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(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 80.4.200.157 (talk) at 17:46, 30 March 2021 (→Notable and charting recordings: Added The Ramrods' version but I don't know how to add references, but they can be found on their page). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For the Slim Whitman album, see Ghost Riders in the Sky (album).
"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend"
Song
Published1948, Edwin H. Morris & Co Inc
ReleasedJune 5, 1948
GenreCountry, Western
Songwriter(s)Stan Jones

"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" is a cowboy-styled country/western song written in 1948 by American songwriter, film and television actor Stan Jones.[1]

A number of versions were crossover hits on the pop charts in 1949, the most successful being by Vaughn Monroe. The ASCAP database lists the song as "Riders in the Sky" (title code 480028324[2]), but the title has been written as "Ghost Riders", "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and "A Cowboy Legend". Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as the greatest Western song of all time.[3]

Overview

The song tells a folk tale of a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the spirits of damned cowboys. One warns him that if he does not change his ways, he will be doomed to join them, forever "trying to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies". The story has been linked with old European myths of the Wild Hunt, in which a supernatural group of hunters passes the narrator in wild pursuit.[4]

Stan Jones stated that he had been told the story when he was 12 years old by an old Native American who resided north-east of the Douglas, Arizona border town, a few miles behind D Hill, north of Agua Prieta, Sonora. The Native Americans, possibly Apache, who lived within Cochise County, believed that when souls vacate their physical bodies, they reside as spirits in the sky, resembling ghost riders. He related this story to Wayne Hester, a boyhood friend (later owner of the Douglas Cable Company). As both boys were looking at the clouds, Stan shared what the old Native American had told him, looking in amazement as the cloudy shapes were identified as the "ghost riders" that years later, would be transposed into lyrics.[1] The melody is based on the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".[5]

Hundreds of performers have recorded versions of the song. Charting versions were recorded by The Outlaws, Vaughn Monroe ("Riders in the Sky" with orchestra and vocal quartet), which topped the Billboard magazine charts, by Bing Crosby (with the Ken Darby Singers), Frankie Laine, Burl Ives (two different versions), Marty Robbins, The Ramrods and Johnny Cash.

Notable and charting recordings

References

  1. ^ a b "Stan Jones". Western Music Association. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  2. ^ "ACE Repertory". Ascap.com. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Ghost Riders In the Sky: The Wild Hunt and the Eternal Stampede", Esoterx.com, December 9, 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2019
  5. ^ "(Ghost) Riders In the Sky by The Outlaws Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 1949-05-14. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
  6. ^ Mercury 5320, The Internet Archive
  7. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940-1955. Record Research.
  8. ^ Number One Song of the Year: 1946-2013 Archived 2018-04-20 at the Wayback Machine, Bob Borst website
  9. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  10. ^ "Billboard Music Week Hot 100", Billboard, October 9, 1961. Accessed July 28, 2016.
  11. ^ "UK Official Chart: Shadows". Official Charts Company. 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  12. ^ "UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH THE CAROLYN SILLS COMBO". kurrentmusic.com. 2017-02-10. Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  13. ^ https://www.billboard.com/music/outlaws
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