Donnie Bowser born 14 April 1937

Donnie Bowser (April 14, 1937 - February 22, 2002) was a Hillbilly, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Country singer and songwriter who remains a little-known if unique figure in the annals of rockabilly, best remembered for his 1957 hit "Stone Heart." 

Born Donald L. Bowshier in Madison Mills, Ohio, he never strayed far from his home turf. At the age of three, he was crippled by polio and spent the remainder of his life in a wheelchair. His father, Odes, was a fiddle player, his grandfather, Clifford, played the banjo, and Donnie began playing and singing when he was twelve. A year or so later, he formed the Jr. Melody Boys and by 14 was sharing the stage with the Sons of the Pioneers at the Ohio State Fair.

The JR Melody Boys did the usual personal appearances in the local venues; their popularity and name came to the attention of the King Record label and earned them a recording contract in 1953, when Donnie was about 16 years old. They went to Cincinnati, Ohio to do their first two recordings with King that were released on the Skip record label that King owned. The vocals were credited to a fellow by the name of Slim Redman. Donnie also played with Hank Williams, and with backing band the Radio Ranch Boys headlined local radio station WJEL's Saturday night broadcast schedule. 

April of 1953, the group went back to the King studios and cut another four tunes. One tune, "Bullfrog Boogie" was credited to Earl Slone and the Melody Boys, but the others  gave the credits to Donnie Bowshier. That same year hea cut his King label debut, "Tight Shoe Boogie," in mid-1953 -- despite strong regional airplay, the record sold poorly. In 1954, he shared billing with Slim Redman on the Wilmington, Ohio-based Skip Records. In 1957, Donnie converted to rock 'n' roll, and signed with another Wilmington label, Colonel Sam Salyer's Dess Records. Others on the label included Bowshier's sometime bandmate, Gene Sisco, and Herbie Smith. There was a second record for Dess before Pat Nelson acquired Bowshier for Sage. It was around this time that Donnie changed his surname to Bowser after the singer finally tired of broadcasters mangling the pronunciation of his surname. 

                                   

As Donnie Bowser, he re-recorded two songs on the Dess labels, Stone Heart/I Love You Baby, in April 1958. Sage & Sand took over the publishing on one side and Nelson's partner and/or good buddy Murray Nash acquired the publishing on the other. The songs were reissued on Fraternity (another label closely associated with Nelson) in June, and re-reissued that August on Marty Robbins' eponymous label, and then re-re-reissued on Era in 1960. "I recorded it on Sage and it was so successful that they took me to Nashville and recorded it on another label," Bowshier said at the time, although his account makes more sense if you substitute 'Dess' for 'Sage.' He returned to Sage later that year to record Got The Best Of Me. 

During the 1950s and 1960s, Donnie shared the stage spotlight with many of the stars of that era including Ernest Tubb, Mel Tillis, Hank Williams, Jr., Bill Anderson, Jim Ed Brown, Bobby Bare, Johnny Paycheck, Minnie Pearl, Connie Smith, Ray Price, Faron Young and on the list goes on. He was still contracted to Sage & Sand's publishing company when he recorded “Tomorrow” for Bamboo in '61. Many more records followed on many more labels, including one on Stop Records produced by Pat Nelson. In 1965, he did his first album for the Top Tenn label and was recorded at the Megacity Recording Studio based in Dayton, Ohio. 

Again, he seemed to disappear from the recording arena for a long spell until fans heard him again in 1972 on the Stop record label. This time, his career saw him doing appearances on the famed WSM Grand Ole Opry in Nashville as well as the Cowtown Jamboree in Fort Worth in 1970. In fact, he hosted that Cowtown Jamboree show for a time. He sang Country Music at the Mega City Sound Company in Dayton, Ohio. He continued to record for various other labels during this time. In 1989 perseverance finally brought its reward when a single for Ridgewood “Falling For You” cracked the country charts, peaking at #90 for one week. 

A follow-up album included fellow Ohioan, Bobby Bare. He called his show 'Country On Wheels', acknowledging that he couldn't leave his wheelchair. Once he was singing Y'All Come on stage when he leaned back too far and tipped over his wheelchair, but he continued singing from the floor. He remained a popular live attraction, even appearing on the Grand Ole Opry. Bowser retired in 1989 following a heart attack. When another heart attack ended his life on March 1, 2002, he left his wife of 34 years and ten children. In 2023 he was inducted to the Ohio Country Music Hall Of Fame. 

(Edited from Bear Family notes, AllMusic , Hillbilly Music & Rocky 52)