In the summer of 1981, John Schneider – known to millions as “Bo Duke” from “The Dukes of Hazzard” – traversed a trail from TV to radio. His rendition of Elvis Presley’s 1960 hit “It’s Now Or Never” soared to #4 on Billboard’s country singles chart, simultaneously climbing to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. His follow-up, the more-countrified “Them Good Ol’ Boys Are Bad” reached #13 on the country playlist.
Schneider’s vocal career stalled there. Subsequent singles, treading the same stratum as “It’s Now Or Never” didn’t catch on, in part because they were geared toward teenagers. By the same token, Schneider’s Friday night prime-time slot on television worked against him. He told Billboard reporter Kip Kirby that the record industry wasn’t particularly keen on promoting the musical interests of Hollywood actors, feeling that actors are merely making records in their spare time and don’t take the music seriously. John insisted he was different – that he really wanted to make a success of his musical career.
