The Bellamy Brothers’ love for Blake Shelton is endlessly flowing. That, folks, is a statement of fact.
Shelton has never been shy when expressing his fondness and gratitude for his musical heroes. They mean the world to him, personally and professionally, especially Howard and David Bellamy, who join Shelton on his current Friends and Heroes Tour, which also features John Anderson, Trace Adkins, and Lauren Alaina as the very special guest.
And Howard and David Bellamy feel exactly the same way about their buddy Shelton.
“He’s a real person,” Howard Bellamy said of the superstar.
“What’s weird about Blake, he was that way before. You can tell there’s something a little different about him. He’s open and so inclusive with everybody. There’s something special and you knew that before he ever had a hit record.”
“No telling how he’s gonna be at the end of his career,” he added with a laugh.
A hero to many, just like the Bellamy Brothers are to him.
“That’s a scary thought to be anybody’s hero,” Howard said.
“He loves that music from that time,” David said. “I remember we were playing out in Oregon, and we went onstage at about 5 pm in the afternoon and he was headlining at 11 pm. And he was down there, and he sat on the side of the stage and sang every song we sang, the whole show.”
A lot of artists say they love the legacy of the country music and the artists that birthed it. But Shelton’s devotion is more than just words: he put his money where his mouth is.
“He wants to go out and do this tour with us and John Anderson and Trace because he loves that music from that era. And he also cut a few of those songs he cut ’Tequila Sheila’ and a few others,” David continued.
“Blake loves the history of country music,” Howard said. “Even his fans…you see fans that only know new country music. They don’t have a clue about what went on before all of this. Blake knows it and he has a passion for it. That’s so rare. And to be in a position like he is to expose that is an amazing thing.”
Will Shelton be a country music icon in the coming years?
“This isn’t just blowing smoke cause we’ve known him. To me, Blake is almost like an Elvis character,” David revealed. “He’s an iconic guy. I think he carries himself that way. When he transitioned to TV it was over. He translated so well.”
“But he’s still so accessible,” Howard cut in.
“And he can still get away with doing his crazy stuff and people love him for it,” David acknowledged. “I think he’s got that iconic image which is a great thing. I’m really happy for him.”
The Bellamy Brothers know a thing or two about what it means to be an international symbol of country music. The duo was traveling to parts of the world where country artists had never ventured early in their career. And their ambassadorship didn’t just stop with country music, as the group became internationally known to an all-genre audience with “Let Your Love Flow” became a number one pop hit in over twenty countries.
For the brothers, it’s still sometimes hard to fully comprehend the incredible journey they’ve shared over the years.
“I remember going into a gas station in Switzerland one time and thumbing through the CDs in the racks. The only CDs they had were The Bellamy Brothers and ABBA. That’s all they had in the racks,” David said with a laugh.
Well, what else could you need, right?
