More People Really Should Know About: Big in Iowa

Update 17/10/2025
Since this article was published we have had messages to let us know that both Bob Burns and David “Rick” House have passed away. The latter just a few days ago. So this piece now stands as a memorial for a band who produced some excellent music and deserve recognition. Our thoughts go out to both their families.  

I’m constantly surprised by the number of new (at least to me) artists which keep popping onto the radar. There’s always going to be someone who never got the recognition they deserved but still produced a few albums that deserve to be remembered and heard. Step forward Big In Iowa.

Founded by singer, songwriter and guitarist Bob Burns and bass player Ken Glidewell they built a reputation in the Cincinnati area with an initial buzz helping them win the “Roots Rock Band of the Year” award at the Cincinnati-area Cammy Awards in 1997, a title they would hold for several years. Signing with Blue Rose Records, they released their debut self-titled album in 1996. But “Twisted” from 1998 is where the good stuff starts. It’s a set of 12 roots rock/country songs which may not be the most original material but are mostly great simple tunes played with a passion. A Neil Young influence is on display on opener ‘Is This Love?’ and ‘Rae Jean’ is a Rolling Stones-style blast. Americana with an R&B slant on songs like ‘Sunrise’ and bluesy rock and roll on ‘Southbound Train’. Burns’ vocals drew comparisons to the likes of Van Morrison and Lowell George.

Third album “Bangin’ ‘n’ Knockin” was more alt.country with an opening duo of ‘Neil’s on the Radio’ and ‘Don’t Be Mad’ which are as good or better than anything else produced around 1999 or 2000. They haven’t lost the rock and roll swagger entirely with Two Lane Highway’ chugging along on a Danny Gatton-esque solo and Jeff Wilson’s driving drums. They close with another nod to their hero with a cover of ‘Cinnamon Girl‘ which had originally appeared on a Young tribute album “This Note’s for You.” It is just close enough to Crazy Horse to not sound insipid but, with Mike “Moose” McGuire’s Hammond organ taking the lead, different enough to not be a slavish imitation.

They toured Europe on the back of positive reviews for “Bangin’ ‘n’ Knockin”, and that produced the live album “4 Guys in A Trabi”. “Green Pop” from 2001 was according to AllMusic ‘a quantum leap ahead of anything Big in Iowa had previously recorded, an artistic apex that single-handedly vaulted the band into the upper level of roots rock bands’. Successfully mixing the rock and the alt-country aspects of the previous albums, they built a following in Europe that led to another tour and a headline at the Wolfstock Festival. The album includes highlights like the brass-inflected ‘Green Thoughts’, mid-tempo ballad ‘I Forgot What I Remembered’ and roots rock masterclass ‘Gettin’ Gone’.

Then lead guitarist Rick House left and was replaced by two other guitar players. They failed to produce any new material suitable for a new album and slowly dissolved. The final Big In Iowa gig with its original members was at the Hamiltonian Hotel in Hamilton, Ohio in October 2002. Glidewell kept the band name going with new members and gigged around Cincinnati until 2008 when he passed away in a motorcycle accident. Burns continues to play with House and Wilson and is reported to be working on digitising their back catalogue with a view to future release.

So why are a band defunct for over 25 years worth seeking out? Because they were good. They released four albums that should be in any self-respecting collection of Americana; although while conventional wisdom has it that “Green Pop” is their pinnacle, I prefer the earlier two albums. Is obscurity a reason not to appreciate them? Definitely not, and while their albums can be a challenge to find they are absolutely worth the effort.

Finding Big In Iowa music to share was also a challenge. It took a while to hunt them out on YouTube, but hopefully this is enough to encourage you to do some digging of your own.