Bo Bice
Harold Elwin "Bo" Bice Jr. (born November 1, 1975) is an American singer and musician who was the runner-up against Carrie Underwood in the fourth season of American Idol. Prior to auditioning for American Idol, Bice released a solo album as well as a few albums with his bands while performing on the night club circuit.
Not to be confused with Bo Bruce.
Bo Bice
Harold Elwin Bice Jr.
November 1, 1975
Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Helena, Alabama, U.S.
- Singer
- musician
2005–present
- RCA
- Sugarmoney
- Saguaro Road
- Lofton Creek
- SugarMoney
- Blood, Sweat & Tears
Bice charted in 2005 at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 with a rendition of "Inside Your Heaven" from American Idol. He released the album The Real Thing after American Idol to minor success before being dropped by RCA Records. He started his own record label Sugar Money and subsequently released two more albums, See the Light and 3. He was also the lead singer of Blood, Sweat & Tears from 2013 until 2018.[1]
Childhood[edit]
Bice was born in Huntsville, Alabama to Nancy and Harold Elwin Bice. His mother was a gospel singer as were his grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunts. Bice was nicknamed "Bogart" as a newborn by his grandmother, "Granny Madge", because she thought he had "Humphrey Bogart eyes". His family continued to call him Bogart, but when Bice was in kindergarten he shortened it to "Bo" because he did not think Bogart was cool. Bice's parents divorced when he was very young, and his mother remarried years later. Bice grew up with his mother and step-father, Earle Downes, a Coca-Cola manager, step-sisters Jenny and Sharan Downes, and half-brother John Cohran. Bice has two other half-siblings, Candace and Matthew, on his biological father's side. The Downes family moved around the South frequently. They lived in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, including the metro area of Atlanta. In 1990 when Bice was 14 years old they moved to England, as part of his step-father's European assignment with Coca-Cola in London.
Bice spent his teenage years living in Gerrards Cross. Bice attended London Central High School, a Department of Defense school primarily for children whose parents served in the military or worked at the U.S. Embassy. In high school, he carried his guitar everywhere and played football. It was around this time when Bice worked with some English alternative rock musicians. He formed his first band, Spinning Jenny, while living there. Bice would have graduated in 1994, but in the fall of 1993, Bice dropped out of high school just before turning 18 to move back to Alabama, where he earned his GED and attended classes at Calhoun Community College from November 1996 to May 1997.
Career[edit]
Career beginnings and American Idol: 1997–2005[edit]
Upon leaving Calhoun and spending one semester at the University of North Alabama in Florence, Bice turned professional and performed in shows all across the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe. He was a veteran of the nightclub circuit, releasing his first CD in 1995 with his band Purge.[2] His other pre-Idol bands include Blue Suede Nickel and SugarMoney. Among his credits were opening for Blackfoot and Warrant as well as performing live and recording with Johnny Neel, formerly of The Allman Brothers Band. Bice had recorded other albums prior to his stint on American Idol, which included Ex Gratia (1999) with his band Purge, and Recipe for Flavor (2000) with SugarMoney. In 2001, Bice was charged with purchasing cocaine at a strip club. In 2003, Bice was arrested for possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and public intoxication. He avoided jail time by agreeing to enter a drug program.[3][4][5]
For the 2005 season, Idol producers raised their required age limit from 16–24 to 16–28. In August 2004, Bice’s mother and several other family members encouraged him to go try out, since he was within the eligible age limit (he would turn 29 in November 2004). Along with Constantine Maroulis and Taylor Hicks (winner of Season 5), Bice was one of the oldest contestants to audition and participate on American Idol. Bice and Maroulis were among the first contestants to compete using the rock idiom.[6] His performance in the audition stage of The Allman Brothers Band's song "Whipping Post" drew raves from the judges. His later performances established him as one of the favorites in the competition. During the final three performance show, Bice took the risk of performing without a band or backup singers. He sang "In a Dream", an obscure song recorded by Badlands.
In June 2005, Bice was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine that his last thought during the Idol finale was, "Please, God, don't let me win this thing."[7] In comments during a subsequent appearance on The Today Show, Bice backed off this stance a bit, saying that he thanked all those who had voted for him. He lost the final, ending up runner-up to Carrie Underwood. In Alabama, May 24 was declared "Bo Bice Day" by Governor Bob Riley. Two members of the group Lynyrd Skynyrd surprised Bice during his trip home from Idol and performed "Sweet Home Alabama" with him in his home town of Helena, Alabama.