Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy

Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2003. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. 2003. 1st ed, 2nd printing. Signed. Douglas (Ranger Doug) Green & band members of 'Riders in the Sky'. 140+ photos and an extensive index. A bit of history: As the US expanded west in 1800s, and cattle became big business, the figure of the young brash cattleman who rode with the herds quickly emerged as a cultural icon. Victorian Americans went crazy for cowboys, snapping up dime-store novels and sheet music, and turning out in droves for Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. It was only a matter of time before someone brought together these three facets- entertainer, singer, and cowboy. And when Carl T. Sprague recorded the first hit cowboy record ("When the Work's All Done This Fall") in 1925, the singing cowboy as we know him was born. A singing cowboy himself, Douglas B. Green (known as Ranger Doug of Grammy award-winning group 'Riders In The Sky') collected information & interviews on western music, films, & performers for 30 years. Green traced this history from early days of vaudeville and radio, thru the heyday of movie westerns before WWII, to the current revival. He offers careful analysis of the studio system that made some men, such as Gene Autry & Roy Rogers, famous and documents the role country music and regional TV stations played in carrying on the singing cowboy tradition after WW II. With unpublished photos & rare movie posters, including one from an all-Black western, 'Harlem on the Prairie' (1938). Close friendships with other singing cowboys and their families, provided Doug Green with rare insights into the ways that some cowboys became stars and others did not (such as Raoul Walsh, who lost his eye in a shooting accident, but later became a famous movie director). "Singing in the Saddle" is extensively written: the history of cowboy music is traced, from popular songs such as "Sweet Betsy from Pike" to instantly recognizable harmonies of the 'Sons of the Pioneers'; thoughts on when the famous yodel became ubiquitous part of the singing cowboy's repertoire; how imagery of the singing cowboy became a potent force that even todays' country musicians don cowboy hats to symbolically take part in the singing cowboy image. About fine condition. .