reviews · 05/24/2018

I’m noticing what appears to be a shift in my radio listening audience away from folks who enjoyed Saturday matinees as children, to those who came along a little later and only watched tv Westerns at home. At least, audience response has been hinting at that shift, and, given our changing demographics, specifically the natural aging process, the perception stands a good chance of being accurate. If that’s the case, Jasmine made a wise decision in releasing this new CD of 40 tv themes.         

Podcasts · 05/14/2018

This new release features 2 LPs on one CD. Both were from The 50 Guitars of Tommy Garrett series and both were arranged by Ernie Freeman and produced by Tommy “Snuff” Garrett in 1962. The musicians are a “who’s who” of guitarists and, while all are not identified individually, Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman were two of Garrett’s favorites and he called on them frequently. You may rest assured that “Snuff” always used top-notch talent for his recording sessions.       Initially, these two albums w

reviews · 05/05/2018

    On the 40th anniversary of the release of the highly successful film, Smokey & the Bandit, the Varese Sarabande label issued a CD of music from the soundtracks of  both the original film and its sequel, Smokey & the Bandit 2.  For Western music fans, the vital element in this release is that it includes “Ride Concrete Cowboy, Ride,” the last commercial recording made by Roy Rogers with the Sons of the Pioneers. It’s a record that was produced and co-written by Roy’s friend, Snuff Garrett.

reviews · 05/04/2018

In 1982, Warner Brothers released an all-Western LP by Rex Allen, Jr. to showcase “The Last of the Silver Screen Cowboys,” a song that included appearances by Rex Allen, Sr. and Roy Rogers, along with Rex, Jr. But the LP included much more, e.g. Rex Jr.’s co-composition, “Ride, Cowboy, Ride,” which became the theme song for Riders in the Sky for years, and has also been recorded and performed by many others over the years since Rex, Jr. recorded this definitive version. The Reinsmen sang with hi

reviews · 11/23/2017

With this August 2016 release, the British Archive of Country Music (BACM) has issued another CD I think should be in every Western music lover’s collection! This group’s recordings have been re-issued by a number of companies over the years, but this release is a little different in one very important respect. Most of the group’s output was on radio transcriptions and air checks, but the audio on the first releases of this material on CD often had little depth because of surface noise or backg

reviews · 11/20/2017

Unfortunately, I never met Les Anderson, but I did know his widow Betty, who used to come to WMA conventions in Albuquerque. When she offered to send me some of her late husband’s old cassettes, I had visions of rare treasures, because finding Les Anderson’s recordings wasn’t easy. When I opened the box that soon arrived in the mail, I was disappointed. There were lots of tapes that had belonged to Les, but they were cassettes he had taped, apparently with an old hand-held recorder, from radio b

reviews · 11/16/2017

Various artists: Jack Rivers, The Westerners, Foy Willing & the Riders of the Purple Sage, the Ranch Boys, Tex Owens, Texas Ruby, etc. In the 1930’s and 40’s artists recorded songs on large discs, exclusively for the use of radio stations across the country. It was a way to broaden the artists’ exposure while giving local stations material for eager audiences. Recording these discs was a challenge, because all of the songs on each side had to be recorded back-to-back, with no mistakes allowed. S

reviews · 11/14/2017

Merl Lindsay was working in California when Bob Wills suggested that he name his Western Swing band, the Oklahoma Night Riders. The name stuck, and they returned to Oklahoma City to record for a couple of labels in the late 40’s. There are other CDs around with many of the band’s commercial recordings, but this album contains previously unissued performances from demos and radio broadcasts, recorded 1948-1962. Lindsay’s “sound” doesn’t necessarily copy other greats in Western Swing, altho

reviews · 11/08/2017

“Everybody” knows Gene Autry was sometimes referred to as “The Christmas Cowboy.” This was because of his phenomenal success with his recordings of “Here Comes Santa Claus,” inspired when he heard the shouts of eager youngsters along the Christmas parade route, and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” a song he recorded in one take, almost as an afterthought, at the end of a session. These Christmas classics were recorded in 1947 & ’49, respectively. But most folks tend to forget that Gene had

reviews · 11/04/2017

Several Eddie Dean CDs have been available for a number of years, but this is the first time a collection of Eddie’s work with Andy Parker & the Plainsmen has been issued. In fact, many of us thought the commercial tracks The Plainsmen recorded with Dean for the Majestic label in 1947 had simply disappeared! So this CD fills a big gap in the Eddie Dean and Plainsmen libraries. Western film fans remember that Eddie Dean worked with Andy Parker & the Plainsmen in many of Dean’s films for PRC Pictu