On This Day in 1945, One-Half of Country Music’s First Explicit and Banned Duo Was Born

Country music was historically a very conservative, straight-laced genre rooted in traditional values and decorum—that is, until the genre’s first explicit duo burst onto the scene in a tornado of parodies and profanity in the mid-1980s. On September 30, 1945, one-half of that controversial duo was born in Linden, Texas. (The other half of the musical pairing was born two years later in January 1947.)

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James “Sandy” Pinkard and Richard Bowden released their first joint album roughly four decades later. Writers in Disguise came out in 1984. This album set the pair off on a short-lived but memorable career of song spoofs á la Homer and Jethro.

Following their mid-80s debut, Pinkard & Bowden released four other albums: PG-13, Live! (In Front of a Bunch of D*ckhe*ds), Cousins, Cattle, and other Love Stories, and Gettin’ Stupid. The explicit duo made the Top 100 of the Billboard Country charts a handful of times. They became the first country act to require a parental advisory label and were banned from The Nashville Network in the process.

One-Half of Country Music’s Most Explicit Duo Was Born in 1945

Despite the outward personas that James “Sandy” Pinkard and Richard Bowden adopted while performing as Pinkard & Bowden, the pair were both accomplished musicians in their own right. Pinkard wrote several mainstream hits that had no trace of satire or parody, including “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma”, “Blessed are the Believers”, and “Coca Cola Cowboy”. Meanwhile, Bowden toured as a member of Roger McGuinn’s solo band, which opened for notable acts like The Eagles. The pair didn’t meet until years into their respective careers, by way of fellow musician Jim Ed Norman.

It didn’t take long for Pinkard and Bowden to realize they had the same sense of humor. (And a mutual affinity for incorporating that humor into their music). The pair decided to start writing parody songs together. This would include “Help Me Make It Through The Yard”, a play on Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through The Night”, “Libyan on a Jet Plane”, a spoof of John Denver’s “Leavin’ On a Jet Plane”, and their spin on George Jones’ “She Thinks I Still Care”, which they titled “She Thinks I Steal Cars”.

Their often-times explicit lyrics earned the musical duo the distinction of being the first country music act to require a parental advisory label. The Nashville Network banned the act from playing on the air for their ridiculous and divisive spoofs. (For example, “Friends in Crawl Spaces”, which combined a parody of Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” and then-recent news of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.)

Country music’s first explicit duo released their final album, Gettin’ Stupid, in 1993. Their musical legacy isn’t quite as ubiquitous as, say, Tim McGraw. But they certainly remain one of the most groundbreaking country music acts, for better or worse.

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