(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend

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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"
Single by Johnny Cash
from the album Silver
B-side"I'm Gonna Sit on the Porch and Pick on My Old Guitar"
ReleasedApril 28, 1979
Recorded1979
GenreCountry, outlaw country, country rock, Western
Length3:45
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Stan Jones
Johnny Cash singles chronology
"I Will Rock and Roll with You"
(1978) 		"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky"
(1979) 		"I'll Say It's True"
(1979)

"(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[edit]

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 and the Dutch/Flemish legend of the Buckriders, 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 Civil War-era popular song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".[5][6]

Hundreds of performers have recorded versions of the song. Vaughn Monroe reached number 1 in Billboard magazine with his version ("Riders in the Sky" with orchestra and vocal quartet). Other artists that made the charts with the song include The Outlaws, 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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Stan Jones". Western Music Association. Archived from the original on 2017-02-24. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  2. ^ "ACE Repertory". Ascap.com. Archived from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010.
  4. ^ "Ghost Riders In the Sky: The Wild Hunt and the Eternal Stampede", Esoterx.com, December 9, 2012 Archived March 2, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 November 2019
  5. ^ Wells, Robert V. (2009). Life Flows on in Endless Song: Folk Songs and American History. University of Illinois Press. pp. 64, 193. ISBN 978-0-252-07650-3.
  6. ^ Hill, Andy (2017-07-01). Scoring the Screen: The Secret Language of Film Music. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 54. ISBN 978-1-5400-0481-9.
  7. ^ Mercury 5320, The Internet Archive
  8. ^ a b c Whitburn, Joel (1973). Top Pop Records 1940–1955. Record Research.
  9. ^ Number One Song of the Year: 1946–2013 Archived 2018-04-20 at the Wayback Machine, Bob Borst website
  10. ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955–2002 (1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 576. ISBN 0-89820-155-1.
  12. ^ "Billboard Music Week Hot 100", Billboard, October 9, 1961. Accessed July 28, 2016.
  13. ^ "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky". Johnny Cash Official Site. 24 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Johnny Cash". Billboard. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  15. ^ "UK Official Chart: Shadows". Official Charts Company. 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  16. ^ "Outlaws". www.billboard.com. Archived from the original on 2018-03-16. Retrieved 2019-02-21.

External links[edit]

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