John Cowan (b. August 24, 1952 in Evansville, Indiana) is an American soul music and progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan was bassist in the band in 1972 from original bassist Ebo Walker, and was noted as being the only member of New Grass Revival not to come from a bluegrass background.
Biography:
After the breakup of the New Grass Revival, Cowan released a soul record of covers, called "Soul'd Out", on the Sugar Hill Records label in 1990.
Cowan appeared as a duo with Sam Bush on the PBS series, Lonesome Pine Special in 1992, and also appeared with other artists on the program.
From 1988 to 1996 Cowan teamed with Rusty Young of Poco, Bill Lloyd of Foster & Lloyd and Pat Simmons of the Doobie Brothers in a band originally called Four Wheel Drive which was later changed to The Sky Kings. Several singles were released but failed to chart well. Two albums were recorded but not released by RCA until 1997 after the group's demise as the Sky Kings, "Out of the Blue".
Thanks in part to his collaboration with Simmons in Four Wheel Drive, Cowan also found himself the bass player for The Doobie Brothers from 1993-1995. His song Can't Stand To Lose, co-written with Rusty Young, was featured on the Doobies' 2000 album Sibling Rivalry.
In addition, throughout the 1990s, Cowan picked up session work singing harmony vocals and/or playing bass on recordings of Travis Tritt, Steve Earle, Garth Brooks, and Wynonna.
From 1996 through 1998, Cowan was the bassist and harmony vocalist in Sam Bush's touring band.
The new century brought a blues record from Cowan. By 2002, his projects on Sugar Hill turned more to his "newgrass" stylings.
In 2006, Cowan left Sugar Hill and went to the independent label Pinecastle Records. In 2008, Cowan was chosen to participate in a movie on the life of Billy Graham, titled, Billy: The Early Years.
In May 2010, Cowan rejoined The Doobie Brothers as their touring after their regular bassist, Skylark, suffered a stroke.
Footnotes:
^ Loftus, Johnny. "John Cowan biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 22 August 2011. ,
^ Wolff, Kurt; Duane, Orla. Country music: the rough guide. p. 242. ,
^ Stambler, Irwin; Laudon, Grelun; Stambler, Lyndon. Country Music: The Encyclopedia. pp. 339-341. ,
^ Larkin, Colin. The Virgin encyclopedia of country music. p. 304. ,
^ Teen lands role as Billy Graham's sister in new film | www.tennessean.com | The Tennessean
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