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1974 | "I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today" | 17 | — | I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs |
| "Honky Tonk Amnesia" | 24 | 48 | ||
| "It Was Always So Easy (To Find an Unhappy Woman)" | 7 | 7 | It Was Always So Easy | |
| 1975 | "Don't Anyone Make Love at Home Anymore" | 13 | 24 | |
| "Bandy the Rodeo Clown" | 7 | 4 | Bandy the Rodeo Clown | |
| "Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life" | 2 | 3 | Hank Williams You Wrote My Life | |
| 1976 | "The Biggest Airport in the World" | 27 | 22 | |
| "Here I Am Drunk Again" | 11 | 13 | Here I Am Drunk Again | |
| "She Took More Than Her Share" | 11 | — | ||
| 1977 | "I'm Sorry for You, My Friend" | 9 | 9 | I'm Sorry for You My Friend |
| "Cowboys Ain't Supposed to Cry" | 13 | 33 | Cowboys Ain't Supposed to Cry | |
| "She Just Loved the Cheatin' Out of Me" | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1978 | "Soft Lights and Hard Country Music" | 13 | 15 | Soft Lights and Hard Country Music |
| "That's What Makes the Juke Box Play" | 11 | 10 | ||
| "Two Lonely People" | 7 | 4 | Love Is What Life's All About | |
| 1979 | "It's a Cheating Situation" (w/ Janie Fricke) | 2 | 1 | It's a Cheating Situation |
| "Barstool Mountain" | 9 | 21 | ||
| "I Cheated Me Right Out of You" | 1 | 1 | One of a Kind | |
| 1980 | "One of a Kind" | 13 | — | |
| "The Champ" | 22 | 14 | The Champ | |
| "Yesterday Once More" | 10 | 6 | ||
| "Following the Feeling" (w/ Judy Bailey) | 10 | — | Following the Feeling | |
| 1981 | "My Woman Loves the Devil Out of Me" | 15 | 25 | |
| "Rodeo Romeo" | 10 | 12 | Rodeo Romeo | |
| 1982 | "Someday Soon" | 21 | 36 | |
| "She's Not Really Cheatin' (She's Just Gettin' Even)" | 4 | 2 | She's Not Really Cheatin' (She's Just Gettin' Even) | |
| "Only If There Is Another You" | 12 | 42 | ||
| 1983 | "I Still Love You in the Same Ol' Way" | 19 | — | I Still Love You in the Same Ol' Way |
| "Let's Get Over Them Together" (w/ Becky Hobbs) | 10 | 27 | Devoted to Your Memory | |
| "You're Gonna Lose Her Like That" | 34 | 38 | ||
| 1984 | "It Took a Lot of Drinkin' (To Get That Woman Over Me)" | 31 | — | Motel Matches |
| "Woman Your Love" | 12 | 12 | ||
| 1985 | "Barroom Roses" | 45 | 34 | Barroom Roses |
| 1986 | "One Man Band" | 42 | 43 | You Haven't Heard the Last of Me |
| 1987 | "'Til I'm Too Old to Die Young" | 6 | 10 | |
| "You Haven't Heard the Last of Me" | 11 | — | ||
| 1988 | "Americana" | 8 | — | No Regrets |
| "Ashes in the Wind" | 47 | 61 | ||
| "I Just Can't Say No to You" | 21 | * | ||
| 1989 | "Many Mansions" | 34 | * | Many Mansions |
| "Brotherly Love" | 53 | * | ||
| "This Night Won't Last Forever" | 49 | * | ||
Singles with Joe Stampley
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1979 | "Just Good Ol' Boys" | 1 | 8 | Just Good Ol' Boys |
| "Holding the Bag" | 7 | 7 | ||
| 1980 | "Tell Ole I Ain't Here, He Better Get on Home" | 11 | 15 | |
| 1981 | "Hey Joe (Hey Moe)" | 10 | 8 | Hey Joe! Hey Moe! |
| "Honky Tonk Queen" | 12 | 11 | ||
| 1984 | "Where's the Dress" | 8 | 8 | Alive and Well |
| "The Boy's Night Out" | 36 | 24 | ||
| 1985 | "Daddy's Honky Tonk" | 48 | 45 | |
| "Still on a Roll" | ||||
