Pirates of the Mississippi

Pirates of the Mississippi
Promotional picture of Pirates of the Mississippi, early 1990s. From left: Dean Townson, Bill McCorvey, Jimmy Lowe, Pat Severs, Rich Alves
Background information
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country
Years active	1987–1996, 2000–2007
Labels	Capitol Nashville, Liberty, Giant, Evergreen
Associated acts	Buffalo Rome
Past members	Rich Alves Jimmy Lowe Bill McCorvey Pat Severs Dean Townson Greg Trostle

Pirates of the Mississippi was an American country music group founded in 1987 by Rich Alves (guitar, Hammond organ, background vocals), Bill McCorvey (guitar, lead vocals), Jimmy Lowe (drums), Pat Severs (steel guitar, Dobro), and Dean Townson (bass guitar). Under this lineup, Pirates of the Mississippi made its debut in 1990 with a cover of Hank Williams' "Honky Tonk Blues". This cover was the first single from their self-titled debut album. "Honky Tonk Blues" was followed by ten more singles, all of which charted between 1990 and 1995. in that same time span, the band released four more studio albums and a compilation album. Severs was replaced by Greg Trostle in 1994, two years before the band was disestablished. In 2000, Alves and McCorvey reunited, releasing an additional album titled Heaven and a Dixie Night before disbanding again.

Pirates of the Mississippi was formed in 1987, when Nashville session musicians Bill McCorvey (lead vocals), Rich Alves (lead guitar), Dean Townson (bass guitar), Jimmy Lowe (drums), and Pat Severs (steel guitar) started performing together. Originally, they identified themselves as the We Don't Want a Freaking Record Deal Band, but upon witnessing a group of fans wearing clogs, the group changed its name to The Cloggers.

The Cloggers began playing various clubs around Nashville. Eventually, they attracted the attention of an artists and repertoire (A&R) at Universal Records, a label owned by Jimmy Bowen. Executives at the label disliked the band's name, and suggested that they change it. The band then chose the name Pirates of the Mississippi because they thought that Lowe resembled a pirate. The band's debut album was finished by 1988, but its release was delayed until 1990 due to Universal being bought out by Capitol Records. In the meantime, Alves co-wrote the singles "Time In" by The Oak Ridge Boys and "Southern Star" by Alabama, the latter of which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in early 1990. He and McCorvey also co-wrote "Karma Road" for the group Trader-Price (who were also signed to Capitol by way of the Universal merger) on their 1990 debut album.