Evansville, Indiana, is the place to find top musical talent — just ask Bob Dylan, Vince Gill, and The Doobie Brothers. When those legends thought of musicians who could create the sound they desired, four Evansville men came to their minds: John Cowan, Tom Britt, Jeff “Stick” Davis, and Bob Britt.
John Cowan has been recording music and touring with The Doobie Brothers for 15 years. In the mid-1970s, he sang lead and played bass for New Grass Revival, a band that changed the soundscape of bluegrass music.
Another local bassist, Jeff Davis’ résumé of session work reads like a “Who’s Who” of that era’s top acts. He was a founding member of The Amazing Rhythm Aces, whose song “Third Rate Romance” peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Sadly, Davis is the only living member of that Grammy Award-winning group.
Tom Britt spent 18 years as country music legend Vince Gill’s guitarist and was the band leader for ‘90s country music sensation Patty Loveless during the height of her career.
Bob Britt, Tom’s younger brother, has been Bob Dylan’s guitarist since 2019 and worked on two of Dylan’s more recent albums.
All four musicians share Evansville roots and long, rewarding musical careers. Several first crossed paths — and jammed together — while attending Harrison High School. Three of the four still are recording and touring. These quietly famous sidemen reflect on their musical starts, industry connections — Leon Russell is a frequent name — and how their art has evolved.
JOHN COWAN
- F.J. Reitz High School Class of 1971
- Touring and recording bassist for The Doobie Brothers since 2010
- Member of New Grass Revival, a progressive bluegrass band that combined elements of rock and jazz into traditional bluegrass music
- Inducted into the International Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2020
- Performed session work for top artists; members of NGR played on Garth Brooks’ cover of their biggest hit, “Calling Baton Rouge”
John Cowan, 72, recently gave his iconic 1962 Fender Jazz bass named “Whitey” to the young bass phenom Royal G. Masat, who is currently on tour with bluegrass star Billy Strings. Cowan, who had played “Whitey” since 1974, handed the Fender over with one caveat: that when Masat stops making music with it, he passes it on to another young bassist.
AW: Take me back to your earliest connection to Evansville.
JC: I moved there the summer before my senior year. … I was in a few bands; one was The Young Turks.
AW: Was that your first band?
JC: No. I started playing bass at the age of 14, in Louisville, Kentucky. I was already a singing bassist by the time my family moved to Evansville.
AW: You were playing in bands while attending Reitz High School. Interesting.
JC: Here’s an interesting fact about Evansville that most people don’t know. My friend, John Paul Jones —
AW: The bassist for Led Zeppelin?
JC: Yes, that one. He told me that when Zeppelin played Evansville in the early 1970s, he went to a thrift store Downtown and bought a mandolin. He used it on the recording of “Going to California” and other great Led Zeppelin songs. He bought that mandolin in Evansville, Indiana, for God’s sake. [laughs] [Led Zeppelin played Roberts Municipal Stadium on April 16, 1970.]
AW: Speaking of instruments purchased locally, did you ever buy one here?
JC: I did, actually, at a music store in Washington Square Mall. A Dan Armstrong Plexiglass electric bass.
AW: Wasn’t that the see-through bass?
JC: Yeah. [laughs]
AW: Was New Grass Revival your first break in the business?
JC: Absolutely! It was October, 1974. I was just 22 and playing in Louisville. They already had a record out and were touring the world.
AW: After New Grass broke up, you were in a group called Sky Kings with Rusty Young from Poco, Bill Lloyd from Foster & Lloyd, and Patrick Simmons of The Doobie Brothers.
JC: It was 1990, and The Traveling Wilburys had a huge success as a rock music super-group. Josh Leo, the head of A&R at RCA, said, “Let’s do something like that, just with country music.” And that connection to Pat Simmons is how I wound up in The Doobie Brothers.
AW: You played bass and sang background vocals on the new Doobie Brothers release, “Walk This Road,” as well as on previous albums.
JC: “Walk This Road” is an important album because it’s the first time Patrick Simmons, Tom Johnson, Michael McDonald, and John McFee have all been together on a recording. And it’s a solid album. None of us in the ’70s could have imagined what our lives would be like in our 70s. I don’t think that any of us imagined that we’d still be traveling around and playing music, much less have an audience to do it for. We still feel relevant and we keep creating because it makes us feel alive.
AW: Talk about your induction into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame.
JC: It’s such a significant thing. I mean, I never dreamed something like that would ever happen. It’s daunting, and it means the world to me.
AW: Last year, you released a solo record, “Fiction.” It is a profound collection of bluegrass-tinged songs, ranging from deeply introspective cuts to hot picking numbers. There are even a couple of covers on it. A great record!
JC: Thanks, man. It’s available on my site [johncowan.com] and on all the major streaming services.
AW: You have been busy lately. In between your work with The Doobies, performing at bluegrass festivals, gigs with your own band, and the new album, you also published a book last year through Backbeat Books called “John Cowan Hold To A Dream – A Newgrass Odyssey.”
JC: I interviewed 14 legendary musicians, a lot of whom are no longer with us, like Loretta Lynn, Kris Kristofferson, and Leon Russell, so it’s gaining momentum and importance every day. I write an intro to each chapter on how that artist influenced me, and I cover my own experiences in music. A lot of the things we just talked about are in it, like living in Evansville.
JEFF “STICK” DAVIS
- Harrison High School Class of 1968
- Founding member of The Amazing Rhythm Aces
- Won a Grammy for the song “Third Rate Romance”
- Played and/or recorded with BB King, Al Green, Otis Rush, and John Mayall, among others
- Performed session recording work with Bob Dylan, Leon Russell, and Jesse Winchester
- Performed on “Saturday Night Live,” “Austin City Limits,” “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert,” and many shows abroad
Jeff “Stick” Davis now lives in Saint Petersburg, Florida, where, at age 75, he still plays out: From January through September, he has had more than 100 gigs.
AW: After living in Evansville and traveling the world, how did you wind up in Florida?
JD: Both my son and daughter live here. I don’t travel much these days, except to pick up my grandkids from school. [laughs] All of my gigs are within a 40-mile radius of my home. I’m keeping busy musically, though. I just surpassed 1,600 dates since 2014.
AW: What brought you to Evansville?
JD: My mom and I moved to Evansville in 1960. I went to the old Henry Reis School and began playing bass in the sixth grade. In 1964, I was a freshman at Harrison High School, but I missed the first day of class, because my mom took me to see the Beatles in Indianapolis. Changed my life!
AW: What bands were you in at that time?
JD: One was called The Nomads with Eddie Karges, Max Emmick, and Gary Varden. We won a talent show and actually got a record deal out of it. I was also in a band with Gary Harp called The Steelhead Band. We played around the area and at a place called the 13th Hour Nightclub.
AW: How did you become a founding member of The Amazing Rhythm Aces?
JD: I was playing at a bar in Chicago when I met the guys who would later become my bandmates in The Amazing Rhythm Aces: Russell Smith and Butch McDade. We moved to Memphis, started the band, and made a record at Sam Phillip’s Studio.
AW: In 2015, you came back to Evansville to work as a band manager for a Philip Lawrence concert event. Lawrence, half of the songwriting team and touring member for singer Bruno Mars, is another Evansville native.
JD: I got a call from Scot Brown of Bravo Media Group, whose studio was being used for rehearsals. There were all these talented local guys as the house band: Theo Akai, Marco Vaughn, and Eric Scales. Philip brought in a producer from LA. It turned out great.
AW: Are you recording these days?
JD: Yeah, I’m on this indie label here [MFG Records]. It’s basically music extolling the beach lifestyle, usually performed by retired guys with some money and talent. In fact, I’m on a new record out just this week called “Boat Life,” which charted at #12 regionally.
TOM BRITT
- Attended Benjamin Bosse and Harrison high schools, 1970-71
- Former guitarist for Vince Gill, Dottie West, and also a band director for Patty Lovelace
- Onstage guitarist for Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Tour for three years
- Won two Grammy awards for contributing guitarist
- Appeared on CMT’s “Crossroads” show in support of Vince Gill and Sting
A two-time cancer survivor, Tom Britt, 71, closed the book on his musical career earlier this year. He spoke by phone, text, email, and in person; this is a culmination of those conversations.
AW: Tom, tell me about your connection to Evansville.
TB: I grew up in Iowa, and my parents moved to Evansville in the early 1970s. I went to Harrison High School and met John Cowan. We played in a band called Oscar. We gigged around, played events, frat parties, and such. I played with other bands, too. I worked six days a week for a while. In 1972, I moved to Louisville, Kentucky. A friend who was a working session musician said, “Come to Nashville.” So, I did. I signed with the Musician’s Union and have worked ever since.
AW: Talk about your first big break in music.
TB: John Cowan got me the gig with Leon Russell, which really kickstarted my career.
AW: You played steel guitar in Leon Russell’s band for three years. Your brother Bob mentioned that he played with Leon for 10 years, and John Cowan was part of his backup band for two years with New Grass Revival. I’m seeing a pattern here with John Cowan as the conduit to Leon Russell for you and your brother which started both of your careers.
TB: I retired from music in January, and the last band I played with was Cowan’s. So, he was the first and last person I worked with professionally.
AW: You recently released a record of your own music, called “Elevator Man.” It’s dark and moody in places, fun and funky in others.
TB: You can download it, as well as my earlier release, “Slide Guitar Chronicles,” for free, at tombrittguitar.com.
AW: You say that you retired from music. What led to that decision?
TB: I got cancer in 2018 … twice. That pretty much did me in for five years. I was sick from the chemo and radiation. I started doing more art —
AW: Your oil on canvas work.
TB: Yes. I describe it as contemporary cave paintings. [laughs] I try to tell a story in them, but in a more modern-day way.
AW: You’ve sold many of your paintings online, and you’ve had a showing at an art gallery. What’s next?
TB: I have a new book coming out, “The Art of a Side Man.” It’s due out in the fall.
AW: “The Art of a Side Man” — I love the play on words. And it will be available in time for Christmas.
BOB BRITT
- Attended Harrison High School in 1974
- Touring guitarist with Bob Dylan since 2019
- Appeared on Bob Dylan’s 1997 platinum-selling album “Time Out of Mind,” which won three Grammys in 1998, including for Album of the Year
- Guitarist on Dylan’s 2020 critically acclaimed record “Rough and Rowdy Ways”
- Won a Grammy for his work on Delbert McClinton’s record “Tall, Dark and Handsome”
Bob Britt, 67, chatted with us from Nashville, Tennessee, during breaks from touring with troubadour Bob Dylan.
AW: Talk about your first break in the music business.
BB: I was in Mexico City playing with an Elvis impersonator. We performed at a government hotel, and there were all these other impersonators … Bogart, Marylin Monroe, Sinatra. [laughs] John Cowan’s wife, Liz, tracked me down and said that Leon Russell was looking to put a rock band together.
AW: That would have been 1981, when New Grass Revival stepped down as Leon’s backing band.
BB: Yeah. I snuck out of there, auditioned for Leon in Nashville, got the gig, and flew to San Francisco, where I had been living since leaving Evansville. I packed up what I could fit into my 1972 (Chevrolet) Nova and drove across the country.
AW: You’ve worked with so many artists, both in the studio and on tour. Who stands out?
BB: Pat McLaughlin. Pat has more soul in his little fingernail than the rest of this town [Nashville] combined. He’s one of the best rhythm guitar players on the planet. I just love Pat. Oh, and Jesse Ed Davis.
AW: You’re allowed two. McLaughlin is a legendary songwriter and musician. Jesse Ed Davis is famous for his guitar work on Jackson Browne’s “Doctor My Eyes” and so much more. He also worked with three of the Beatles.
BB: After Jesse passed, his widow gave me the yellow Telecaster that he always played when he sat in with us —
AW: In Leon Russell’s band?
BB: It went to the Smithsonian for an exhibit of the National Museum for American Indians in the Entertainment Arts. When I got it back, I realized that I didn’t really play it, so I donated it to the Oklahoma Museum of Popular Culture in Tulsa. That’s where Davis was from.
AW: Nice. And it’s near the new Bob Dylan Center. Kind of full circle.
IN MEMORIAM: MICKEY GRIMM (1959-2025)
- Harrison High School Class of 1977
- Set a Guinness World Record for the longest individual drum roll (5 hours, 20 minutes) at an Oct. 24, 2009, fundraiser for the clock tower in New Harmony, Indiana’s Ribeyre Gym
- Recorded and/or performed with artists including Roy Acuff, Amy Grant, Steve Winwood, and Dizzy Gillespie
- Drummer for the bands Over the Rhine, Bone Pony, and Swan Dive
Before his interview could take place, Nashville session drummer Mickey Grimm passed away Aug. 9 from complications following surgery. Here, several collaborators and friends remember the Grand Ole Opry percussionist and fellow Harrison graduate.
“I would bring Mickey into a session, and the artist would immediately be enchanted, perplexed, and charged up by him, both as a person and as a musician. And they never forgot Mickey.”
— Brad Jones, Grimm’s producer
“Mickey and I were in a band together at Harrison High School. We played the junior class talent show — the Junior Jollies. We practiced, and then we thought, ‘Let’s do the talent show.’ I was really sad to hear that he passed.”
— Bob Britt, friend and collaborator
“Mickey and I knew each other since the second grade. He was always the superstar of our class. His departure from this world added another hole in my heart.”
— Ted Haycraft, lifelong friend
Art Woodward, also known as Art the Dude, is a writer and lifelong lover of music — skill sets that serve him well when reviewing Evansville’s concert and events scene.
