More Cowbell!

Michael Brown

General Info

Year: 2015
Duration: c. 4:20
Difficulty: III (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Hal Leonard
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $65.00 | Score Only (print) - $7.50

Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Cowbell
C Piccolo
Flute
Oboe
Bassoon
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
E-flat Alto Clarinet
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Alto Saxophone I-II
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III
Horn in F I-II
Trombone I-II
Euphonium
Tuba
Electric Bass
Timpani (also plays Shaker)
Percussion I-II-III, including:

Bells
Cabasa
Congas (2)
Drumset
Guiro
Marimba
Suspended Cymbal
Tambourine
Tom-toms (2)
Vibraphone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Popcopy is a work in three movements that is inspired by famous catchphrases. The first movement, More Cowbell, is based on the popular Saturday Night Live skit featuring Will Ferrell as a fictional cowbell player for the band Blue Öyster Cult. Ferrell’s character, Gene Frenkle, fervently tells the band that since there are no songs that feature a cowbell, he would be doing a disservice to himself and the band if he didn’t “play the hell out of this” cowbell. The producer then coins the famous phrase: “Guess what?! I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is ... more cowbell!” In this movement, cowbell parts surround the band to emulate the struggle of balance between the band and the cowbells, but the cowbells also help in keeping the band together during complex rhythmic sections.

- Program Note from University of Texas, Arlington, Wind Symphony concert program, 2 April 2018

The use of the cowbell in the pop music of the 1970s was famously portrayed on a Saturday Night Live skit with Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell. This arrangement of cowbell-laden tunes includes: (Don’t Fear) The Reaper, Low Rider, Drive My Car, and Oye Como Va.

- Program Note from Heritage Encyclopedia of Band Music

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Ensemble and conductor unknown

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performance

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Tarleton State University (Stephenville, Tx.) Wind Ensemble (David Robinson, conductor) - 18 November 2021
San Luis Obispo County (Calif.) Band (Leonard Lutz, conductor) – 18 November 2018
Atascadero (Calif.) Community Band (Keith Waibel, conductor) – 30 August 2016
Valley Stream (N.Y.) Community Band (Todd Holly, conductor) – 4 August 2015

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Chariots of Fire (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1981/2016)
Coldplay Classics (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2016)
Feel It Still (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2017)
Hallelujah (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1984/2010/2017)
The Hanging Tree (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2014/2015)
Highlights from "The Greatest Showman" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2017/2018)
Highlights from Walt Disney Pictures' "The Lion King" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1994/2017)
I'm Still Standing (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1983/2020)
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1951/1979/2019)
Just a Closer Walk with Thee (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Gillis; as adapter) (1990/)
Low Rider (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1975/2014)
The Music of James Bond (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2021)
The Pink Panther (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1963/2011)
Pixar Movie Favorites (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2016)
The Saints' Hallelujah (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger, with Henderson) (1991/2015)
Shake It Off (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2014/2015)
Sogno di Volare (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2016/2019)
Waltz No. 2 (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (post 1956/2021)

All Wind Works

ABBA on Broadway (as arranger)
Alan Silvestri: A Night at the Movies (as arranger)
America from "West Side Story" (as arranger)
American Anthem (as arranger)
Appalachian Air (as arranger) (2004)
Armed Forces Salute (as arranger with Murtha)
The Avengers (as arranger) (2012)
Beach Boys Greatest Hits, The (as arranger)
Captain America March (as arranger)
Chariots of Fire (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1981/2016)
Coldplay Classics (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2016)
Dance Fever (as arranger) (2010)
A Disneyland Celebration (as arranger) (2006)
Fantasy Adventure at the Movies (as arranger) (2011)
Feel It Still (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2017)
The Genius of Ray Charles (as arranger) (2004)
Get Smart (as arranger) (1965/2009)
Go the Distance (as arranger)
Grown-Up Christmas List (as arranger) (1992/2012)
Guardians of the Galaxy (as arranger) (2014)
Hallelujah (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1984/2010/2017)
The Hanging Tree (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2014/2015)
Hans Zimmer: Movie Milestones (as arranger) (2017)
Happy (as arranger)
Highlights from Walt Disney Pictures' "Enchanted" (as arranger) (2008)
Highlight from "Frozen" (as arranger)
Highlights from "Jersey Boys" (as arranger) (2007)
Highlights from "La La Land" (as arranger) (2016/2017)
Highlights from "Star Trek into Darkness" (as arranger)
Highlights from "The Greatest Showman" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2017/2018)
Highlights from Walt Disney Pictures' "The Lion King" (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1994/2017)
Highlights from "Wicked" (as arranger)
How Does a Moment Last Forever (as arranger) (2017)
I Dreamed a Dream (as arranger) (1980/2009)
I'm Still Standing (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1983/2020)
Irving Berlin's Christmas (as arranger)
It's a Grand Night for Singing (as arranger)
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1951/1979/2019)
Jerusalema (as arranger) (2019/2022)
Just a Closer Walk with Thee (Flex instrumentation) (arr. Gillis; as adapter) (1990/)
Let It Go (as arranger) (2014)
Letters from War (as arranger)
Low Rider (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1975/2014)
The Mansions of the Lord (as arranger) (2002/2004)
March of the Belgian Paratroopers (as arranger)
Medley from "Beauty and the Beast" (as arranger) (1991)
Moon River (as arranger)
More Cowbell! (as arranger) (2015)
Music from "The Hunger Games" (as arranger)
Music from "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (as arranger) (1990/2004)
Music for a Darkened Theater (as arranger) (2007)
The Music of James Bond (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2021)
My Shot (as arranger)
Nearer My God To Thee (as arranger) (1856/2012)
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (as arranger)
Opening Night on Broadway (as arranger)
Oye Como Va (as arranger)
Peter Gunn (as arranger)
The Pink Panther (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1963/2011)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (as arranger) (2011)
Pixar Movie Favorites (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2016)
Pixar Movie Magic (as arranger) (2011)
Sadness and Sorrow (as arranger) (2002/2019)
The Saints' Hallelujah (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger with Henderson) (1991/2015)
Salvation Is Created (as arranger) (1912/2016)
Salvation Is Created (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1912/2016)
Santana in Concert (as arranger) (2012)
Selections from "Dear Evan Hansen" (as arranger) (2017/2018)
Selections from "Sing" (as arranger) (2017)
Selections from Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (as arranger)
Selections from "Up" (as arranger) (2009)
Shake It Off (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2014/2015)
Singin' in the Rain (as arranger) (1929/2018)
Sogno di Volare (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (2016/2019)
Somewhere (as arranger) (1957/2012)
The Soulful Sixties (2011)
Soundtrack Highlights from "Avengers: Endgame" (as arranger) (2019)
Soundtrack Highlights from "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom"
Soundtrack Highlights from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (as arranger) (2015/2018)
Soundtrack Highlights from "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (as arranger) (2015/2019)
Soundtrack Highlights from Walt Disney Productions' "Alice in Wonderland" (as arranger) (2010)
Soundtrack Highlights from "Yesterday" (as arranger) (2020)
St Thomas (as arranger)
Symphonic Portrait (2009)
This Is Me (as arranger) (2017)
A Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch (as arranger) (2013)
Tribute to Whitney Houston (as arranger) (2013)
Waltz No. 2 (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (post 1956/2021)
Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly (as arranger) (2000/)
Yesterday. See: Soundtrack Highlights from "Yesterday"

Resources

Encyclopedia of Band Music. "Michael Brown." Accessed 18 August 2016.