Johnny Mercer skewered the whole “singing cowboy” schtick with his “I’m An Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)” song. Interestingly enough, Gene and Tex both performed the song after Der Bingle made it a hit.
I was recently reflecting on how much of the cowboy image was invented by a marketing department. Your conclusions really hit home. A century ago someone decided to erase the hillbilly, but the hillbilly refused to go quietly. That culture war is still playing out to this day.
Thanks for doing this! I love country music and its history and really enjoy your work!
Love your posts. Luv em!!!!
This was great! Thanks for your work.
Fun read.
Johnny Mercer skewered the whole “singing cowboy” schtick with his “I’m An Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)” song. Interestingly enough, Gene and Tex both performed the song after Der Bingle made it a hit.
I was recently reflecting on how much of the cowboy image was invented by a marketing department. Your conclusions really hit home. A century ago someone decided to erase the hillbilly, but the hillbilly refused to go quietly. That culture war is still playing out to this day.