Tim Spencer | |
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Birth name | Vernon Harold Spencer |
Born | Webb City, Missouri | July 13, 1908
Died | April 26, 1974 65) Apple Valley, California | (aged
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1933–1949 |
Vernon Harold Timothy Spencer (July 13, 1908 – April 26, 1974) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. Spencer is best known for founding the popular American Cowboy singing group the Sons of the Pioneers in 1933 along with Bob Nolan and Roy Rogers.
Vernon Harold Timothy Spencer was born to Edgar and Laura Alice Spencer on July 13, 1908 in Webb City, Missouri. The family moved to New Mexico when Tim was five years old, one of eight boys and two girls. The family later moved to Picher, Oklahoma two years later. In 1931, Tim left Oklahoma for Los Angeles and began working at Safeway. [1]
Spencer appeared with the Sons of the Pioneers in multiple films, and wrote many of the songs they performed. He retired from the Sons of the Pioneers in 1949, but continued managing them until 1952, and recorded with them until 1957 for RCA Victor. After leaving the group, Spencer organized a gospel music publishing company called Manna [Gaviota] Music. The company secured the rights to How Great Thou Art , which provided a solid business footing.
Tim Spencer was inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame as an individual western music songwriter, and as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1985 and the Hall of Great Western Performers in 1995.
His most popular commercial song was "Room Full of Roses", which was the No. 1 song in pop music in 1949 and again the No. 1 song in country music in 1974. [2]
Roy Rogers was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebranded Rogers then became one of the most popular Western stars of his era. Known as the "King of the Cowboys", he appeared in over 100 films and numerous radio and television episodes of The Roy Rogers Show. In many of his films and television episodes, he appeared with his wife, Dale Evans; his Golden Palomino, Trigger; and his German Shepherd, Bullet. His show was broadcast on radio for nine years and then on television from 1951 through 1957. His early roles were uncredited parts in films by fellow cowboy singing star Gene Autry and his productions usually featured a sidekick, often Pat Brady, Andy Devine, George "Gabby" Hayes, or Smiley Burnette. In his later years, he lent his name to the franchise chain of Roy Rogers Restaurants.
Jay Silverheels was an Indigenous Canadian actor and athlete. He was well known for his role as Tonto, the Native American companion of the Lone Ranger in the American Western television series The Lone Ranger.
Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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.
Dale Evans Rogers was an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.
Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including Cowboy Songs, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins in 1959. He has recorded the hit singles "Wildfire", "Carolina in the Pines", "What's Forever For", "A Long Line of Love", "What She Wants", "Don't Count the Rainy Days", and "Maybe This Time". Murphey is also the author of New Mexico's state ballad, "The Land of Enchantment". Murphey has become a prominent musical voice for the Western horseman, rancher, and cowboy.
While the music of Oklahoma is relatively young, Oklahoma has been a state for just over 100 years, and it has a rich history and many fine and influential musicians.
Cindy Walker was an American songwriter, as well as a country music singer and dancer. As a songwriter Walker was responsible for many popular and enduring songs recorded by many different artists.
Alton Delmore and Rabon Delmore, billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneer singer-songwriters and musicians who were stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s. The Delmore Brothers, together with other brother duos such as the Louvin Brothers, the Blue Sky Boys, the Monroe Brothers, the McGee Brothers, and The Stanley Brothers, had a profound impact on the history of country music and American popular music. The duo performed extensively with Arthur Smith as the Arthur Smith Trio throughout the 1930s.
Bob Nolan was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and composer of numerous Country music and Western music songs, including the standards "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." He is generally regarded as one of the finest Western songwriters of all time. As an actor and singer he appeared in scores of Western films.
The Hall of Great Western Performers is a Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. It is located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and sometimes referred to as the "Western Performers Hall of Fame". It is a 4,000-square-foot (370 m2) presentation that explores the various ways the west has been interpreted in literature and film. Every year the Museum inducts performers into the Hall of Fame at the same time the Western Heritage Awards are given out.
Chris LeDoux was an American country music singer-songwriter, bronze sculptor, and hall of fame rodeo champion. During his career, LeDoux recorded 36 albums, which have sold more than six million units in the United States as of January 2007. He was awarded two gold and one platinum album certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), was nominated for a Grammy Award, and was honored with the Academy of Country Music Music Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award. LeDoux is also the only person to participate and also perform at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 1980.
Carl Stuart Hamblen was an American entertainer who became one of radio's first singing cowboys in 1926, going on to become a singer, actor, radio show host, and songwriter. He underwent a Christian conversion and became a Temperance movement supporter and recurring candidate for political office. He is best known as the composer of the song "This Ole House" (1954), most notably recorded by Rosemary Clooney and Shakin' Stevens.
Best of the West is a compilation recording by the Western band Riders in the Sky, released in 1987. It is available as a single CD and contains highlights from their first five albums on the Rounder label.
Stu Davis was a Canadian singer, songwriter, storyteller and musician. Davis was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993.
The Sons of the San Joaquin is an American Western family band. Jack and Joe Hannah are brothers, while third member Lon Hannah is Joe's son. They began performing together in 1987 at a birthday party for Lon's grandfather. They have been credited with "rich durability of the traditional Western music they present, as well as the outstanding original cowboy songs" and being reminiscent of the Sons of the Pioneers. Roy Rogers called them "the only singing group alive who I feel sound like the original Sons of the Pioneers." They have over a dozen albums, including a gospel album and a greatest hits album.
Jimmy Wakely was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies with most of the major studios, appeared on radio and television and even had his own series of comic books. His duet singles with Margaret Whiting from 1949 until 1951, produced a string of top seven hits, including 1949's number one hit on the US country chart and pop music chart, "Slippin' Around". Wakely owned two music publishing companies in later years, and performed at the Grand Ole Opry until shortly before his death.
Apache Rose is a 1947 American Trucolor Western film directed by William Witney and starring Roy Rogers. It was the first Roy Rogers Western shot in the process though most copies on DVD are in monochrome.