Brian O’ Neal and The Bus Boys “Civil Rights”

Cover and Inside Photo. Brian O’ Neal (Center) has always had messages of social change in his music.

The Right Message at the Right Time

By Buddy Sampson

The Bus Boys’ Brian O’ Neal knows how to get across important messages from the influence of his music. You may remember The Bus Boys from the Paramount film, “48 Hours,” a film in which The Bus Boys performed their worldwide hit, “Boys Are Back in Town.” O’ Neal and The Bus Boys are no strangers to controversy, having penned songs such as “KKK,” and “There Goes The Neighborhood,” songs that expressed the voice of the group, a group committed to stirring things up for social change.

In 2020, Brian O’ Neal and The Bus Boys are stirring up the pot again, with the right message at the right time. They have released a single, “Civil Rights,” from the forthcoming Bus Boys record “In My Heart,” which is scheduled for release in early 2021. “I’m trying to draw attention to what I call the basic American civil right, which is what is included in the Declaration of Independence,” said Brian O’ Neal. “All men are created equal. That is a revolutionary idea. There is no other country, no other society from all recorded history to the present that has ever put that as part of the statement, the mission statement of their nation. Nobody has ever said that. This is our mission statement, that what makes us special.”

Written by Brian O’ Neal, “Civil Rights,” is seemingly tailor-made for the current racial unrest currently occurring in the United States and worldwide because of the murder of George Floyd. “Even though this song is relevant to our times, it seems, I wrote this song several years ago,” Brian admitted. His parents, both educators, instilled in him the importance of social protest.  “I marched with my parents in the 60’s in many civil rights marches, I’m old enough to have lived through other bits of this.”

Brian O’ Neal is the only original member of the current configuration of The Bus Boys, which started in 1980. “It’s a movement as well as a band,” he said. “And I’m the chief cook and bottle washer of the movement.” He plays several instruments on the “In My Heart” project including keyboards, guitar, and bass. “Anything that doesn’t play me, I play it,” laughed Brian. The project features Claude Woods, Marc Palmer, Jon Knox, and Marcus “Slim” Shaw.

Brian O’ Neal may have written “Civil Rights” some time ago, but his music and messages of change are sorely needed today. “I’m excited about it,” said Brian O’ Neal of the “In My Heart” work of art. “The music on it is some of the best I’ve ever done.” With Brian O’ Neal and The Bus Boys, his songs and messages in 2020 are the right messages at the right time. Hopefully, the social relevance of his music will inspire change that stands the test of time.

Visit their website at www.busboys.com.