One of the American West’s treasured contributions to the nation’s rich musical tapestry is the singing cowboy of the early 1900s. Entertainers such as Gene Autry and Roy Rogers perfected this archetype throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. But singing cowboys at the turn of the 20th century laid the groundwork. Although many of these performers hadn’t actually spent much time on a ranch, a select few pulled from real-life ranching experience and used it as inspiration for their careers.
Author Richard Carlin explained how this mysterious musical archetype affected the country’s view of the West in his book “Country Music: The People, Places, and Moments That Shaped the Country Sound.”
