Cowboy Music

Following up on Duane's mention of radio stations WFPK and WSM in the "Link and Listen" article, I thought fans of Western Pulps might like information on where Cowboy or Western Music is still available. I'm not talking about what passes for so-called "Country" on most of today's homogenized FM stations, but genuine Western music, by Western artists. There's nothing better than sitting back with a Western story while cowboy songs play in the background. (Well, unless it's riding your horse while singing them yourself. Unfortunately, my singing voice is such that my horse Yankee pins his ears back threateningly and shakes his head in disgust if I try singing on the trail . . . and, horseback riding is rather rough on a Discman.)

Of course, reissues of classic Western artists and groups such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the Sons of the Pioneers, and many others are available on CD. For this article, I will be discussing artists who are still alive, and writing and recording both classic and contemporary cowboy songs.

My favorite contemporary Cowboy artist is Chris LeDoux. Chris was the World Champion Professional Bareback Rider of 1976, and his work is a combination of rodeo songs, contemporary cowboy music, and old cowboy classics, with, of course, some romantic songs mixed in. He's just released his latest collection, After the Storm, dedicated to his wife of more than 30 years. The title refers to his recovery from liver transplant surgery, and includes a duet with Garth Brooks, "Some Things Never Change," that has loads of references to modern ranch life.

The two best collections available of Chris' music right now are American Cowboy, a three-disc box set, and -- just released -- The Capitol Collection, a six-disc box set of all his releases on the Capitol label from 1990-2000, including a bonus track on each disc.

Some of his best cowboy songs are the following:

- "Stampede," describing very vividly just what the title says . . . a cattle stampede on a stormy night. I got chills the first time I heard this one. This is the title track of the "Stampede" CD.

- "Johnson County War" This one starts off with a horse galloping up, a rifle shot, then the horse galloping away, and continues with a dramatic description of the Johnson County Range War in Wyoming.

- "Old Paint" Not the traditional cowboy song, but a song about a faithful horse who carries his rider home from town, "this old horse knows his way home." This has become my and my horse's theme song.

- "On the Borderline" A terrific song about a lawman and a cowboy in pursuit of outlaws from Texas into Mexico.

- "Caballo Diablo" A duet with Charlie Daniels about an untamable wild stallion and the man determined to ride him. A must for any horseman, who will understand why the minute you hear it.

Then, there are songs about the changing West, such as "You Just Can't See Him from the Road," about today's rancher.

As a genuine rodeo cowboy and rancher, Chris LeDoux captures the spirit of the Old West, as well as that of today's West.

Michael Martin Murphey, who had several popular hits in the 1970s, was raised on a ranch in Texas, and is now dedicating his efforts to preserving cowboy music. He has issued five "Cowboy Songs" collections. Cowboy Songs Two and Cowboy Songs Five are Christmas albums.

Cowboy Songs One is a collection of traditional cowboy tunes, along with several new songs written by Murphey. Some of the songs include "The Old Chisholm Trail," "Yellow Rose of Texas," "Streets of Laredo," "Texas Rangers," and many others.

Cowboy Songs Three: Rhymes of the Renegades, as the title implies, are traditional songs about outlaws, including a duet with Marty Robbins on "Big Iron." The duet was created electronically, with permission from Marty's son, since Marty had passed away by the time the recording was made.

Cowboy Songs Four is a mix of traditional songs, such as "Little Joe the Wrangler," and contemporary tunes, like "Born to be a Cowboy" and "Rangeland Rebel." Murphey's rendition of "Old Horse," a poem written in tribute to a favorite cow pony by a Utah rancher in 1899, even brought tears to my hard-bitten father's eyes.

The most interesting thing about Michael Martin Murphey's Cowboy Songs releases, besides the excellent music, is the fact he uses the original, and, in some cases, VERY un-politcally correct lyrics; for example, in the "Yellow Rose of Texas," the chorus uses the original lyrics, "the sweetest Rose of color." As the liner notes explain, the original Yellow Rose of Texas was a mulatto slave belonging to a Confederate Army General during the Civil War. The liner notes on all these albums are well-researched and very interesting.

For a lighter touch, I would recommend the group Riders in the Sky. They blend humor with traditional and contemporary songs, and lots of yodeling. They had a recent boost in popularity thanks to their work on the Walt Disney film Toy Story 2. On their Best of the West Rides Again, the selection "Desperado Trail" dramatically captures the end of an outlaw's life.

A relatively new artist is Michael Blakely, who is also an author of western stories. He has two CDs currently available, Ride the River and West of You. These are collections of contemporary songs in the style of traditional cowboy tunes.

There are, of course, other artists available. Garth Brooks occasionally has cowboy or rodeo songs mixed in with his others on some of his albums. Emmy Lou Harris is a female recording artist who has been influenced by cowboy music. There are also Tim Ryan, Jim Schultz, Bruce Anfinson, and Wayne Erbsen, and others I am sure to have missed. However, these last artists' CDs or cassettes may be difficult to find, at best.

I have found the best source for Western or Cowboy music, particularly the artists mentioned, to be Tower Records. Amazon also carries some of these artists.

Michael Blakley's music, at present, is available through Kirby Jonas, at kirb@ida.net.

If you enjoy, or think you might like to sample, Cowboy music, then any of the above artists are a good place to start. You won't go wrong.
- submitted by Jim Griffin

Links:
CLASSIC SINGING COWBOYS
Gene Autry was one of the most popular singing cowboys. (And his baseball team, the Anaheim Angels, just won the World Series!) Amazon has a number of CDs by him, including The Ultimate Collection on Prism Records. It includes "Deep in the Heart of Texas," "Blueberry Hill," "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You," "You Are My Sunshine," "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "(I Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle," and more. Click here to listen to some audio clips and learn more.

If you're in a Christmas mood, Gene Autry's Here Comes Santa Claus collects a number of holiday favorites, including Autry's hit, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Click here to see the complete listing of songs.

Roy Rogers was perhaps the most famous of the singing cowboys. He and Dale Evans made great music for many years. You might want to start with Songs of the Old West, which includes "Home on the Range," "Whoopie Ti-Yi-Yo," "Colorado Trail," "Streets of Laredo," "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "Cool Water," among other tunes. You can learn more about this CD by clicking here.

You'll also find some heart-warming tunes on The Best of Roy Rogers, released by Curb Records, a division of Capitol. Click here to check the roster of songs on this CD.

Roy spent some time with The Sons of the Pioneers, and they performed with him after he made it big, too. In many ways, their three-part harmonies and sophisticated musical arrangements defined the genre known as Western music. A good place to start your listening is The Ultimate Collection. It features "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "So Long to the Red River Valley," "Cool Water," "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)," "The Hills of Old Wyomin'," "Blue Bonnet Girl," "Ride, Ranger, Ride," "Echoes from the Hills," "I Follow the Stream," and more. Click here for a complete listing of songs on this CD.

CONTEMPORARY COWBOY SINGERS:
Chris LeDoux's latest CD is After the Storm, which includes a duet with Garth Brooks. You can listen to some audio clips and see a complete listing of songs by clicking here. For Chris Ledoux's American Cowboy -- a three-disc box set -- click here, and for The Capitol Collection -- a six-disc box set with extra frills -- click here.

Michael Martin Murphey had a Top 40 hit in 1975 with a song about a horse, "Wildfire." You can check out his return to traditional Western music in the following albums, as described by Jim's article. Click here to listen to clips and see the listing of 21 tunes on Cowboy Songs, the first of his collections comprising Western tunes. You can do the same for Cowboy Songs Three by clicking here, and Cowboy Songs Four by clicking here.

To check out Michael Martin Murphey's Christmas music, click here for Cowboy Christmas and here for Acoustic Christmas Carols.

For Michael Blakley's music, contact Kirby Jonas at kirb@ida.net

CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC SINGERS:
Riders in the Sky provide great entertainment with their nostalgic garb, humorous camaraderie, and excellent performances of great Western swing numbers and Cowboy songs. And they YODEL! Why, the title of their album A Great Big Western Howdy From Riders In The Sky gives you a dandy idea of the big fun you'll have listening to this CD. Click here to learn more. And you can check out the Riders' website by clicking here.

Posted by ds at October 29, 2002 01:23 PM

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Posted by: Jim Griffin at November 5, 2002 12:42 PM

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