The settling of the American West took place in the latter half of the 19th century. And cowboy songs were the musical contribution of the men who led the cattle drives and roundups of that era. The earliest recording of this uniquely American musical genre was When the Work’s All Done in the Fall in 1925. Then, with the advent of the talking picture came the singing cowboys of the silver screen. First was Tex Ritter who scored both cowboy song hits and pop songs. The most popular singer was Gene Autry, whose theme song was Back in the Saddle Again. When Gene was drafted, Roy Rogers emerged as the new western film star and his group the Sons of the Pioneers contributed two cowboy classics, Tumbling Tumbleweeds and Cool Water. Cowgirl Patsy Montana had a hit with I Want to Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart in 1939. Then throughout the 1940s pop acts like Bing Crosby, Andrews Sisters, Kay Kyser and Vaughn Monroe scored hits with western songs like Don’t Fence Me In and Ghost Riders in the Sky. Beginning in the late 1950s, old radio series westerns appeared on television and new shows were created with catchy theme songs like Ballad of Paladine and Rawhide. Join us for a nostalgic journey through a history of cowboy & western songs as we continue to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday.
