Officially re-formed on 18 August 1981, the Range Riders emerged from the western music and singing cowboy era of the early 1930s. There have been many versions of this group over the years. Range Riders have been included with the Singing Cowboy Groups http://www.b-westerns.com/singing3.htm One of their members, Roland Fraser, 91, has been involved with this group since the 1940s. The Range Riders' Anniversary concert in 2011 was Roland Fraser's last event with the group before retiring.
Range Riders represent many decades of musical history, beginning in the 1930s and ranging to the present day. But, for the past 32 years, the group has been sustained by the Hanna family, which has carried on the musical tradition over three decades. Phyllis was a dominant member of the group.
The Range Riders introduced a blend of western harmonies coupled with country styles to form a signature sound known as "cowboy music".
According to an article By Johnny Meza, for the Desert Entertainer, Jesse, who plays piano and guitar, handles the lead singing chores along with warming up the audience before the show with some comedy and great one-liners. Missing from the group was their recently departed father Jesse, guitarist and singer, whose influence is still wonderfully evident.
Mother Phyllis Hanna sings and plays rhythm guitar, sister Nokomis plays bass, brother David plays drums, another sister, Rosanell, sings and long time friend 'Uncle' Roland Fraser sings and plays the lead guitar.
The Range Riders show features a wide variety of music. From Country to Rock and Roll, ballads and cowboy infused Gospel. They also feature a guest artist every month and recently, vocalist extraordinaire June Wade put on a performance that garnered several standing ovations.
Phyllis Hanna, 32-year veteran performer with the country/gospel group Range Riders, died from recovery complications following surgeries for a dissected aorta Monday, Oct. 7, 2013, at the age of 79. She was a lifetime resident of California and a 35-year resident of Sky Valley.
Gospel music is a genre of Christian music. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is composed and performed for many purposes, including aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, and as an entertainment product for the marketplace. Gospel music usually has dominant vocals with Christian lyrics. Gospel music can be traced to the early 17th century, with roots in the black oral tradition. Hymns and sacred songs were often repeated in a call and response fashion. Most of the churches relied on hand clapping and foot stomping as rhythmic accompaniment. Most of the singing was done a cappella. The first published use of the term "gospel song" probably appeared in 1874. The original gospel songs were written and composed by authors such as George F. Root, Philip Bliss, Charles H. Gabriel, William Howard Doane, and Fanny Crosby. Gospel music publishing houses emerged. The advent of radio in the 1920s greatly increased the audience for gospel music. Following World War II, gospel music moved into major auditoriums, and gospel music concerts became quite elaborate.
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as traditional music, traditional folk music, contemporary folk music, or roots music. Many traditional songs have been sung within the same family or folk group for generations, and sometimes trace back to such origins as Great Britain, Europe, or Africa. Musician Mike Seeger once famously commented that the definition of American folk music is "...all the music that fits between the cracks."
Yodeling is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word yodel is derived from the German word jodeln, meaning "to utter the syllable jo". This vocal technique is used in many cultures worldwide.
The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music performers and remained popular through the years. Since 1933, through many changes in membership, the Sons of the Pioneers have remained one of the longest-surviving country music vocal groups.
Riders in the Sky is an American Western music and comedy group which began performing in 1977, having made more than 8,000 live appearances through 2019. The band has released more than 40 full length albums, starred in a self-titled television series on CBS lasting two seasons, wrote and starred in an NPR syndicated radio drama Riders Radio Theater, and appeared in television series and films including as featured contributors to Ken Burns' Country Music. Their family-friendly style also appeals to children, exemplified in their recordings for Disney and Pixar. They have won two Grammy Awards and have written and performed music for major motion pictures, including "Woody's Roundup" from Toy Story 2 and Pixar's short film, For the Birds. The band also recorded full length companion albums for Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.
The Statler Brothers were an American country music, gospel, and vocal group. The quartet was formed in 1955 performing locally and, in 1964, they began singing backup for Johnny Cash until 1972.
Western music is a form of country and hillbilly music composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Western music celebrates the lifestyle of the cowboy on the open ranges, Rocky Mountains, and prairies of Western North America. Directly related musically to old English, Irish, Scottish, and folk ballads, also the Mexican folk music of Northern Mexico and Southwestern United States influenced the development of this genre, particularly corrido, ranchera, New Mexico and Tejano. Western music shares similar roots with Appalachian music, which developed around the same time throughout Appalachia and the Appalachian Mountains. The music industry of the mid-20th century grouped the two genres together under the banner of country and western music, later amalgamated into the modern name, country music.
Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the Southeastern United States whose lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. Sometimes known as "quartet music" for its traditional "four men and a piano" set up, southern gospel has evolved over the years into a popular form of music across the United States and overseas, especially among baby boomers and those living in the Southern United States. Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of southern gospel varies according to culture and social context. It is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or as an entertainment product for the marketplace.
Christian country music is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music. Christian country music is a form of Christian music and a subgenre of both Gospel music and Country music.
The Blackwood Brothers are an American southern gospel quartet. Pioneers of the Christian music industry, they are 8-time Grammy Award winners in addition to winning 7 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards. They are also members of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame.
John Daniel Sumner was an American gospel singer, songwriter, and music promoter noted for his bass voice, and his innovation in the Christian and Gospel music fields. Sumner sang in five quartets and was a member of the Blackwood Brothers during their 1950s heyday. Aside from his incredibly low bass voice, Sumner's business acumen helped promote Southern Gospel and move it into the mainstream of American culture and music during the '50s and '60s.
James Webre Blackwood was an American gospel singer and one of the founding members of legendary Southern Gospel quartet The Blackwood Brothers. He is the only person in any field of music to have been nominated for a Grammy Award for 28 consecutive years. He received 31 total nominations and won 9 Grammy Awards.
Gordon James Gano is an American musician widely known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter of American folk punk band Violent Femmes.
The Imperials are an American Christian music group that has been active for over 55 years. Originating as a southern gospel quartet, the innovative group would become pioneers of contemporary Christian music in the 1960s. There have been many changes for the band in membership and musical styles over the years. They would go on to win four Grammys, 15 Dove Awards and be inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
The Statesmen Quartet were an American southern gospel music group founded in 1948 by Baptist Minister Hovie Lister. Along with the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen Quartet were considered the most successful and influential gospel quartet of the 1950s and 1960s and had a wide influence on artists during that time from the gospel, country, pop, and rock and roll genre. Along with hits spanning many decades, The Statesmen Quartet had many notable successes including being the first Gospel group to receive endorsement deals. Additionally, they made television commercials, appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, and were signed to RCA Victor before launching their own record label, Skylite Records, with The Blackwood Brothers.
The Happy Goodman Family, is a Southern gospel group that was founded in the 1940s by Howard "Happy" Goodman and performed together for several decades. The Happy Goodmans achieved significant popularity in the 1960s. In 1968, they won the first Grammy Award to be awarded for a gospel album by a gospel group.
A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films, popularized by many of the B-movies of the 1930s and 1940s. The typical singing cowboys were white-hat-wearing, clean-shaven heroes with the habit of showing their emotions in song.
Douglas B. Green, better known by his stage name Ranger Doug, is an American musician, arranger, award-winning Western music songwriter, and Grand Ole Opry member best known for his work with Western music and the group Riders in the Sky in which he plays guitar and sings lead and baritone vocals. He is also an exceptionally accomplished yodeler. With the Riders, he is billed as "Ranger Doug — The Idol of American Youth" and "Governor of the Great State of Rhythm".
Mervyn Edwin Warren is an American film composer, record producer, music conductor, music arranger, lyricist, songwriter, pianist, and vocalist. Warren is a five-time Grammy Award winner and a 10-time Grammy Award nominee. Warren has written the underscore and songs for many feature and television films and has written countless arrangements in a variety of musical styles for producers Quincy Jones, David Foster, Arif Mardin, and dozens of popular recording artists, including extensive work on Jones' Back on the Block,Q's Jook Joint, and Q: Soul Bossa Nostra.
Terry Blackwood is a contemporary Christian musician who is best known as lead singer for Christian pop act The Imperials. He was with the group for nearly a decade, joining in 1967 and remaining with them through 1976. At that time, he left the group along with fellow Imperial Sherman Andrus to form Andrus, Blackwood and Company, one of the only racially integrated groups in contemporary Christian music at the time. They recorded 6 albums together between 1977 and 1986.
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