Riders in the Sky

45 years ago, Ranger Doug, Too Slim and the late Windy Bill Collins played that first date on the bitter cold evening of November 11th, 1977 at Herr Harry’s Frank N’ Stein Rathskeller in Nashville. By August, Windy Bill left, Woody Paul joined, and the true professional beginning was at the Kentucky State Fair, where the trio played 10 days for $2500 – and bought their own rooms and meals!

A first wave followed, including appearances on Austin City Limits; recording contracts with Rounder, then MCA, then Columbia; guest appearances on the Grand Ole Opry leading to membership in 1982; and a three-year run on The Nashville Network with a TV show called Tumbleweed Theater, which led to a seven-year run on public radio with Riders Radio Theater. People Magazine ran a story which caught the eye of a Hollywood producer.

And so the second wave broke, sending the boys to Hollywood to star in Riders In The Sky on CBS for a year on Saturday mornings, introducing them to another generation. Pixar called and asked the quartet – by this time they had been joined by Joey the Cowpolka King – to sing a tune called “Woody’s Roundup” in Toy Story 2. Thus, the third wave began, highlighted by a number of projects for Disney including two albums, both of which won Grammy Awards!

The creation of satellite radio gave them a new platform, the award-winning Classic Cowboy Corral on SiriusXM.

Co-sponsored by the Bon Agency/Des & Carrie Bennion Family, the Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, and KUYO. Partial funding is from the Wyoming Community Foundation – Casper Area and the Wyoming Arts Council through the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wyoming State Legislature.