Piece Description

Travel down the lonesome trail with these cowboy and vaquero songs, poems and stories. Hosted by original border radio DJ Dallas Turner(aka Nevada Slim), who regales listeners with some of his most famous pitches. Recorded live in Austin, Texas, the show features Artie Morris, a pioneering black cowboy singer who paved the way for Charley Pride's career, and Christina Ortega, an opera-trained singer who fell in love with cowboy tunes and Mexican folk songs. Brady Coleman and Gene Fowler (co-author of the book "Border Radio: Quacks, Yodelers, Pitchmen, Psychics and Other Amazing Broadcasters of the American Airwaves" and the "Campfire" script) also lend their singing and story-telling skills. They're backed by an all-star house band featuring some of Austin's top musical talent: bassist Sarah Brown, fiddler Alvin Crow, pianist/accordionist Chip Dolan, guitarist Jim Stringer and drummer Kevin Hall. A plot line in the story dramatizes discoveries by musicologists including John Lomax and explores black cowboy music, the music of the early vaqueros and the masters of cowboy music from the first half of the 20th century. Promotional materials are available by contacting Lynne Margolis @ lmargolis@texasfolklife.org or 512-441-9255. Performers are available for interviews.