By: Andrew Vaughan

One of the most enduring acts in country music, The Bellamy Brothers were Brooks and Dunn before Brooks and Dunn were even thought of! They’ve been one of the most poplar acts in the world thanks to international hits like “Let Your Love Flow” which was first released in 1976. Since then, the brother duo have scored twenty No.1 singles and more than fifty hits overall on the country charts. And they’re not done yet. “Let Your Love Flow” was recently picked up for a bank commercial in the UK where the song is back in the Top 20. David recently sat down with AMC for a good old-fashioned chat.

Musical brothers don’t always get along over the years - look at Don and Phil! How do you guys do it?

Howard and I give the credit to our parents, who taught us to work together on the ranch at a very early age.

Your father was a singer-songwriter as well?

Our father played dobro and fiddle in a western swing polka band and broke wild horses on farms and ranches in our area.

How did the writing of "Spiders And Snakes" come about, and how important was that song?

Howard and I kept a couple of sleeping bags in our old hay barn that we used as a 'crash pad' when we didn't want out parents to know we'd been out on the town drinking. On one such night after coming home, Howard slid into his sleeping bag to sleep it off, but a very large chicken snake had already made a bed there for the night. Needless to say, Howard almost made another door in the barn; that gave me the idea to write ''Spiders and Snakes'.' When I played the song for Jim Stafford a couple of years later, he recorded it and it sold three million singles.

“Spiders and Snakes” was a very important song for us because gave us the finances to move to L.A. to work with Stafford on his T.V. show that eventually lead us to finding '"Let Your Love Flow.'"

How did you get hold of the song “Let Your Love Flow,” and what happened to the guy who wrote it?

While we were living in L.A., we started recording demos with Neil Diamond’s band. Neil’s drummer (Dennis St. John) told us about a song Neil’s roadie wrote. When he played "Let Your Love Flow” for us we went crazy over it; only problem was the producer we had then didn't like it as much as we did. After camping out on his doorstep and not letting him sleep, he agreed we should cut it.
Larry Williams is the songwriter; Larry worked for Neil Diamond for many years before and after the song was a hit. I believe he is retired now.

When did the move to Christian country music really start?

We've always been into Gospel and Christian music. We were raised singing in the Baptist church, it was the very first music we heard and performed. It will always be our roots.

Tell us how you think about Europe - almost a second home it seems?

“Let Your Love Flow" was such a big hit in Europe and a lot of countries worldwide, we discovered that we enjoyed touring the world and have continued to do so every year since 1976. June 2010 was our 75th tour of Europe over the past 35 years.

If music goes in cycles, where do you see Nashville right now?

We try not to give too many opinions about the biz 'cause we really don't know, we just try to keep an eye on our own careers and wish everybody the best.

Tell us about “Jalapenos.” Were you surprised at how much some people were offended?

We were very surprised that radio found the word ''erect'' so offensive and decided to ban the song. That word is on T.V. and radio in Viagra ads every three minutes! We were also surprised how many people seemed to be offended at the ''Obama mask’’ when we also had a ''Palin mask.'' No word from golfers about the 'Tiger mask' yet! The best surprise is how many people are watching the video on YouTube.

Best concert you ever attended?

That’s a hard one; we've seen Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan on the same bill. We've also toured with Merle Haggard and seen some amazing shows he did, and we were there at Piedmont Park in 1969 when the Allman Brothers played the free jams every Sunday.

What’s the best concert you ever played?

Another hard one; I would have to say 'New Caledonia' in the south pacific, because it's paradise, and the people are so loving and friendly. We are also very fond of Switzerland and Texas.

After all these years you still seem joyful about music. How so?

Music is our lives, we live pretty basic. We have our family, our ranch, and our music.

What’s next For the Brothers?

Anthology 2 is coming out in October 2010. We’re working on another gospel album and also writing an autobiographical book that we hope to publish in 2011.

Andrew Vaughan is a well-known and respected Nashville based writer. As a music critic his work has appeared in Billboard, Music Week, Mojo, "Q", the London Times, the Guardian, and Folk Roots. He was the founding director of Country Music International magazine and a regular guest on BBC Radio, BBC TV, and VH1.