Career beginnings and American Idol: 1997–2005 Upon leaving Calhoun and spending one 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. He was a veteran of the
nightclub circuit, releasing his first CD in 1995 with his band Purge. His other pre-
Idol bands include Blue Suede Nickel and
SugarMoney. Among his credits were opening for
Blackfoot and
Warrant as well as performing live and recording with
Johnny Neel, formerly of
The Allman Brothers Band. Bice had recorded other albums prior to his stint on
American Idol, which included
Ex Gratia (1999) with his band Purge, and
Recipe for Flavor (2000) with SugarMoney. In 2001, Bice was charged with purchasing
cocaine at a
strip club. In 2003, Bice was arrested for possession of
marijuana,
drug paraphernalia and
public intoxication. He avoided jail time by agreeing to enter a
drug program. For the 2005 season,
Idol producers raised their required age limit from 16–24 to 16–28. In August 2004, Bice’s mother and several other family members encouraged him to go try out, since he was within the eligible age limit (he would turn 29 in November 2004). Along with
Constantine Maroulis and
Taylor Hicks (winner of Season 5), Bice was one of the oldest contestants to audition and participate on
American Idol. Bice and Maroulis were among the first contestants to compete using the
rock idiom. His performance in the audition stage of The Allman Brothers Band's song "
Whipping Post" drew raves from the judges. His later performances established him as one of the favorites in the competition. During the final three performance show, Bice took the risk of performing without a band or backup singers. He sang "In a Dream", an obscure song recorded by
Badlands. In June 2005, Bice was quoted in
Rolling Stone magazine that his last thought during the
Idol finale was, "Please, God, don't let me win this thing." In comments during a subsequent appearance on
The Today Show, Bice backed off this stance a bit, saying that he thanked all those who had voted for him. He lost the final, ending up runner-up to
Carrie Underwood. In Alabama, May 24 was declared "Bo Bice Day" by Governor
Bob Riley. 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. ;Idol performances
Post-Idol, marriage and fatherhood: 2005 Signed to
RCA Records, Bice's first single, released June 21, 2005, was his version of "
Inside Your Heaven". The single debuted at number two on the
Billboard Hot 100 Chart and number one on the
Billboard Hot Single Sales chart. Bice's single replaced
Carrie Underwood's version of the same song at number one. It was
certified Gold in late July 2005. Bice was invited to the
Bonnaroo Music Festival by
Trey Anastasio. He sang a song with
Willie Nelson at a Birmingham concert and was invited by Nelson to perform at
Farm Aid. Bice appeared on
Carlos Santana's 2005 album
All That I Am with the song "Brown Skin Girl". On June 15, 2005, Bice married long-time girlfriend Caroline Fisher in
Helena, Alabama. Bice had met her when he was working as a guitar store manager, and frequented the Ragtime Cafe in
Hoover, Alabama where she was working her way through college as a waitress. Their first child, a son, was born in September 2005. A second son was born in August 2008. A third son was born in January 2010 this was Ean Bice. Their fourth child and first daughter was born in April 2012. They reside in
Covington, Georgia. On July 31, 2005, Bice broke his foot while performing in concert in
Manchester, New Hampshire but carried on with the tour. On August 18, Bice, who had been suffering from stomach pain for months, was rushed to the hospital for emergency intestinal surgery to remove a blockage caused by a life-threatening intestinal condition called
intussusception. He was sidelined from the tour for several shows. During his absence from the tour, fellow contestants Anwar, Nikko, Scott, Anthony and Constantine paid tribute to Bice by singing "
Sweet Home Alabama" and wearing Bo Bice T-shirts. Bice returned to the tour for the final two concerts in
Syracuse, New York, September 10 and September 11 (a
benefit concert with proceeds going to the
American Red Cross to help victims of
Hurricane Katrina). In addition to playing that concert, he opened his home in Helena, Alabama to a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina. On October 7, 2005, Bice introduced his own band, SugarMoney, in
Mobile, Alabama at
Bayfest. He performed two concerts the following week, including a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but was back in the hospital the next day with surgery complications. In November Bice was named "Heartland Hero of the Week" on
John Kasich's show,
Heartland, for giving up his house to the family displaced by Hurricane Katrina and for using his music to raise money for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Jim Croce's family awarded Bice the "Jim Croce 20th Annual Music Award" because the Croce family had been greatly moved by Bice's performance of Croce's song "Time in a Bottle" while he was a contestant on
American Idol.
The Real Thing and recurring medical problems: 2005–2006 Bice's solo debut album,
The Real Thing, was released on December 13, 2005. It opened at number four.
The Real Thing has the seventh-highest opening for a debut album by an
American Idol finalist. Bice's band at the time appears with him on three tracks on
The Real Thing's DualDisc version. In January 2006,
CMT aired an hour-long TV special—called
Bo Bice: In the Moment—which chronicled Bice's life post-Idol during the recording of his album,
The Real Thing. Their cameras had followed Bice around for months during the making of his album. The film showed both his joy with making an album and his frustration with recording other people's pop songs. The cameras also captured the birth of his son, Aidan. On December 18, Bice started
coughing up blood while rehearsing for a performance on the 2005
Radio Music Awards, and had to miss the show. In February 2006, Bice kicked off a radio promo tour. During the ensuing year of promotional appearances and touring, Bice continued to suffer with the recurring intestinal condition which had not been repaired by the August 2005 surgery. In the span of just a few months during his various tours, Bice was hospitalized 20 times, checking out of the hospitals each time to honor his performance commitments. In March 2006, Bice sang on the
American Idol Top 16 Results Show. In April 2006, Bice was one of the celebrity drivers featured in the
Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race held in
Long Beach, California, that was sponsored by
Toyota to benefit various children's hospitals of Southern California. On September 12, 2006, Bice released a cover of
The Chambers Brothers 1968 smash hit, "
Time Has Come Today", which was the theme song for a new
Monopoly commercial. In September 2006, Bice was a special guest star in a TV special called
Decades Rock Live: Lynyrd Skynyrd & Friends—the friends being Bice,
Hank Williams Jr., and
3 Doors Down. On October 5, 2006, Bice underwent emergency surgery in
Nashville, Tennessee to correct his recurring intestinal problem. The surgery came after several rounds of tests and doctors deemed his condition serious enough to operate immediately. The day after that surgery, a complication occurred and Bice had to undergo another surgery. During the subsequent recovery time,
Ben Stiller invited Bice to record for the
Will Ferrell film
Blades of Glory produced by Stiller. Bice made several promotional appearances in connection with the releases. Bice was presented with a
gold record for
The Real Thing not long after
RCA dropped Bice from its roster.
Sugar Money Records, See The Light and 3: 2007–2013 In the spring and summer of 2006, Bice began to talk of his hopes for a second CD, saying that "[he]'d like to go more rootsy, more country, more southern rock Bo." Bice encouraged his fans to start a petition asking
Clive Davis for Bo's original southern rock songs on a subsequent CD. The Grassroots Coalition to Hear More Bo started the online Petition to Hear More Bo, which collected over 5,300 signatures before it was closed February 21, 2007, after word broke that Bice was no longer with RCA. Bice subsequently formed his own record label called Sugar Money/StratArt (in partnership with
Strategic Artist Management). He spent the next few months planning, writing, and recording music for his new album,
See the Light. Bice introduced many of his newly written songs on a short acoustic tour which began in May 2007 and ended a few weeks later with his hospitalization for flu and bronchitis.
See the Light was released October 23, 2007. In October 2007, Bice made an appearance on the TV show
American Chopper: The Series in an episode which featured a custom-built Peavey Bike with a built-in guitar, microphone, and amp.
Peavey Electronics Corporation and Bice were working together to develop a Bo Bice guitar for their line of products. Bice had made appearances in Peavey Electronics Corporation's after school programs (in conjunction with National Afterschool Alliance) during which Peavey donated instruments to schools. In February 2008, Bice traveled to
Kuwait and
Afghanistan to perform for U.S. troops deployed in the region, and to thank them for their service. He went back to the war region in Fall 2008. During Spring and Summer 2008, Bice continued his tour promoting his
See the Light album. He simultaneously spent a few weeks participating in a special tour called
It Was Forty Years Ago Today with
Todd Rundgren,
Denny Laine,
Lou Gramm, and
Christopher Cross. The tour paid tribute to the fortieth anniversary of the release of the
Beatles'
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. On September 13, Bice participated in "Share the Beat", a benefit for the Georgia Transplant Foundation and the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness. Bice sang two tracks on the
Brothers of the Southland CD, a compilation spearheaded by
The Marshall Tucker Band's
George McCorkle who had died from cancer just days prior to the recording sessions. On December 2, Bice was invited to Washington to perform for President Bush. Throughout 2009, Bice continued touring to support
See the Light. Bice did tour dates with Lynyrd Skynyrd. Bice was honored with the prestigious Lifetime Presidential Volunteer Service Award for volunteering more than 4,000 hours of his time for worthy causes, such as
Habitat for Humanity, Katrina assistance,
muscular dystrophy, organ transplants, two concert tours for the military troops in Iraq, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, Safe House, and many others. In addition to the hours for which he received recognition, he has donated instruments, music equipment, meaningful personal memorabilia, and some of his own paintings to be auctioned off for charities. Bice started 2010 with an acoustic tour to introduce some newly written songs that he was recording for his upcoming album. Bice's Sugar Money record label cooperated with
Time Life for the album which was called
3, which was officially released on
Saguaro Road Records on May 18, 2010. On October 12, 2010, Bice guest-starred on the syndicated game show ''
Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' and won the $50,000 grand prize for his charity,
MusiCares. Bice was the first celebrity contestant to win the grand prize by correctly singing the lyrics to all the songs in his round. In 2013, Bice sang "
The Star-Spangled Banner" at the
NASCAR Feed the Children 300 in
Sparta, Kentucky. == Discography ==