Singing Cowboy

A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films, popularized by many of the B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s. The typical singing cowboys were white-hat-wearing, clean-shaven heroes with the habit of showing their emotions in song.

Around the campfire, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and dangers encountered while pushing cattle for miles up the trails and across the prairies. While much of what is included in the genre of "cowboy music" is "traditional," a number of songs have been written and made famous by groups like the Sons of the Pioneers and Riders in the Sky and individual performers such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Michael Martin Murphy, and other "singing cowboys." Singing in the wrangler style, these entertainers have served to preserve the cowboy as a unique American hero.

The image of the singing cowboy was established in 1925 when Carl T. Sprague of Texas recorded the first cowboy song, "When the Work's All Done This Fall." A year later, John I. White became the first representative of the genre to perform on a nationally broadcast radio show, but the full popularity of the singing cowboys was not reached until the spread of sound films.

Read more about Singing Cowboy:  Ken Maynard, John Wayne, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Grand National Films, Into The Sunset, Other Singing Cowboys, References

Famous quotes containing the words singing and/or cowboy:

    A woman is a branchy tree
    And man a singing wind;
    And from her branches carelessly
    He takes what he can find.
    James Kenneth Stephens (1882–1950)

    I am a cowboy in the boat of Ra. Lord of the lash,
    the Loup Garou Kid. Half breed son of Pisces and
    Aquarius. I hold the souls of men in my pot. I do
    the dirty boogie with scorpions. I make the bulls
    keep still and was the first swinger to grape the taste.
    Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)