History of the Singing Cowboy

The 1930s, '40s and '50s saw the rise of a uniquely American performer: the Singing Cowboy in film, on TV and in radio. "Singing cowboys" grew out of real cowboys and traveling cowboy acts who portrayed the romance of the frontier to towns across America. Songbooks of cowboy ballads had begun to appear during the Civil War years, while ongoing westward expansion fuelled popular imagination of the lonesome cowboy taming the West. Joining host Larry Mantle is a modern singing cowboy, Douglas B. Green, author of Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy (Vanderbilt University Press). Mr. Green, also known as "Ranger Doug" is a modern-day singing cowboy with the Grammy Award-winning group "Riders in the Sky."

The 1930s, '40s and '50s saw the rise of a uniquely American performer: the Singing Cowboy in film, on TV and in radio. "Singing cowboys" grew out of real cowboys and traveling cowboy acts who portrayed the romance of the frontier to towns across America. Songbooks of cowboy ballads had begun to appear during the Civil War years, while ongoing westward expansion fuelled popular imagination of the lonesome cowboy taming the West. Joining host Larry Mantle is a modern singing cowboy, Douglas B. Green, author of Singing in the Saddle: The History of the Singing Cowboy (Vanderbilt University Press). Mr. Green, also known as "Ranger Doug" is a modern-day singing cowboy with the Grammy Award-winning group "Riders in the Sky."