With Mike McCoy

Mike McCoy and I came to the University of Washington on football scholarships. We became friends and started singing together our freshman year. In this room you'll find songs and stories illuminating some sixty years of sharing the stages of our lives including 30 Dear Partner Letter videos filled with music and memories about our enduring friendship and musical partnership.

Songs with Stories

If We Can Laugh

Among the most important things I've learned from Mike McCoy is the importance of laughter. He had that mischievous grin and approach to life from the day I met him. It used to drive me crazy which made him even more, well, mischievous.
Dear Partner Letter #30

If there was a part of this room called "stories with songs" this would be in it. To celebrate 55 years of friendship and musical partnership with Mike McCoy I created what I call the Dear Partner Letters. There are 30 of them written to McCoy.
The Magic Carpet

The Magic Carpet was written for my first singing partner and longtime friend, Dan Eaton. Though Dan drove a Hillman in high school, for some reason I put him in a Chevy for this song. I sang it to Dan in his kitchen on a visit to Spokane.
McCoy...In His Own Words

In this video you will find McCoy singing a couple of songs, "Back When I Was Drinking" and "How I Need You." A couple of songs and a redemption story told in his own words.

Dear Partner Letters

Dear Partner #1

Dear Partner,

Who would have thought or could have imagined in the fall of 1965 that two kids, one from Spokane and the other from Sumner, with football scholarships to the University of Washington, would today, at least figuratively, be sitting on that park bench Paul Simon wrote about all those years ago thinking indeed how terribly strange it is to be 70, or in our case in our 70’s.
Dear Partner Letter #2: Thankful

After a Thanksgiving greeting and the song Thankful I will be sharing another Dear Partner letter written to my longtime friend, Mike McCoy.
Dear Partner Letter #3: A Moment of Truth

Dear Partner,

For the past twenty-six years we have gotten together for a meal the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Dear Partner Letter #4: College Days

Dear Partner,

We were a couple of small-town kids drawn to the big city and the University of Washington on football scholarships.

Pearson and McCoy 1986

Pearson and McCoy Celebrate 50 Years

Our Best Day May Be Tomorrow

McCoy and I became friends and started singing together in 1965. We've had a lifetime of experiences. One of the best things about the relationship is summed up in the chorus of this song.
Here's to 50 Years, My Friend

In 2015 McCoy and I celebrated 50 years of friendship with what else? What night of music.

Conversations

Pearson and McCoy Conversation Part One

McCoy and I sat down in 2010 to talk about our life and career. We had just released a new album.
Pearson and McCoy Conversation Part Two

McCoy and I started singing together when we met at the University of Washington in the Fall of 1965. We're still singing. Singing and a whole lot more.
Pearson and McCoy Conversation Part Three

One of the best things about McCoy is how he has continued to grow. In so many ways on so many levels. Well into his 60's McCoy decided he was going to start building guitars.