THE BELLAMY BROTHERS: THE LOVE STILL FLOWS…
Howard and David continue to prove that the trail they’ve ridden to fame has been as unique as their music itself—music that celebrates 50 years of success in 2025.
The road that started on the pop music charts in the ‘70’s, took a winding turn into country music in the ‘80’s, paving the way for duos to come, such as Brooks & Dunn, Montgomery Gentry, Big & Rich and previously—The Judds. But before the road forked into country, the musical odyssey of brothers Bellamy started creatively smoldering in their home state of Florida, before exploding nationally amidst the ’70’s pop music culture of L.A.
The brothers first official gig was in 1968, playing a free show with their father at the Rattlesnake Roundup in San Antonio, Florida. They honed their early skills playing Black clubs throughout the south, and singing backup for artists such as Percy Sledge, Eddie Floyd and Little Anthony & The Imperials. Within a few months, the brothers moved north, immersing themselves and their rock/country sound in the Atlanta market, where the Allman Brothers were the emerging kings of the music world.
With the dawning of the Age of Aquarius on the horizon, and America embroiled in a smoke haze of drugs, civil unrest and an unpopular war, the Bellamy’s music picked up the hard driving edge that bespoke the times. Songwriting had become David Bellamy’s drug of choice during the long road gigs he and Howard were regularly pulling bodies and equipment to and from. It was his songwriting that was posed to soon provide the duo a national breakout.
The break came in the form of the hit, “Spiders & Snakes,” written by David and recorded by Jim Stafford. The song became a smash, eventually selling more than three million units worldwide. It became the catapult that rocketed the brothers onto the L.A. music scene. Young and impressionable, Howard and David fell into the musical circle of the greats of the day: Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Van Morrison, as well as West Coast based country rockers like Poco and the Byrds. It was a creative shoe that fit. It was a creative shoe that fit.
On the infrequent off days from the road, Howard and David head the bus back to their 150-acre family ranch in Darby, Florida just north of Tampa. The Bellamy Brothers’ hit reality series, “Honky Tonk Ranch,” chronicles their “unusual lives, blending music stardom, vigorous road tours and cattle ranching (Tampa Bay Times).” The show, which was originally broadcast on The Cowboy Channel (a subsidy of RFD-TV), currently airs on Circle Country.
The Bellamy Brothers also remain busy with their Trulieve medical marijuana brand Old Hippie Stash, which includes the strains Reggae Cowboy, Big Love, Afterglow, Rattler, Blue Rodeo and Bird Dog. The duo backed the Smart & Safe Florida campaign to implement safe and common-sense cannabis regulation in their home state of Florida.
In 2019, the Bellamys released their first book Let Your Love Flow – the Life and Times of The Bellamy Brothers. The book is about two Florida cowboys who journeyed from country poverty to worldwide musical stardom because they had the talent and because it never occurred to them, they couldn’t make it.