Margie Marie Bowes (March 18, 1941 – October 22, 2020) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer who was popular in the late 1950s. She had a top 10 country hit, "Poor Old Heartsick Me", in 1959. She was briefly married to Doyle Wilburn of the

Wilburn Brothers The Wilburn Brothers were an American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982) and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931–2003). Biography The brothers were born in Hardy, Ark ...

Biography

Early years

Bowes was born on March 18, 1941, in

Roxboro, North Carolina Roxboro is a city and the county seat of Person County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 8,362 at the 2010 census. The city is north of Durham and is a part of the four-county Durham–Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical A ...

. She began singing in elementary school. By the time she was 13 years old, she was appearing on TV programs including ''WDVA Virginia Barn Dance'' in Danville, WRXO-AM in Roxboro and other radio programs in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. In 1958, Bowes participated in the Pet Milk Company's nationwide talent search. She entered the contest in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

and won the competition later that year.

Recording career

Bowes signed with

Hickory Records Hickory Records is an American record label founded in 1954 by Acuff-Rose Music, which operated the label up to 1979. Sony Music Publishing (then Sony/ATV) revived the label in 2007. Originally based in Nashville, and functioning as an independe ...

and released her first single in 1958, "Won'tcha Come Back to Me" backed with "One Broken Heart". The singles gained some attention, but failed to chart. Her next two-sided single, "One Time Too Many"/"Violets and Cheap Perfume" also failed to chart, but she made her debut on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

later that year. In 1959, she released her third single, "Poor Old Heartsick Me". The song proved very successful for Bowes, and it just made the country top 10 that year. "Poor Old Heartsick Me" remained her signature tune. In 1959, she released her follow-up, "My Love and Little Me". The song made the country top 20 and demonstrated she was more than a

one-hit wonder A one-hit wonder or viral hit is any entity that achieves mainstream popularity, often for only one piece of work, and becomes known among the general public solely for that momentary success. The term is most commonly used in regard to music p ...

. Bowes appeared on ABC-TV's '' Jubilee USA'', and between 1959 and 1960 she released three more singles, though none of them gained any further success. In 1961, Bowes moved to

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

and released a single that year called "Little Miss Belong to No One". The song just missed the top 20. No other singles with Mercury were successful for Bowes. By 1963, she moved to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

and again started releasing singles that year. She had two singles that made the Top 40 with Decca. By 1969, Bowes left the label and recorded one more time for

Stop Records Stop may refer to: Places * Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck d ...

in the early 1970s. Margie married Doyle Wilburn, half of the popular Country duo,

the Wilburn Brothers The Wilburn Brothers were an American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s, consisting of brothers Virgil Doyle Wilburn (1930–1982) and Thurman Theodore "Teddy" Wilburn (1931–2003). Biography The brothers were born in Hardy, Ark ...

on November 11, 1961. They had one daughter born in 1962. She died January 29, 2020. Neither Bowes nor Wilburn ever remarried.

Later life

In the late 1960s she appeared in a

movie A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

called ''

Golden Guitar The Big Golden Guitar is one of the many "big" attractions that can be found around Australia. Located in Tamworth, New South Wales, the monument is one of the best-known points of interest in New England. It is also a major attraction duri ...

''. In 1995, Bowes was in a car accident, suffering a serious foot injury resulting in numerous operations. Prior to her car accident, she worked for many years in the medical field. Bowes died on October 22, 2020, in Brentwood,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

after an extended illness.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Margie Bowes at LP Discography.com
*
Entry at 45cat.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowes, Margie 1941 births 2020 deaths People from Roxboro, North Carolina American women country singers American country singer-songwriters Grand Ole Opry members Singer-songwriters from North Carolina Country musicians from North Carolina 21st-century American women