Cowboys

Cowboys and Cowboy Songs

August 17, 2017 by admin

American Plantation and Cowboy Songs, Cowboy Songs, Cowboys, Plantation Songs, Priya, Priya Peiris

American Plantation and Cowboy Songs

There are many different categories and genres of popular songs coming from the bygone era having endured the test of time as all time favorites. These ever popular songs are referred to by us as ‘vintage songs ‘, ‘standards’, ‘evergreens’, ‘golden oldies’, ‘old favorites’, etc.

In Sri Lanka, the folk cultured in a western environment love these old songs. They could be further classified to different segments – such as cowboy favorites, plantation songs, Dixieland hits, Negro spirituals, calypsos, songs from the British isles, war time hits, barber shop songs, international standards etc. All such songs basically fit into the common idiom of old favorites or golden oldies.

At this moment I am sharing a few facts about two of the above-mentioned categories of songs – namely cowboy songs and plantation songs – two of the popular genres of music and song.

Cowboys and Cowboy Songs

Most of us have heard about cowboys. I recall as a young schoolboy how excited and fascinated we were to hear about cowboys or see them in the movies. Both cowboy songs and movies were very popular then, and its charm has certainly never dwindled but gained immense popularity and acclaim all around the world ever since. In Sri Lanka, these songs are loved, adored and venerated especially by the older folk, who grew up in the midst of these songs and movies.

Cowboys in Reality

It is important to bear in mind that the cowboy story is two-fold. There are

(a) the real cowboys, and
(b) the fantasy cowboys in the movies.

The real American cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle in the ranches of the prairie grasslands of North America – traditionally on horseback. The cowboy culture still exists in Texas (known to be the cowboy capital of the world), Kansas, Utah, Iowa, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Florida and Louisiana. These cowboys are physically able-bodied adolescents with a knack for smart colorful clothes, girlfriends, and gun culture etc. just as the movies depict!

The golden era of cowboys is considered as the period between 1866 to 1886 which is regarded as the era of the ‘open ranch’ or the ‘cattle drive’ era, when cattle had to be moved in great numbers as one herd to distant railheads to be taken for shipment, by the cowboys on horseback, due to the turbulence of the civil war.

Cowboys in the Movies

The real life cowboy story is agricultural in nature and of American heritage. Therefore, cowboys that we are talking about now are the film idols who portrayed the life style of the real ones – of course, with fiction and a lot of drama thrown in, to keep the movie goer in suspense…. and how well they succeeded in doing this!

Inspiration for Filmmaking

The cowboy culture was so appealing and magnetic that it is amazing how it inspired moviemakers to use it to their liking. Outlaws, bandits, drunkards, ambushes, vendettas, rattle-snakes, cattle, robbery, horse-riding, gun culture, love and women, storms, lonely nights, campfires, music and song of real cowboy life projected and provided an ideal setting and background for successful and exciting movie scripts. As a result, movie legends and many hundreds of cowboy songs were gifted to the world.

Cowboy Singers and Songs

Cowboy movies and songs became one of the most popular genres of music and arts around the world. They were the rage during the 1950/60 period.

The best-known cowboy film idol and singer (among a galaxy of other legendary stars) was Roy Rogers known as the ‘King of the Cowboys’. He was the idol and hero to every youngster all around the world (more about him at a later date).

Don’t Fence Me In, Home on the Range, Cattle Call, Red River Valley, My Rifle, My Pony and Me, Rose of San Antone, Roll Along Blue Shadows, Happy Trails, Lonely River are a few of the all time cowboy favorites.

Apart from Roy Rogers, perhaps the other best known cowboy film idol and singer was Gene Autry. We have also heard of other cowboy singers such as Jimmy Rogers, Tex Ritter and latterly Hank Snow, Eddie Arnold, and Marty Robbins among others.

In conclusion

Due to the wide coverage and treatment the cowboy culture received in fiction and in films, the cowboy has become the iconic image of the American west.

Priya Peiris

Read Plantation Songs

ROY ROGERS – ‘KING OF THE COWBOYS’

July 18, 2017 by admin

Cowboys, King of the Cowboys, Plantation Songs, Priya Peiris, Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers was the world’s most popular hero of every youngster from the 1930s to 1950s period. He was an American film idol, guitarist and singer – known as the ‘King of the Cowboys’.

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Nostalgia

During mid 1950s, my early school days, he was the craze of every kid and teenager. Those of you in my age group would remember him while playing ‘cowboys and crooks’ (quite similar to ‘hora police’, as referred to by some), as a matter of routine, school interval pranks!

Although the older generation would remember him, it is important for the nowadays youngsters to know about the good old days, and especially about the ‘King of the Cowboys’.

Career and Details

Roy Rogers (1911 – 1998) was born and raised in Portsmouth, Ohio, USA, and worked as a peach picker and truck driver as a youngster. His birth name was Leonard Slye. After giving up his jobs and encountering many ups and downs, he got into singing and made his mark with unbelievable success in many movies and TV serials, including the famous ‘Roy Rogers Show’.

His sidekick was his faithful palomino (horse) Trigger, always featured alongside him both on TV and movies. Trigger was reckoned as the most intelligent and smartest horse in the silver screen. Roy’s dog, a German shepherd named Bullet was also a great star, always at hand and alive to warn of any impending dangers.

‘Sons of the Pioneers’ was the name of Roy’s famous music band. They too were featured in many movies. Some of the cowboy films that featured Roy Rogers were, Hollywood Canteen, Sunset in Eldorado, San Fernando Valley, Underneath the Western Stars, Arizona Kid, The Golden Stallion, Cowboy and the Senorita.

His famous cowboy songs include Happy Trails, Don’t Fence Me In, Home on the Range, Roll Along Blue Shadows; I’m back in the Saddle Again, Red River Valley, and I’ve Sold My Saddle for an Old Guitar.

His Popularity

Roy Rogers was married thrice and with his third wife Dale Evans they endured a successful movie and singing career which lasted their lifetime. Roy’s theme song, Happy Trails was composed by Dale and sung by them as a beautiful duet. Roy Rogers’ popularity was such that his pin-up pictures were available everywhere. His comics (cartoon character books) were the craze of all youngsters throughout the world. Many Roy Rogers pictures adorned sweets and bubble-gum wrappers and stickers, adventure novels, comic books, play-sets, and a variety of marketing successes.

He was second only to Walt Disney creations such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs etc. In the numbers of items featuring his name.

On an average he used to receive around eighty thousand fan mail every month (would you believe that!). The incomparable Roy Rogers was inducted to the country music hall of fame twice – first as a member of his band, Sons Of The Pioneers in 1980, and yet again as an individual in 1988.

Although his movie roles depicted him with a gun, in reality he vehemently opposed gun culture publicly. He and his loving wife were both deep rooted Christians and they founded many children’s charities and adopted four children.

His Death and Legacy

Roy Rogers died in 1998 aged 87. His wife Dale Evans also passed away a few years later. They were buried side by side at Apple Valley, Sunset Hills Memorial Park, San Bernardino County, California, in a beautiful western location close by to their home.

The Roy Rogers – Dale Evans museum in Branson, Missouri houses interesting memorabilia, including handprints of Roy Rogers and hoof prints of Trigger, hats, belts, boots, guns, guitars, rings, badges, etc. It also houses the happy trails theater where Roy’s music is performed by his son Roy ‘Dusty’ Rogers Jr., twice a day, five days of the week.

Roy Rogers was an incomparable star – a legend and an icon like no other!

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Note: If interested, you are welcome to listen to his songs and watch his movies on YouTube and gather more information about him.

Priya Peiris

Cowboys and Cowboy Songs

ROY ROGERS – ‘KING OF THE COWBOYS’

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