Andrew Nelson grew up outside Birmingham, Alabama, where his early musical exposure came from blues artists including John Lee Hooker, Freddie King, B.B. King, and Buddy Guy, before later being drawn to country music through Ryan Adams and George Jones. Blount Floyd was raised in southern Alabama and grew up on 1990s country music.
Nelson and Floyd met in their early 20s in Nashville and played together in several rock bands during the early 2010s before turning toward harmony-driven material. The pair conceived the project at a West Nashville bar in late 2012, settling on an animal-themed two-word name and writing the song "Desert Lark" the same evening. Posted to Bandcamp in the winter of 2013, "Desert Lark" received airplay on Nashville's Lightning 100 and became the centerpiece of the duo's early live sets.
Recordings
Great Peacock released a self-titled extended play in 2013, followed by their debut studio album, Making Ghosts, in May 2015 on the independent label This Is American Music. The album was produced by Dan Fernandez and was reviewed by American Songwriter, which described it as "stirring" and noted the band's roots-oriented, anthemic sensibility.
The band's second studio album, Gran Pavo Real, was released on March 30, 2018, by Ropeadope. Tom Blankenship of My Morning Jacket played bass throughout the record; according to Americana UK, Blankenship was originally booked to contribute to a single song but elected to stay on for the entire album. The album was also previewed by Americana UK. Around this period, Rolling Stone included Great Peacock in its "10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: March 2018" feature.
In September 2019, Billboard premiered the band's cover of Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer," noting that the recording previewed a more classic-rock-influenced direction for their forthcoming third album.
The band's third studio album, Forever Worse Better, was self-produced and released on October 9, 2020, on Baldwin County Public Records with distribution by Soundly Music. Tracking sessions took place at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios, with additional recording at Floyd's home studio, and the record featured guest contributions from guitarist Sadler Vaden of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and pedal-steel player Adam Kurtz. The album reached the Americana radio top 50 and remained on the chart for several months, and was reviewed positively by Americana Highways.
