American Idol’s Bo Bice puts Jesus Christ first in his life

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

Bo Bice performing at the 2008 Hero Awards

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA (ANS) -- Bo Bice, the long-haired Southern rocker who was the first runner-up in the fourth season of American Idol, says that despite his success, he puts Jesus Christ first in his life.

In a recent interview with Bice on the red carpet at the 2008 Hero

Awards sponsored by Feed The Children at the Universal Hilton, Universal City, I did for ANS and Safe Worlds IPTV, I asked him how he kept his feet on the ground with all the recent success he had experienced.

“It’s about having people around you that keep you grounded and for me, in my life, Jesus Christ is first, and then family, and then the music business. The music business is going to have its ups and downs and, just like in anything else, as long as you’ve got good family and got your head on your shoulders, that’s what is going to get you through the hard times.”

I then asked Bice how he found Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.

“I was raised in the church, but I was a wild partying cat when I was younger, just like everybody else of my age,” he said. “Once you live that out, you start to search for more for me when I was about twenty-five; I really started to walk with Christ. I stumble like everybody else, and some days or weeks are better than others, but as long as I’ve got Him in my life, I’ll get through whatever I’m going through.”

I then asked him if his hair-style was based on that of Christ.

“I’m going for the Jesus look,” he smiled. “We’re going back to the Jesus days.”

When asked what Simon Cowell was really like, he said, “He’s great. He’s one of the folks I agree with almost eighty percent of the time.”

Did he ever get mad at his comments?

“There’s no getting mad at Simon as he shoots it straight,” said Bice. There were some times I might have thought differently than him, but I never got mad at him.”

What was the American Idol experience like for him?

“It was just a wild experience for me,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to be wrapped up in a pop show and didn’t think I was going to make it too far so I was the one who was wrong. American Idol was great for me and I wouldn’t have a career without it.

“Now with a new winner David Cook, who’s a rock and roll guy, finally taking it home, I think American Idol has had a transition. They’re coming up will be season eight now so I’m anxious to see how it’ll change again.”

Where are his heroes in the music business?

“I’m a huge southern rock guy and I love Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Croce, and James Taylor. Of course I love the Beatles and the Stones and any kind of older music, so they are also heroes of mine. I probably stole licks from several of them and they are probably looking for me; trying to hunt me down,” he said, laughing.

I then asked Bo Bice where he was originally from.

“I’m an Alabama boy,” he said. “Huntsville is where I was born and Helene is where I was when we did the Idol thing and so we’ve been really embraced by the State of Alabama. They welcomed me into the Hall of Fame in 2006 so that was a really special experience for me.”

What advice would he give to other performers about going on American Idol.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into it,” he said. “So the one thing I would tell them is practice hard, stay focused, and treat people like you want to be treated yourself.”

About Bo Bice

Bice was nicknamed “Bogart” as a newborn by his grandmother (“Granny Madge”) because she thought he had “Humphrey Bogart eyes.” When Bice was in kindergarten he shortened it to “Bo” because he didn't think Bogart was cool. He first made his mark at the age of 13, when he won a local school competition.

Bice grew up with his mother and stepfather, Nancy and Earle Downes, sisters, Jenny and Sharan Downes, and brother, Jon Cochran. The family moved around the South frequently. They lived in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, including the metro area of Atlanta. In 1990 when Bice was 15 years old they moved to England, as part of his father's European assignment with Coca-Cola in London. Bice spent his teenage years living in the suburbs of Gerrards Cross and Seer Green. The family were neighbors of Ozzy Osbourne.

Bice attended London Central High School, a Department of Defense school primarily for children whose parents served in the military or worked at the U.S. Embassy. In high school, he was found carrying his guitar everywhere, played football, attended proms, and had several girlfriends. It was around this time when Bice worked with some English alternative rock musicians.
Bice would have graduated in 1994, but in the fall of 1993, Bice dropped out of high school just before turning 18 to move back to Alabama, where he earned his GED and attended classes at Calhoun Community College from November 1996 to May 1997.

Upon graduating Calhoun and spending a semester at the University of North Alabama in Florence, Bice turned professional and performed in shows all across the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe and is a veteran of the nightclub circuit.”

In Alabama, May 24, 2005, was declared “Bo Bice Day” by Governor Bob Riley. In fact, Bice's pride in being an Alabama native resulted in the adoption of Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit “Sweet Home Alabama” as his “theme” during his tenure on American Idol. Two members of the group Lynyrd Skynyrd surprised Bice during his trip home from Idol and performed “Sweet Home Alabama” with him in his home town of Helena, Alabama. Bice and the entire Lynyrd Skynyrd group performed a rousing rendition of the song together during American Idol finals, bringing nearly the entire audience to their feet.

His recent albums are The Real Thing (2005) and See The Light (2007).

Note: I would like to thank Robin Frost for transcribing this interview.

Dan Wooding, 67, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma of 44 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .