Western Writing

Black cowboy Charley Willis created the traditional Western song called Goodbye Old Paint. Songwriter, N. Howard “Jack” Thorp first collected it in his 1921 book Songs of the Cowboys. Members of the Western Writers of America chose Goodbye Old Paint as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. About the Song Texas cowboy Charley […]

El Dorado is the theme song of the 1966 American Western film of the same name starring John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, directed and produced by Howard Hawks. Nelson Riddle composed and arranged the theme song. Western Writers of America included it in their list of the Top 100 Western Songs of all time. El […]

American country music singer-songwriter Tom T. Hall wrote Faster Horses (The Cowboy and The Poet) and released it as a single in December 1975. Not only was he a musician, but Hall was also a true poet with the way he composes and writes his songs. Fans recognize him as “The Storyteller,” thanks to his […]

Jesse James is an American folk song in the 19th-century first recorded by Bentley Ball in 1919 and afterward by many others. Members of the Western Writers of America included it in their list of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. About the Song The song is about the outlaw of the same […]

Members of the Western Writers of America included Red Headed Stranger in their list of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. Entertainment critic and lyricist Edith Lindeman wrote the Red Headed Stranger with composer and radio announcer Carl Stutz in 1953. Before working on the song, they collaborated on other popular country songs such as “Little Things […]

Western Writers of America included The Last Wild White Buffalo in their list of Top 100 Western Songs of all time. The Last Wild White Buffalo is a story song that won the first-ever Spur Award for Best Western Song. The Last Comanche Moon and The Old Cantina were the two other songs of Blakely […]

Old Timer is a song in Waymore’s Blues (Part II) album by Waylon Jennings, an American country music artist. It was recorded and released at a time in Jennings ’career without being signed to any major label. Waymore’s Blues (Part II) is a one-off return to RCA for Jennings following brief endings with MCA Records and Epic […]

American songwriter, actor, and country legend Stan Jones wrote the track, Cowpoke. The song became one of his biggest hits, along with Ghost Riders in the Sky. He grew famous for writing Western music, including composing songs and acting in small parts for various Western films. Members of the Western Writers of America included Cowpoke and two […]

“The Hanging Tree” became the theme song for the 1959 Western film The Hanging Tree, starring Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden, and George C. Scott. Max Steiner scored the Western ballad, while Mack David and Jerry Livingston wrote the song for the film. They received nominations for the 1960 Academy Awards (Best Music, Original Song) […]

Dust Eatin’ Cowboys is a song of the Hotmud Family. It is one of the 15 tracks of Hotmuds LP Meat and Potatoes & Stuff Like That released by Flying Fish Records in 1981. Members of the Western Writers of America chose the song as one of the Top 100 Western Songs of all time.  History The […]

Tonight We Ride is a song by American singer-songwriter Thomas “Tom” George Russell. Although most well recognized in the Americana music tradition, his music also includes elements of folk, rock, and the cowboy music of the American West. Members of the Western Writers of America voted Tonight We ride together with another Russell song titled Navajo […]

Lorena became one of the most famous love songs prior to and during the Civil War and soon a staple of the Old West. Members of the Western Writers of America even listed the antebellum song as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time. The Rev. Henry D. L. Webster wrote Lorena […]