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Spring, 2008
Suggestions and submissions are welcome: CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133
To borrow a phrase: "'Covering' is the sincerest form of flattery." Les Buffham and Michael Fleming have certainly been flattered by the number of people who have covered their song, "Below the Kinney Rim," including New West, Craig Chambers, Belinda Gail, Butch Falk, George Dickey, Trails and Rails, STAMPEDE!, and others. "Below the Kinney Rim" received the Western Music Association's 1997 "Song of the Year" award and the Academy of Western Artists’ 1998 “Song of the Year” award.
Les Buffham has received numerous other awards and tributes, and is the current WMA Male Poet of the Year. That poetic talent has led him to many collaborations with other top songwriters and singers. His recent album, Writes & Co-Writes, showcases the results with selections such as "Spin That Pony" (Dave Stamey), "Queen of Diamonds" (Jean Prescott), "Eyes of a Windmill Man" (Kip Calahan), "Woman of the Wind" (the late Paul Hendel), "Amigo" (Belinda Gail), and others.
Michael Fleming, one of today's most respected songwriters, is known for his incisive, innovative compositions. He's a popular performer, most recently associated with the group, New West, and just back from solo performances at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Mike's songwriting has earned him awards from the Western Music Association and the Academy of Western Artists. He also heads the annual Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival.
Conversations with Les and Mike uncovered some of the unique ingredients that account for their success in collaborating in general, and for the popularity of "Below the Kinney Rim" in particular. Since both are articulate and engaging storytellers, it's a pleasure to let them tell their own stories.
Les describes what inspired the piece: "'Below the Kinney Rim' was conceived in 1993 when I was traveling to Montana to see my daughter and my first grandchild. I had just left the old ranch in Colorado where I grew up. I'd stopped for a visit with my aunt and uncle, who were running the ranch at that time.
"I was passing through Wyoming, headed north on Highway 430, about ten miles past the Colorado line, when I noticed a high mesa far to the east. Immediately, I knew it was the Kinney Rim, and it began to bring back memories. One in particular was from when I was about five, on a trip to Wyoming with my parents and Uncle Kirk.
"My uncle was getting up in years and had a severe hearing problem and he spoke rather loudly at times. He had been gazing intently out the passenger window when he suddenly raised himself up over the front seat, pointed to the east and declared to my folks, 'There's the Kinney Rim!' Well, I went to lookin' for it, but when Mom and Dad didn't pay him any attention, he reared up over the seat and this time he really bellered it out, 'THERE'S THE KINNEY RIM!' I don't know why but that sure struck me funny and I had a laughin' fit.
"That's what I was remembering that day some fifty years later. Then I began to wonder what my uncle, who had been quite a wild horse runner in his day, would think if he could see that range, now devoid of the wild horses it had held some years before. My Dad told me stories about how Kirk would strike out with salt and pepper and rice and beans and get on the trail of those wild ones and stay with them for days. He would rope a few, hobble them, or tie them to a tree if there was one available. After he had captured what he figured he could handle, he would back track and pick them up.
"I let those words, 'the Kinney Rim,' roll off of my tongue a few times. I liked the ring of them and began to put the lyrics together. The next spring, I showed them to Mike Fleming. He grabbed on to them and the rest is history."
Mike Fleming met Les at a California music festival in the early 1990s. Mike tells, "At that point I hadn't been collaborating with anyone, but I immediately liked his poetry and afterward made a point of speaking with him. We decided to get together and exchange ideas. It proved to be a great writing partnership.”
Mike has collaborated with others, but tends to be a solitary writer. He says, "I tend to lock myself in an emotional room and write alone, but Les is one person I feel comfortable working with. In later collaborations, I would write melodies and partial lyrics and Les would come in and finish the ideas, many times put the winning touch to the lyrics. In retrospect, I think we did some good work together and I'm proud of it.
"Les is humble enough to allow the songwriter to change or edit his words. That's not an easy thing to do. He also has a gift for storytelling that is hard to match. He knows poetic structure. He writes in a conversational style that lends well to songs. I've always felt that song lyrics should be conversational. You should be able to speak them and have them flow naturally.
"Another talent Les has is something I've always tried to achieve, and that's economy of words. With songwriting, it's important to leave a little room for the listener to fill in the blanks. You don't necessarily have to give every detail. You can paint in broad strokes and let the music and the listener's imagination complete the story."
"Below the Kinney Rim" has a chicken-and-egg aspect. Which came first, the poem or the song? Mike Fleming says that it was a complete poem when Les first brought it to him. He comments, "There were very few actual changes. When I write melodies I tend to follow a musical pattern, stretch it, and see how it comes out on the other end. With 'Below the Kinney Rim,' I just flipped some phrases to fit the melody I was creating, especially in the last two lines of the chorus, which took it out of rhyme and meter, but worked. Sometimes you get lucky."
Les says that he conceived the words as a song, and after Mike set it to music he began to think of it also as a piece to be performed as a poem. He has recorded it in that form on his album of the same name, Below the Kinney Rim (produced by Dave Stamey). Each singer who has covered the song has his own interpretation, and the lyrics have the expected, slight variations across renditions.
Below is the version that Les Buffham performs as a poem. The captivating story, the poem's careful crafting, and the economy of words confirm Michael Fleming's comments about Les Buffham's talents, and the powerful poem makes clear the reasons for the popularity of the award-winning, often-covered piece.
Below the Kinney Rim
Hey Sam, do you remember a long time ago
when we rode together where the Wyomin' winds blow
set high on a ridge top, there just you and me
and watched the wild horses that were runnin' free
When it was jerky and coffee about half alkali
and a biscuit or two that we downed on the fly
Oh that old mustang fever sure ran in our veins
and it seemed liked the devil was a-holdin' the reins
Now I'm chasin' old memories o'er trails that's grown dim
through the cedars and piñons below that old Kinney Rim
when it was just you and me and them mustangs
there in the blue shadows below that old Kinney Rim.
We'd rope them old broomies and hobble them fast
and then back on the trail until the very last
of our daylight had faded and then bed on the ground
get up before daybreak, and go one more round
Now Sam them old ponies are just about gone
there's a few left like us that are still holdin' on
One of these days well they'll catch the last one
I reckon by then we'll have finished our run.
And it'll just be those memories and trails grown dim
through the cedars and piñons below that old Kinney Rim
where it was just you and me and them mustangs
there in the blue shadows below that old Kinney Rim
© 1993, Les Buffham, All rights reserved
Cowboy Poetry Books and Recordings Roundup
Following are just some of the recent cowboy poetry releases received at CowboyPoetry.com in recent months:Recordings
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three is the latest annual compilation of classic and contemporary cowboy poetry issued by CowboyPoetry.com and the Center for Western and Cowboy Poetry. There are 26 tracks by today’s top poets and reciters, along with vintage classics by the late Buck Ramsey and by Robert Service (a rare 1948 recording of his “The Cremation of Sam McGee”). The CD goes to libraries in the Center’s outreach Rural Library Project as a part of Cowboy Poetry Week activities. The CD is available for $20 postpaid from CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133; www.cowboypoetry.com.
Rimrock—Where Memories Rhyme is Utah poet and rancher Paul Kern’s “hopelessly romantic cowboy poetry.” The serious and humorous autobiographical poems are arranged starting with his earliest memories on horseback, and accompanied by music performed by Shaun Harris Studios, with Crawford Gates’ arrangement of "As Evening Sets on the Yellowstone" sung by Cliff Cole. The CD is available for $12 plus postage; www.paulkern.com.
Blazin’ Bloats & Cows on FIRE! is a double-CD set from America's best-known cowboy poet, Baxter Black. Filled with cowboy poetry and tall tales—some taken from his book by the same name and some never-before-recorded Baxter Black classics—the publisher notes, “The title should give you a clue that it's not about the lonesome pine, the Red River Valley or the cattle call, unless they are on fire, flooded or stampeding like lemmings!” The CD is available for $24.95 plus postage; www.baxterblack.com.
Poems from the Porch Swing from Texas poet Bob Upchurch is described as "country poetry with a spiritual twist." Bits of wisdom, "more truth than poetry," are sprinkled between the ten original poems. The CD, recorded and produced by Waynetta Ausmus, is available for $15 postpaid from Bob Upchurch, 2288 County Road 2998, Windom, Texas 75492; www.boisdarcacres.com.
Books
Somewhere in the West by Texas poet and writer Linda Kirkpatrick is the second in a semi-annual chapbook series (Volume 2, No. 1, January 2008). Carrying on the title from her award-winning collection of stories and poems, the chapbooks’ topics “ are devoted to the history of the West and those who played an important role in making it," This volume includes a feature story, "The Mysterious Yellow Rose of Texas," which explores the history of the famous song and its place in Texas history, with engravings and a bibliography. The chapbook is available for $7.00 postpaid each from Linda Kirkpatrick at Frontier Books, P.O. Box 128, Leakey, Texas 78873; www.lindakirkpatrick.net.
My Father’s Horses by Montana ranch hand, poet, songwriter, and singer DW Groethe is a chapbook collection of 30 recent poems A frequent participant at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, he has performed his poetry and songs at events across the West, and at the Library of Congress and Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. His previous book, West River Waltz, received the Will Rogers Medallion Award. The chapbook is available for $15 postpaid from D. W. Groethe, PO Box 144, Bainville, MT 59212; 406/769-2312; www.cowboypoetry.com/dwgroethe.htm.
Tracks That Won’t Blow Out, the collected poetry of the late, respected poet Ray Owens (1934-2007) also includes illustrations and photographs. Poets Rolf Flake, Red Steagall, and Joel Nelson add their endorsements for their friend Ray Owens' work. The book is available for $25 plus postage by mail from Verna Owens, 1305 E. Castleberry Road, Artesia, NM 88210; or phone 575-746-3694; or on line from www.cowboyminer.com.
Les Buffham Photo by Jack Hummel
Read more about Les Buffham here.
Michael Fleming Photo by Jeri Dobrowski;
Read more about Michael Fleming here.
Winter, 2008
Suggestions and submissions are welcome: CowboyPoetry.com, PO Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133
It’s no surprise that one of the best recent anthems to cowboy life, “Here’s Looking at You,” comes from a man who has spent most of his life in the saddle. How it came to be recorded did involve a few surprises.
A stirring paean to the trail-driving cowboy, “Here’s Looking at You,” recorded by Don Edwards on his Saddle Songs II, Last of the Troubadours, was written by top poet and respected horseman Joel Nelson. With that rare, timeless quality of taking the listener back in time while staying firmly rooted in the present, the song only enhances the sweep of the cowboy heritage. Like Michael Burton’s “The Night Rider’s Lament,” it resonates with so many of today’s cowboys’ shared sense of having been born more than a hundred years too late, and leaves no question about what inspires a modern cowboy to follow the challenging, iconoclastic trail.
While “Here’s Looking at You” came from the pen of an extraordinary poet, it emerged as a song, not a poem. No one was more surprised than Don Edwards, who tells of his friendly skepticism when Joel Nelson told him he had written a song that he wanted Don to hear. Don admits he was thinking “A song? Joel’s a poet,” and before he knew it, Joel had another surprise: he pulled out his guitar. Don says, “I’ve known Joel for twenty-five years, and I didn’t know he played the guitar.” His expectations weren’t high. He went from skeptic to believer quickly.
What followed was what Don describes as a song of “marvelous purity, akin to the works of Don Hedgpeth, JB Allen, Badger Clark, Bruce Kiskaddon,” writers able to make words with “a hundred years wrapped into now.” Don says that he couldn’t get the song out of his mind, and he soon was in touch with Joel to talk about working with the song, saying that he didn’t want to do anything to take away from the near-perfect words. Don's skillful arrangement makes it impossible to imagine any other tune working with the inspired lyrics.
Known for his care in all of his work--with horses as well as words--Joel Nelson had honed the lyrics before Don heard them. His original title was “The Prototypes,” and the handwritten first draft, written on a manila envelope, gives a telling view into how much of his own life and experiences are a part of the song. The first line in the recorded song is “You rode the Goodnight-Loving.” On the original draft, it is written first as, “I rode the …” and then penciled in as “We rode the..” But, as the lyrics go on, even in the first draft, fewer of them are changed. You can see that once the idea took hold, the story flowed. And it flows, likewise, from the voice and guitar of Don Edwards, gripping listeners and leaving them with the lasting echoes of its rich message, strong and true.
Joel says that he began working on the song right after the Western Folklife Center’s National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada in 2001. He said that “As often happens, I leave Elko full of inspiration. It is the catalyst that makes inspiration come into fruition.” He says that he wanted to pay tribute to and to recognize writers such as Charlie Siringo, Andy Adams, “Teddy Blue” Abbott, and Larry McMurtry.
The last lines of the song were inspired by the passage by T. K. Whipple that introduces Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, “All America lies at the end of the wilderness road, and our past is not a dead past, but still lives in us. Our forefathers had civilization inside themselves, the wild outside. We live in the civilization they created, but within us the wilderness still lingers. What they dreamed, we live, and what they lived, we dream.”
The song reflects Joel Nelson’s working life, expressing his spirit and that of the many others who’ve taken their individual stand as cowboys and ranchers, choosing a life that might be hard to explain to many in today’s world, but never to those who live it:
It was a poor way to make a living
And you threatened to quit—but then
When the herd bedded down at the shank of evenin’
You knew you’d do it over ag’in
Through the thick and the thin
You’d do it ag’inTo all those keeping that life alive and sharing their stories in poetry and music, here’s looking at you.
Here’s Looking at You
You rode the Goodnight-Loving
Went up the Chisholm too
You trailed three thousand to Kansas City
And you wintered with Teddy Blue
Here’s looking at you
Here’s looking at youYou rode with Ranger Goodnight
You helped him tame the land
You learned the Llano Estacado
Just as well as the back of your hand
When you rode for the brand
You rode for the brandYou’ve been three times to Sedalia
With a cook and six-man crew
You came dang near losing the herd and your hair
To a passel of renegade Sioux
But you saw it through
You saw it throughAnd you courted the dancehall beauties
‘Till they picked your pockets clean
If it happened once you let it happen twice
Up in Dodge and Abilene
And places between
Every place in betweenFrom a heat wave in Palo Pinto
To the frostbite on Raton Pass
You looseherded cattle through a Southwestern drought
In the quest for water and grass
Alack and alas
Huntin’ water and grassThen you trailed home the fittest survivors
When the word came of late summer rain
And you reveled in respite for weary riders
And three pounds a day in gain
The respite of rain
And three pounds of gainYou drove ‘em up to Montana
Over rivers swollen outta the bank
You started out helping the wrangler’s helper
But you rise right up through the rank
Through the dark and the dank
You rose through the rankIt was a poor way to make a living
And you threatened to quit—but then
When the herd bedded down at the shank of evenin’
You knew you’d do it over ag’in
Through the thick and the thin
You’d do it ag’inNow a half-dozen generations
Have mourned your passin’ on
But you were just startin’ what still isn’t over
And your spirit saddles up in the dawn
For you are not gone
No you are not goneWe see you in the Steeldust
In the spark flyin' offfa the show
Maybe we are here livin' what you never dreamed of
But you lived what we never know
Here's looking at you
Here's looking at youHere's looking at you—Cowboy
Here's looking at you.
© Copyright 2001, Joel Nelson, Night Horse Songs, BMI, All Rights Reserved
Cowboy Poetry Books and Recordings Roundup
Following are just some of the recent cowboy poetry releases received at CowboyPoetry.com in recent months:
Recordings
Pieces of the Past, from South Dakota's Yvonne Hollenbeck—WMA Top Female Poet for 2006 and 2007--pays tribute to the lives of pioneer women. Songs from award-winning Texas singer and songwriter Jean Prescott are interwoven with the poetry, including "How Far is Lonesome" (from a poem by Yvonne Hollenbeck) which won them the 2006 WMA Best Collaboration of Poet and Musician award. The CD is available for $18.50 postpaid from Yvonne Hollenbeck, 30549 291st Street, Clearfield, South Dakota 57580, 605/557-3559; www.YvonneHollenbeck.com.
Pat Richardson Strikes Again with Duckin' the Law and Many More is the latest from Pat Richardson, the wildly popular “bad bay of cowboy poetry,” a collection of 16 previously unrecorded original poems (including two by his brother, Jess Howard, and one of the brothers’ collaborations). The CD is available for $18 postpaid from Pat Richardson; 562 Breeze Avenue; Merced, California 95348; 209/722-4612; www.PatRichardson.com.
Ranchin’ Rhymes is Minnesota rancher Diane Tribitt’s second CD, with 16 tracks (14 originals as well as two recited classic poems by James Whilt) as well as one song track as an introduction to a cowboy friend( Paul Larson) from South Dakota performing “The One I Never Could Ride” by R. W. Hampton. The CD is available for $18 postpaid from Diane Tribitt, 38034 193rd Street, Hillman, MN 56338, 320-277-3389; www.DianeTribitt.com.
Five Silver Dollars is Californian Jim Cardwell’s "music, poetry, and opinion." The CD, his second, includes six songs (five original) and five original poems. The CD is available for $14 postpaid from Froggie Lane Productions, PO Box 5282, Oroville, CA 95966; onecowboypoet@dcsi.net.
Potbellied Pete & Luley Belle from Colorado poet Nona Kelley Carver is a series of 17 poems about the bunk house cook and the local school marm, which was originally printed as a serial story in the Plateau Valley Times. When the Cowboys Came for Christmas, her inspirational Christmas CD has 17 poems of faith. Each CD is available for $16 postpaid from Carver Country Poetry, P.O. Box 115, Mesa, CO 81643.
Books
Rancher: Photographs of the American West is a collection of striking photographs by Carl Corey, accompanied by the poetry of South Dakota rancher Robert Dennis, with an introduction by respected writer, editor, poet, and ranchwoman Linda Hasselstrom. View some of the book's images at www.vpphotogallery.com/corey_rancher.htm and find order information at the publisher's web site, www.bunkerhillpublishing.com.
Poems Across the Big Sky: An Anthology of Montana Poets, edited by Lowell Jaeger, includes cowboy poets Paul Zarzyski, Wallace McRae, Gwen Petersen, and Henry Real Bird. The diverse collection is available for $16 from Flathead Community College Bookstore, 777 Grandview Drive Kalispell, Montana 59901; www.fvccbookstore.com.
Twisted Vignettes: Poems and Photographs by Montana poet, songwriter, and photographer John Reedy collects his work in a companion volume to his CD by the same name, which showcases his fresh Americana music, with original songs and renditions of songs by Merle Haggard, Tom Russell and Paul Zarzyski and others. The book is available for $13.00 postpaid (and a Limited Edition Set of the CD and book is available for $25.00 postpaid) from www.TwistedCowboy.com.
Old Trees ‘n Tumbleweeds, Texas poet Rod Nichols’ third book of poetry, includes both thoughtful and humorous poems about cowboys and cowboy life, with a foreword by South Dakota broadcaster Jim Thompson. The book is available for $16.95 postpaid from www.geocities.com/rodnichols.geo/cover.html or from Rod Nichols, P.O. Box 215, 6140 Hwy. 6, Missouri City, TX 77459.
Don Edwards Photo by Donald Kallaus
Read more about Don Edwards here.
Joel Nelson Photo by Kevin Martini-Fuller
Read more about Joel Nelson here.
Fall, 2007
It's hot.
In their sizzling electric performances of "El Fuego," Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail ignite the passion of poet Virginia Bennett's poetry. The result of this collaboration goes beyond words, music, and instruments. Listeners experience something intense, and "other-worldly," as they are held under the spell of stunningly powerful and skillful instrumentals and forcefully delivered lyrics. Steamy words are set afire.
A great collaboration between a poet and a songwriter transcends "art" and "craft," and the best go beyond a good combination of story and talent. In the case of "El Fuego," the exceptional result was blessed by the writers' special bonds of friendship and respect for each other's work. And, there was another ingredient: an inexplicable magic.
Poet Virginia Bennett and songwriter Curly Musgrave reveal some of the magic and their friendship as they comment on their collaboration that resulted in the heralded song, which is nominated by the Western Music Association in 2007 as the Best Collaboration Between a Poet and Musician.
Noted writer and horsewoman Virginia Bennett tells how she wrote the poem some years ago while working on a ranch in Twisp, Washington. She explains, "I listened to a recording of passionate music from a Mexican guitar. The music seemed to pulse through my pen as I wrote. Easily recognizable in the back of my mind somewhere was my childhood dream horse, "Fury"...It didn't take much to imagine a mare who would be his equal. Not a mare who would bend to his will, but one who also demanded that her own desires 'would not be denied.'"
She adds, "I always wanted a true musician to try and find a song within these lyrics. I played and sang this song for years as something slow, sexy, with simple music, 3/4 time and two chords. Possibly seven years after I wrote 'El Fuego,' I thought of my friend Curly Musgrave and his ability to create intellectual music, his grace with the Spanish language, and his partnership with Belinda Gail. For if anyone is perfect to play and sing the part of the palomino mare, 'La Luz de Oro,' it is Belinda."
Here's Virginia Bennett's original poem:
EL FUEGO
Each night he comes to the ridgetop
Overlooking the rancho below.
Sparks fly from his hooves, dark and flashing,
And lightning reflects in the blaze of his coat.
The hot wind carries his summons
To the mare of the wife of the rancho's patron.
With wild eyes, she paces the fenceline
As her answers ring off that rocky caňon.
He's on fire, and the Mexican sunset
Gleams in the sweat of his chestnut hide.
Ann they call him El Fuego de Sonora.
For they know his desires will not be denied.
His sire escaped Pancho Villa
And his dam once served in Zapata's band.
He was born on el Cinco de Mayo
Never once has he known man's cruel, iron brand.
And the mare of the wealthy Seňora
Has won all the races down Fiesta's lanes
Warhorses of the conquistadores,
Their blood courses through her hot, royal veins.
She's on fire, and the Mexican sunrise
Gleams in the sweat of her golden hide
And they call her La Luz de Oro
For they know her desires will not be denied.
On the eve of the summer solstice
El Fuego calls to that palomino mare.
And she flies to obey his every command
No corral on earth could hold her down there.
Now, on cool nights, out on the desert,
He races the wind with the mare at his side.
With blood-soaked flanks, their teeth slashing,
They're out there tonight for the angels to ride.
They're on fire, and the Mexican sunset
Gleams in the sweat of his chestnut hide.
And they call him El Fuego de Sonora
For they know his desires will not be denied.
© Virginia Bennett, All rights reserved
Curly Musgrave shares his experience in working with Virginia Bennett's words and comments on the resulting song being "... a wonderful model of what poet/musician/performer collaborations are capable of.”
He comments, “ There are certainly other models around, but I think 'El Fuego' is as good as any. An intriguing notion for me to entertain is that neither of us, individually, could have produced the sum total of what the song is. Like Virginia said, she'd played it with her melody for a few years...I've written some good songs with good melodies and performed them...Belinda and I have had some dynamic songs to sing and been recognized for that...
"I had a sense of the potential when Virginia sent me the poem but wasn't sure if I was the one to pull it off. I put something together at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko for her to hear as a starting point (with me singing as El Fuego) and she liked it, but even as I read the poem, Belinda came to mind as an embodiment of the mare and I knew we could do something impressive with it, but again wasn't sure what the evolution would look like. With a minor tweak or two, the poem was set up as the personification of El Fuego and La Luz De Oro and it just fell into place.
"Both Belinda and I busted our butts with our respective guitar parts in live performance, but putting that 'sweat' into it, brings the musical passion the horses inspire. I think Virginia might have been a bit concerned that the personification might put it 'over the top' for some listeners, but when she heard it, I think those concerns disappeared and it evolved into what it is, a phenomenally passionate and articulate piece."
In an essay, "Fine Lines," at CowboyPoetry.com, respected poet and writer Rod Miller comments that the poem "...demonstrates its writer’s expertise with sensuousness...Virginia Bennett forces you to fan yourself to ward off the heat, squint in the glare of the searing light, even wrinkle your nose at the stench of sizzling sulphur..."
Curly comments, "If it were just my own composition and performance, I certainly wouldn't put the words, 'Western masterpiece' to it, but as the collaboration it has become—in my view as a life-long songwriter—it lays down about as well as a song can, from its inspired poem through the music and the performance. I'm so delighted and proud to be connected to it and honored that Virginia would entrust me with her wonderful poem. She certainly deserves to be recognized for her work with it as well as for the body of work she has contributed to the genre. I think history will see it, and her, as very significant."
An American Cowboy magazine CD review by Mark Bedor pronounced “El Fuego” a "standout." "El Fuego" is on Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail's Red Rock Moon CD ($17 postpaid from Curly J. Productions, PO Box 512, Lake Arrowhead, CA 92352). "El Fuego" is in Virginia Bennett's most recent poetry collection, In the Company of Horses ($18.95 postpaid from Virginia Bennett, PO Box 268, Goldendale, WA 98620).
Read more about Virginia Bennett and Curly Musgrave and Belinda Gail at CowboyPoetry.com (see links below).
Cowboy Poetry Books and Recordings Roundup
Following are some of the recent cowboy poetry releases received at CowboyPoetry.com in past months:
Recordings
To Be a Top Hand from Georgie Sicking, cowboy (a term she prefers), rancher, poet, National Cowgirl Hall of Fame Inductee, and Western treasure, includes fifteen of her original poems, and Gail I. Gardner's classic, "Moonshine Steer." Now 86, Georgie Sicking was invited to the first National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and returns there in 2008, having made many appearances in between. The CD, produced and recorded by Andy Nelson, is available for $18 postpaid from Georgie Sicking, PO Box 11, Kaycee, WY 82639.
Make Me a Cowboy Again for a Day from poet, traditional reciter, and storyteller Ross Knox' includes classics and his original poetry, an impressive showcase of the best of his enormous repertoire. Cowboy, farrier, and mule packer Ross Knox was an invited performer to the first National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1985, has been featured over twenty times since, and returns there in 2008. The CD is available from Ross Knox, 3693 South Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ 85730 520-260-9121.
Montana Legacy by Sandy Seaton includes 13 original poems, some accompanied by her vocals. She has cowboyed, driven four-up stagecoaches in Yellowstone, and now she and her husband run a wilderness and ranch outfitting business and raise and train hound dogs, horses, and mules. Sandy has been an invited to the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering many times and will return in 2008. The CD is available for $17 postpaid from: Sandy Seaton, P.O. Box 117, Emigrant, MT 59027; (406) 222-7455; www.blackmountainoutfitters.com
Spreadin’ Sunshine from popular Utah poet Brenda “Sam” De Leeuw includes 16 original poems. The CD's photography is by Lori Faith Merritt. Sam is nominated in 2007 as Best Female Poet by the Western Music Association. The CD is available for $18 postpaid from Sam DeLeeuw, 510 West 500 South, Manti, Utah 84642; 435-835-8662.
A Country Kid Looks Back by Monty Moncrief Teel includes his recitation of poetry co-written by James Terry. An additional CD by the same name includes the soundtrack from the poetry CD, which includes top musicians Dave Alexander, Ginny Mac, Devon Dawson, and others. Each CD is available for $20 postpaid from Monty Moncrief Teel, PO Box 992, Euless, TX 76039.
Books
Somewhere in the West, by Texas poet and writer Linda Kirkpatrick is the first in a series of semi-annual chapbooks "dedicated to the history of the West." Each includes a feature story accompanied by a bibliography and vintage photos; original and classic poetry, and a list of rare, old, and out-of-print books and more available from her Frontier Book Store. Linda Kirkpatrick makes her first invited appearance at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 2008. The chapbook is available for $7.00 postpaid from Linda Kirkpatrick at Frontier Books, P.O. Box 128, Leakey, Texas 78873.
There…Just Over the Ridge from poet Byrd Woodward includes 18 original poems, most inspired by the Idaho cow ranch where she grew up, and from the stories of her parents and their pioneering forebears. The chapbook is available for $8.00 postpaid from Byrd Woodward, 17412 Bob White Rd., Mayer, AZ 86333.
Cowboy Dust from Jack Griner includes poetry that is "...a city boy's rendition with a cowboy's point of view" about his experiences as a young man doing farm and ranch work in Iowa and South Dakota. The book is available for $17.99 plus postage from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The Incomplete Works of Woody Woodruff, World-Wide Unknown Poet from Woody Woodruff includes over 20 original poems, and a poem from the family's next generation of writers, his granddaughter Alexia Woodruff. In 2005, Woody was named Cowboy Poet of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists. The book is available for $14.95 postpaid from Woody Woodruff, 983 Pike Lane, Centerville, TN 37033.
Virginia Bennett
Wylie Gustafson
Paradise
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