biography
Bo Rivers was born in Houston, Texas. At the age of six he and his family moved to Garland, a small town just out side of Dallas, Texas. Bo grew up there and was active in all sports, and thought this is what he wanted to do. Soon that would fade. There was something else that caught his attention. It was the sounds of the Fifties and Sixties. That music would change his direction and his life. Bo got his first taste of making music at age ten, when he picked up an old flat top Gibson guitar. While listening to the greatest songs that played on radio, he taught his self to play. He formed his first band in 1962 and two years later recorded his first single titled “ I’m Crying You Away”.
While recording in Dallas, Rivers met friend Phil York, engineer and co-producer for Willie Nelson’s “Blue eyes Crying in the Rain”. Phil agreed to record Bo’s second single “All Fall Down”. This song was never released due to timing. It profiled the Vietnam War, and at that time it had just ended.
Shortly after that Bo teamed up with another friend, Jewel Akins and The World Famous Coasters and toured with his show for about a year. Jewel Akins is noted for his 1965 gold record “Birds and the Bees”.
Bo’s third single “Broken Promises” was written as a tribute to the American Indian. The record was displayed in a Native American museum in Alto, Texas.
It wasn’t until Bo’s first CD single that earned him the recognition he deserved as a singer /songwriter. “Country Blue” made it to No. 13 on the U.S. independent charts. The song has been re-released and is now playing on several radio stations in Europe including Main and Wisconsin.
Bo now has four CD albums to his credit titled, “Poetry of a Cowboy”, “Covering for Willie”, ”Country Blue” and “Willie, Roy, And Me”.
In addition to performing with Jewel Akins, Bo has appeared with Willie Nelson, David Allen Coe, and Ray Wylie Hubbard at Texas concerts. He opened for Michael Martin Murphy in Sonoita, Az. Bo was featured in six National Street Rod Association magazines and preformed concerts for them from 1987 to 1991. Because of his versatility he was asked to sing at the Debbie Reynolds Resort Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Bo Rivers has toured the U.S. for the last fourteen years. His songs have played on radio stations through out the U.S. and in Europe.
While in Branson Missouri, Shirley Nelson came to see Bo perform. These are her remarks. "I've heard'em all, but no one compares to Bo's natural ability to reproduce Willie's sound".
Bo Rivers performs from Roy Orbison and Willie Nelson's list of their greatest songs, plus other Texas Country music as well as his own. Most recently Rivers met musician and songwriter Max Crook in Kerrville, Texas. Crook is well known for the 1961 #1 smash hit "Runaway" made famous by Del Shannon.
There is much more…Maybe in a book!
