Cowboy (band)

Biography

Cowboy came together in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969, founded by songwriters Scott Boyer and Tommy Talton. The first lineup also included Bill Pillmore on piano and guitar, bassist George Clark, guitarist Pete Kowalke, and drummer Tom Wynn. All six musicians, who hailed from the Orlando and Jacksonville areas, shared a house in Jacksonville where they lived and practiced. Before forming Cowboy, Boyer had been part of the folk-rock group the 31st of February alongside Duane and Gregg Allman.

Duane Allman, by then a member of the Allman Brothers Band, recommended the group to Capricorn Records owner Phil Walden. The band’s membership shifted frequently, but Talton and Boyer stayed constant and became regulars in the Capricorn house band, performing with the Allman Brothers, Gregg Allman, Alex Taylor, and Bonnie Bramlett. Their first album, Reach for the Sky, came out in 1971, and 5'll Getcha Ten followed later that same year. That second album included “Please Be with Me,” which featured Duane Allman on dobro; Eric Clapton later recorded his own version for 461 Ocean Boulevard in 1974.

By 1972, most of the original members had left. Talton later said there was no bad blood—people just went their separate ways. He and Boyer kept the Cowboy name alive, backing Gregg Allman on his debut solo album Laid Back in 1973 and touring with him, a run documented on the 1974 live record The Gregg Allman Tour. The duo released Boyer & Talton in 1974 and a self-titled album in 1977.

The 1976 album Happy to Be Alive, credited to Tommy Talton, Bill Stewart, and Johnny Sandlin, is often seen as a Cowboy album in spirit.