Cowboy Songs
Encyclopedia
Cowboy Songs is a compilation recording released by the Western
band Riders in the Sky in 1996. It is available as a single CD.
This album is a collection of 12 of the most famous and beloved songs of the west—performed in the great tradition of the Sons of the Pioneers
and the Riders of the Purple Sage
.
Western music (North America)
Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...
band Riders in the Sky in 1996. It is available as a single CD.
This album is a collection of 12 of the most famous and beloved songs of the west—performed in the great tradition of the Sons of the Pioneers
Sons of the Pioneers
The Sons of the Pioneers are one of America's earliest Western singing groups whose classic recordings set a new standard for performers of Western music. Known for the high quality of their vocal performances, musicianship, and songwriting, they produced finely-crafted and innovative recordings...
and the Riders of the Purple Sage
Riders of the Purple Sage (band)
Riders of the Purple Sage was a name used by three separate western bands in the United States.The original Riders of the Purple Sage was formed in 1936 by singer and guitarist Buck Page. The group spent three years as the staff band for radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, performing five hour-long...
.
Track listing
- "(I Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle" (Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
, J.J. Lilley) – 2:35 - "Tumbling TumbleweedsTumbling Tumbleweeds"Tumbling Tumbleweeds" is a song composed by Bob Nolan, one of the founding members of the Sons of the Pioneers. Although one of the most famous songs associated with cowboys, the song was composed by Nolan back in the 1930s while he was working as a caddy and living in Los Angeles...
" (Bob NolanBob NolanBob Nolan was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and composer of numerous Country music and Western music songs, including the standards "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." He is generally regarded as one of the...
) – 3:30 - "Don't Fence Me InDon't Fence Me In (song)Don't Fence Me In is a popular American song with music by Cole Porter and lyrics by Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter.-Origins:Originally written in 1934 for Adios, Argentina, an unproduced 20th Century Fox film musical, "Don't Fence Me In" was based on text by a poet and engineer with the...
" (Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Robert Fletcher) – 2:35 - "Cattle Call" (Tex Owens) – 2:48
- "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky" (Stan JonesStan Jones (songwriter)Stan Jones was an American songwriter and actor.Stanley Davis "Stan" Jones was born in Douglas, Arizona, and grew up on a ranch. When his father died, his mother moved the family to Los Angeles, California. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, competing in rodeos to make money...
) – 3:05 - "The Streets of Laredo (The Cowboy's Lament)Streets of Laredo (song)"Streets of Laredo" , also known as the "Cowboy's Lament", is a famous American cowboy ballad in which a dying cowboy tells his story to a living one. Derived from the English folk song "The Unfortunate Lad", it has become a folk music standard, and as such has been performed, recorded and adapted...
" (Traditional) – 3:07 - "I Ride an Old Paint" (Traditional) – 2:15
- "Red River ValleyRed River Valley (song)Red River Valley is a folk song and cowboy music standard of controversial origins that has gone by different names—e.g., "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", and "Bright Little Valley"—depending on where it has been sung. ...
" (Traditional) – 4:03 - "Rawhide" (Dimitri Tiomkin, Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
) – 2:07 - "Chasin' the Sun" (Douglas B. GreenDouglas B. GreenDouglas B. Green , better known by his stage name Ranger Doug, is an American musician, arranger and award-winning Western music songwriter, best known for his work with the Western music and comedy group Riders in the Sky in which he plays guitar and sings lead and baritone vocals. He is also an...
) – 2:01 - "Back in the Saddle AgainBack in the Saddle Again"Back in the Saddle Again" was the signature song of American cowboy entertainer Gene Autry. It was co-written by Autry with Ray Whitley and first released in 1939...
" (Gene AutryGene AutryOrvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
, Ray WhitleyRay WhitleyRaymond Otis Whitley , also known as Ray Whitley, was a Country and Western singer, radio and Hollywood movie star.-Singing and live performance:...
) – 2:14 - "Home on the RangeHome on the Range"Home on the Range" is the state song of Kansas, U.S.Home on the Range may also refer to:* Home on the Range , a drama directed by Arthur Jacobson* Home on the Range , a Disney animated feature film...
" (Traditional) – 4:09
Personnel
- Douglas B. GreenDouglas B. GreenDouglas B. Green , better known by his stage name Ranger Doug, is an American musician, arranger and award-winning Western music songwriter, best known for his work with the Western music and comedy group Riders in the Sky in which he plays guitar and sings lead and baritone vocals. He is also an...
(a.k.a. Ranger Doug) – vocals, guitar - Paul ChrismanPaul ChrismanPaul Chrisman , better known by his stage name Woody Paul, is an American singer, fiddler, and composer, best known for his work with the Western swing musical and comedy group Riders in the Sky. With the Riders, he is billed as "Woody Paul — King of the Cowboy Fiddlers".Chrisman began playing...
(a.k.a. Woody Paul) – vocals, fiddle - Fred LaBourFred LaBourFrederick LaBour , better known by his stage name Too Slim, is a Grammy award winning American musician, best known for his work with the Western swing musical and comedy group Riders in the Sky....
(a.k.a. Too Slim) – vocals, bass - Eddie Bayers – percussion
- Kenny MaloneKenny MaloneKenny Malone is an American drummer/percussionist from Nashville, Tennessee. He has been, since the 1970s, and continues to be a prominent session musician in folk, country and many other acoustic-based genres.-References:...
– percussion - Kayton Roberts – pedal steel guitar
- Gregg Galbraith – guitar
- Tommy Goldsmith – guitar
- Mark Howard – guitar
- Rich O'Brien – guitar
- Paul Worley – guitar
- Tommy Wells – drums
- Carl Gorodetzky – violin
- Lee Larrison – violin
- Pamela Sixfin – violin
- Andrea Zonn – violin, viola