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It's the Cowboy Way: The Amazing True Adventures of Riders in the Sky.(Book Review)
It's the Cowboy Way: The Amazing True Adventures of Riders in the Sky. Don Cusic. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2003.
The popular western quartet The Riders in the Sky consists of Douglas Green (Ranger Doug), Fred LaBour (Too Slim), Woody Paul (Woody Paul), and Joey Miskulin (The Cowpolka King). They are a unique musical and entertainment phenomenon, but they also embody some of America's most cherished symbols. It begins with "the cowboy way." Asked what is the cowboy way, Ranger Doug answered, "Well, in this year of situational ethics and difficult moral places, when you're caught between the rock and the hard place of bad ideas, just ask yourself, 'What would Gene, Roy, Tex or Ranger Doug do?' That's the cowboy way" (172). Shucks, ma'am, the cowboy way is America's ethical system. It is why Ronald Reagan was elected president, and it is why America is feared, respected, and laughed at in about equal measure around the world. It takes a group like Riders in the Sky to represent that ethical system in our popular culture.
The Riders are musically inspired by the Sons of the Pioneers, the close-harmonizing singing cowboys of the 1930-1950 era. One of the Pioneers' founding members, Leonard Slye, became Roy Rogers. Roy, along with Gene Autry and Tex Ritter, are those with whom Ranger Doug identifies. They appeared in scores of B western movies in the 1940s and 1950s, and on television about the same time as Hopalong Cassidy, the Cisco Kid, and Annie Oakley. These characters personified the cowboy way for the Baby Boom generation. They were humble, strong, purveyors of justice in the west. They shot only to disarm, not to kill. They instructed a generation in peacemaking and compassionate justice.
The Riders in the Sky formed in 1977. Although they tapped the movies' singing cowboy for musical inspiration, the 1960s also influenced them. They were part Sons of the Pioneers and part Firesign Theater. Each member had a personal tagline: Ranger Doug was the Idol of American Youth, Too Slim was the Man with a Dozen Friends, Woody Paul was the King of the Cowboy Fiddlers, and Joey Miskulin was the Cowpolka King. The Riders were among the best educated pop culture ...
- RIDERS FOLLOW TRAIL OF HUMOR, HISTORY.(DAILY BREAK)
- Newspaper article from: The Virginian Pilot Shapiro, Craig October 12, 1997 700+ words
...are. Doug Green (Ranger Doug) has a master...Paul Chrisman (Woody Paul) holds a doctorate...teen-agers.'' Ranger Doug, Woody Paul and Too Slim were...Sky, from left: Woody Paul, Ranger Doug and Too Slim. Graphic...
- Cowboy Christmas: Riders in the Sky Saddle Up the Sleigh
- Newspaper article from: The Washington Post Mike Joyce December 19, 1994 700+ words
...in the Sky. Of course, Ranger Doug, Woody Paul and Too Slim are old hands...plays accordion - or as Ranger Doug put it, the "stomach...cool-water harmonies, Woody Paul's gliding fiddle and Ranger Doug's warmly evocative baritone...
- Country band to take act up a notch for Sunday's arts festival.(Neighbor)
- Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) July 18, 2001 700+ words
...entertainers." The group, composed of Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim and Joey "The Cowpolka...of albums under their belts. Ranger Doug sings lead and baritone, and...of the Riders' comedy acts. Woody Paul sings lead and tenor and plays...
- Riding the country music range; Wranglers come in from the trail.(WASHINGTON...
- Newspaper article from: The Washington Times February 6, 2003 700+ words
...singer and guitarist Ranger Doug. "You're out...band, made up of Ranger Doug, fiddler Woody Paul, Too Slim on stand...Sky is made up of Ranger Doug (middle front...King (from left), Woody Paul, and Too Slim...
- The Riders are Back in the Saddle Again With ``Woody's Roundup''.
- Press release article from: Business Wire October 16, 2000 700+ words
...than 20 years. Famous for their spontaneous on-stage antics as well as their perfectly blended harmonies, Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, Too Slim and Joey the Cowpolka King keep the memory of legendary cowboys Roy Rogers and Gene Autry alive and...
- PREVIEW.(DAILY BREAK)
- Newspaper article from: The Virginian Pilot July 23, 1999 700+ words
...service charges; 671-8100. - David Simpson Riders in the Sky Satuday in Virginia Beach A LOT OF FOLKS know Ranger Doug, Woody Paul and Too Slim from their ``Riders Radio Theater,'' which used to air on public radio here. Sure, their...
- LOLLIPOP A SWEET MUSIC TREAT.(TIMEOUT)
- Newspaper article from: The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH) Hutton, Mary Ellyn February 28, 2002 700+ words
...381-3300, or order on the web at www.cincinnatisymphony.org. Saddle up: Hear Joey the Cowpolka King, Ranger Doug, Woody Paul and Too Slim, otherwise known as the Riders in the Sky, at 7 p.m. Sunday at Music Hall. The cowboy foursome...
- FEAR TAKES A HOLIDAY
- Newspaper article from: The Record (Bergen County, NJ) VERA LAWLOR, Staff Writer April 20, 1996 700+ words
...TicketMaster outlets; and TicketMaster Charge, 507-8900 or (212) 307-7171. RIDERS IN THE SKY and RANGER DOUG, WOODY PAUL & TOO SLIM -- 5 p.m. Sunday. Lycian Center, King Highway, Sugar Loaf, N.Y. $22.50. (914...
