Songs By Bellamy Brothers
On The Acoustic
(Page Updates Coming)

Welcome to my songs by Bellamy Brothers page. Below you'll find a collection of free demo covers and downloadable chord sheets, as well as links to full lesson tutorials for a small fee if you need them, tips on rhythm and some history on each song.

I've included the Bellamy Brothers album covers next to each tutorial so you can see where the song originated.

All The Wrong Reasons was written by David Bellamy and released in 1982 as the first single from the Bellamy Brothers album When We Were Boys. Rather than being a forgotten album track, the song became another major hit for Howard and David, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's country chart and giving the brothers their fifth country chart-topper.

The song explores a relationship that the couple knows isn't necessarily built on sensible foundations, but neither is willing to walk away from because of the attraction between them.

“For All The Wrong Reasons” spent 12 weeks on the country chart and continued a remarkable run of Bellamy Brothers hits during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was followed on When We Were Boys by another David Bellamy composition, “Get Into Reggae Cowboy.”

Big Love was written by David Bellamy and recorded by the Bellamy Brothers for their 1988 album Rebels Without a Clue. Released as the album's second single in January 1989, it followed the title track and became another Top 10 country hit for Howard and David.

The song reached No. 5 on the Billboard country chart, continuing a run of hits that had made the Bellamy Brothers one of country's most consistent duos through the 1980s.

Lyrically, “Big Love” celebrates the kind of powerful, all-consuming love that David Bellamy often turned into straightforward, memorable country hooks. Its upbeat feel and prominent harmony vocals make it representative of the polished country sound the brothers were recording toward the end of the decade.

Do You Love As Good As You Look gave the Bellamy Brothers their fourth No. 1 country hit in 1981. The song came from outside writers Charlie Black, Rory Bourke and Jerry Gillespie and appeared on the Bellamys' Sons of the Sun album. Released in January 1981, it spent one week at No. 1 on Billboard and also reached No. 4 on Canada's country chart.

There's an interesting story behind how the brothers found it. According to an account quoting David Bellamy, a publishing company mailed him a demo shortly before a recording session.

After hearing it, the brothers liked it enough to add it to the session. The song itself reportedly began when an attractive woman walked through a studio while co-writer Charlie Black was working on demos, prompting the idea behind that unforgettable title. You gotta love Bellamy Brothers music for the acoustic player.

Feelin' The Feeling brought the Bellamy Brothers back near the top of the country charts in 1986. Penned by David Bellamy, the upbeat love song appeared on their Howard & David album and became its third single.

Released in January 1986, it climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard country chart and reached No. 8 in Canada. The recording was produced by Jimmy Bowen and Emory Gordy Jr., who worked with the brothers during this successful mid-'80s period.

The song captures that exhilarating moment when two people realize an attraction has turned into love. Musically, it also has a little of the buoyant country-pop energy that helped make “Let Your Love Flow” such a recognizable Bellamy Brothers recording a decade earlier—something Billboard itself noted when reviewing the single in 1986.

I Need More Of You became the Bellamy Brothers' eighth No. 1 country hit in 1985. David Bellamy penned the romantic song for their Restless album, which had been released the previous year.

Issued as the album's third single in January 1985, “I Need More Of You” climbed all the way to No. 1 on Billboard's country chart, holding the top spot for one week. It also performed strongly north of the border, reaching No. 4 on Canada's RPM country chart. Wikipedia

The song's lyric is built around a wonderfully straightforward idea: a new relationship has become intense so quickly that being together simply isn't enough—the singer wants more time, more love and more of the person he's fallen for. Its warm harmonies and relaxed country-pop groove helped make it another unmistakable Bellamy Brothers recording.

If I Said You Had  A Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me) became a breakthrough country hit for the Bellamy Brothers in 1979. Written by David Bellamy and included on The Two and Only, it gave Howard and David their first No. 1 on Billboard's country chart and their second No. 1 overall, following the pop success of “Let Your Love Flow.”

The unforgettable title came from Groucho Marx. David was a fan of You Bet Your Life and remembered Groucho using the cheeky line with female contestants. David recognized a great song hook when he heard one, and the Bellamys' official history says he later scrawled the song on a dinner napkin.

The song wasn't just an American country success. It became a major international hit, climbing all the way to No. 3 in the UK.

If You Ever Leave opened a new chapter for the Bellamy Brothers when it arrived in 2019 as the first single from their album Over the Moon. David Bellamy wrote the song, while Howard and David produced the album with longtime collaborator Randy Hiebert at the brothers' own studio in Darby, Florida.

Rather than chasing contemporary country trends, the song tells a cinematic love story involving a wandering musician, a hippie girl from Austin, a Studebaker and two people making a promise to stay together. As the story moves forward through the years, that youthful promise becomes one of lasting devotion.

The accompanying video received a Billboard premiere, giving the veteran duo some national attention even though the single didn't make the U.S. country chart.

Let Your Love Flow was the song that launched the Bellamy Brothers internationally. Released in 1976, it climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became a major hit around the world, including an eight-week run at No. 1 in Germany. Bellamy Brothers

The road to the song began a few years earlier when David Bellamy co-wrote “Spiders & Snakes” with Jim Stafford. That hit helped bring Howard and David to Los Angeles, where they worked with Stafford and became acquainted with members of Neil Diamond's band.

Diamond's drummer, Dennis St. John, introduced them to “Let Your Love Flow,” written by Diamond roadie Larry E. Williams. Neil Diamond had passed on the song, as had Johnny Rivers, but the Bellamys immediately heard something special in it. They recorded it with members of Diamond's band, and David later described the song as “the key to our career.”

Lord Help Me Be The Kind Of Person (My Dog Thinks I Am) shows the Bellamy Brothers combining their Christian faith with the humor that has always been part of their songwriting. David Bellamy penned the song for their 2007 gospel album Jesus Is Coming, produced by Howard and David along with Randy Hiebert. Billboard singled out the song's humorous hook and underlying message when reviewing the album.

The idea apparently came to David after seeing a sign expressing the hope of becoming the person a cat thinks you are. David changed the animal to a dog, reasoning that dogs tend to be a little more forgiving.

The song received a country-radio push in 2009 and reached No. 60 on the R&R Country Indicator chart, giving the Bellamys their first appearance there in nearly four years.

Old Hippie became one of the Bellamy Brothers' signature songs after its release in 1985 as the first single from Howard & David. Written by David Bellamy, it climbed to No. 2 on Billboard's country chart and went all the way to No. 1 in Canada.

David conceived the song as a portrait of his generation—the baby boomers who had lived through Vietnam, Woodstock, the hippie movement and the enormous cultural changes of the 1960s and '70s. Its central character is now older and trying to adjust to a world very different from the one in which he came of age.

The character proved durable enough for the Bellamys to revisit him in “Old Hippie (The Sequel),” and again years later in “Old Hippie III (Saved).”  “Old Hippie” also works particularly well on acoustic guitar, making it a natural Bellamy Brothers song to add to your repertoire.

Redneck Girl became another major Bellamy Brothers hit when it arrived in September 1982 as the first single from Strong Weakness. Penned by David Bellamy, the song climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's country chart, becoming the brothers' sixth country chart-topper. It held the top position for one week and spent 12 weeks on the chart, while also reaching No. 7 in Canada.

The song proved durable well beyond its original release. Blake Shelton recorded a version for the 2007 soundtrack to The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning. More than a decade later, Tim McGraw teamed up with Midland for another rendition, released in 2020 on McGraw's McGraw Machine Hits: 2013–2019. McGraw's official site lists the track as a new addition to that collection and credits David Bellamy as its writer.

Some Broken Hearts Never Mend began as a country classic written by Wayland Holyfield and made famous by Don Williams. Released in 1977 from Williams' Visions album, it became his sixth No. 1 country hit and spent 12 weeks in the country Top 40. Actor and singer Telly Savalas later turned the song into an international hit, reaching No. 1 in Switzerland and the Top 5 in several other European countries.

The Bellamy Brothers put a very different spin on the song for their Reggae Cowboys project. Howard Bellamy recalled hearing a couple of Rasta musicians performing the song in reggae style while the brothers were in Miami and being immediately struck by it. Their version transformed the Don Williams country ballad with a reggae bass line and rhythm.

The Bellamys later released their version as a 1999 single, although it didn't make the U.S. country chart.

Sugar Daddy helped carry the Bellamy Brothers' country breakthrough into a new decade. Penned by David Bellamy, the song arrived in January 1980 as the first single from their album You Can Get Crazy.

It climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's country chart in April 1980, holding the top position for one week and spending 11 weeks on the chart. It also reached No. 2 in Canada. “Sugar Daddy” became the Bellamy Brothers' second of ten No. 1 Billboard country singles, following “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body.”

The success didn't stop there. Their very next single, “Dancin' Cowboys,” also reached No. 1, giving Howard and David back-to-back country chart-toppers from the same album and firmly establishing them as a major country duo at the beginning of the 1980s.

Vertical Expression (Of Horizontal Desire) brought the Bellamy Brothers' trademark sense of humor into their 1999 album Lonely Planet. Penned by David Bellamy, the song uses a clever double entendre to describe the attraction between two people dancing closely together.

The album actually gives the song some international flavor. Along with the Bellamy Brothers' regular recording, Lonely Planet includes another version featuring Freddy Fender, with part of the song performed in Spanish. A further version featured Brazilian singer Eduardo Araújo.

“Vertical Expression” was released as a single in 1999, along with “(Don't Put Me In) The Ex-Files” featuring Buck Owens and “Come Back Gene and Roy.” None of those singles reached the U.S. country chart, but the collaborations showed the Bellamys continuing to experiment with their country sound more than two decades into their recording career.

When Im Away From You had already travelled through a couple of different musical styles before the Bellamy Brothers turned it into a country hit. Scottish singer-songwriter Frankie Miller penned and originally recorded the song, taking his version to No. 42 on the UK singles chart in 1979. Kim Carnes later included her interpretation on the hugely successful 1981 album Mistaken Identity.

The Bellamy Brothers picked up the song for their Strong Weakness album and released it as the second single in January 1983, following “Redneck Girl.” Their version went all the way to No. 1 on Billboard's country chart, becoming Howard and David's seventh country chart-topper. It remained on the country chart for 12 weeks and also reached No. 5 in Canada.

You Ain't Just A Whistling Dixie became another major Bellamy Brothers hit in 1979, following closely behind their chart-topping “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body.” Written by David Bellamy and included on The Two and Only, the song reached No. 5 on Billboard's country chart and remained on the chart for 13 weeks.

David later recalled that the song was one of those rare compositions that seemed to “just kind of spill out.” He said he wasn't really sure where the idea came from and described the experience as the kind of songwriting where the words simply arrive without having to be forced.

More than 25 years later, the brothers revisited “You Ain't Just A Whistlin' Dixie,” recording a new version with Alan Jackson for their duets project Angels & Outlaws, Vol. 1. Many people refer to this number as the Bellamy Brothers “Whistlin' Dixie” song.

Kirby Swinemar is an acoustic guitar instructor, performer and song arranger who has taught online for 21 years and created more than 4,000 original acoustic guitar lessons. He specialises in song-based acoustic guitar instruction, rhythm guitar techniques, and creating full-sounding solo arrangements that help beginner and intermediate players move beyond basic strumming.

Explore his work at Kirby's Guitar Lessons and on social media on his social media YouTube Channel and his Facebook Page. Learn more about Kirby on his About Me page.