About Moe Bandy
Marion Franklin "Moe" Bandy Jr. is an American country music singer. He was most popular during the 1970s, when he had several hit songs, both alone and as part of a duo with Joe Stampley.
Marion Bandy was born in Meridian, Mississippi, United States, also the hometown of the country singer Jimmie Rodgers. He later stated: "My grandfather worked on the railroads with Jimmie Rodgers. He was the boss of the railway yard in Meridian and Jimmie Rodgers worked for him. He said that he played his guitar all the time between work."
He was nicknamed Moe by his father when he was a child. The Bandy family moved to San Antonio, Texas, when Moe was six. His mother played piano and sang. Bandy was taught to play the guitar by his father who had a country band called the Mission City Playboys, but made little use of the ability until he was in his teens. His father's wish that Moe also play the fiddle never materialized.
He made some appearances with the Mission City Playboys but during his high school years he showed little interest in music and a great deal of interest in rodeos. He tried bronco-busting and bull riding and by the time he was 16, both he and his brother Mike were competing in rodeos all over Texas.
In 1962, he began to pursue a career in country music. He assembled a band that he called Moe and the Mavericks and found work playing small beer joints, honky-tonks, and clubs over a wide area around San Antonio. When he was young he tried to sound like Hank Williams and George Jones – "I even had my hair cut short like his."
During the day he worked for his father as a sheet metal worker, a job that lasted for 12 years, during which time he made a few recordings for various small labels. In 1964, his first single, "Lonely Girl", made little impression. In 1973, he went solo when record producer Ray Baker, who had listened to his demos, suggested that he come to Nashville, Tennessee. Bandy's song "I Just Started Hatin' Cheatin' Songs Today" was initially released on Footprint Records but it came to the attention of the GRC record label. In March 1974, it entered the US country chart, eventually peaking at number 17. Other minor hits followed, including "It Was Always So Easy To Find An Unhappy Woman " and "Don't Anyone Make Love at Home Anymore".
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