Rock and Roll History

[j.c.]

Bo Donaldson born June 13, 1954
1974...America was still reeling from Vietnam, the Oil Crisis and Watergate...and was singing "Billy Don't Be A Hero". Bo Donaldson and the Heywood's infectious song, catapulted the 7-member band; Bo Donaldson, Nicky Brunetti, Rick Joswick, Scott Baker, Mike Gibbons, Gary Coveyou, and David Krock, into the national spotlight.

The song nearly wasn't released, due to Dick Clark's fears that a simultaneous release by the group Paper Lace would kill sales. Luckily, The President of ABC pushed hard and, "Billy Don't Be A Hero" was recorded in one marathon session and hit the stores within a week. The song was a smash, selling three million copies, ousting Paul McCartney's Wings from the top spot on the charts and staying there for two weeks.

The Heywoods quickly scored with four more top 40 hits. But a disastrous decision to leave ABC in 1975, and a quick change of styles that confused their fans, signaled the end...for a while.

Today, however it's a much different story. Bo Donaldson is back in fine form, touring since 1996 with a new top-notch Heywoods line-up.
http://www.therocknrollroadshow.com/pagebodonaldson.cfm

Billy Don't Be A Hero:
http://users.cis.net/sammy/bllyhero.htm