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.