John Cowan was born on August 24, 1953, in Minerva, Ohio, and got his musical start in Louisville, Kentucky, where he played in various rock outfits like “Everyday People” and “Louisville Sound Department” in the early 1970s. In total, John Cowan has been performing for 37 years, penning and playing an assortment of country, bluegrass, and gospel to soul, jazz, and rock-and-roll tunes.

Over the years, he also has been in high demand as a session musician and boasts vocal and/or bass credits on some 140 recordings, including albums by Garth Brooks, Glen Campbell, Rosanne Cash, Ashley Cleveland, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earle, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Hootie and the Blowfish, Janis Ian, Hal Ketchum, Alison Krauss, Delbert McClinton, Reba McEntire, Tim O’Brien, Mark O’Connor, Poco, John Prine, Kenny Rogers, Darius Rucker, Leon Russell, Darrell Scott, Ricky Skaggs, Travis Tritt, Hank Williams Jr., Jesse Winchester, Wynonna, Zac Brown, The Doobie Brothers and the Will the Circle Be Unbroken albums.

The John Cowan Band has been a force for the past seventeen years . John is a fixture and a favorite at major festivals like the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Colorado and Wilkesboro, North Carolina’s “traditional-plus” MerleFest.

These days, John is working his own performances into and around another very busy schedule. In 2010, the Doobie Brothers found themselves once again in need of a bass player, and John Cowan was the first person they called. He took the job, and now he travels the world with the Doobies.

Top Song