Riders in the Sky: Romancing the West with Music and Humor

" . . . Bobbie and Bill Malone secure the Riders' rightful place in country music history, recounting the story of their remarkable journey, which simultaneously entertained millions of people and revived the venerable American tradition of the singing cowboy."

--Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, creators of PBS's Country Music

For almost five decades, the band known as Riders In The Sky ("America's Favorite Cowboys") has entertained and delighted audiences in Nashville and throughout the United States with their mixture of quirky sendups of the silver-screen Western and their "faultless, evocative instrumentation, perfect harmony, fantasy, and humor."

Remarkably, the original Riders--Ranger Doug Green ("The Idol of American Youth"), "Too Slim" (or alternately, "Side Meat"), Fred LaBour, and Woody Paul Chrisman ("The King of Cowboy Fiddlers")--have continued to perform together since their first gig on a cold, rainy night in November 1978. Occasionally described as "the most educated band in country music" because of Woody Paul's PhD in plasma physics from MIT, Doug's MA in literature from Vanderbilt, and Too Slim's degree in environmental studies from the University of Michigan, the group has been a popular fixture at the Grand Ole Opry since 1982. Master accordionist Joey Miskulin, a "road scholar" since age 13, joined the band during its second decade and was with them when they won Grammy awards for their work with Disney-Pixar for the albums that accompanied Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. Their appeal to multigenerational audiences continues unabated.

Riders In The Sky: Romancing the West with Music and Humor will entertain and inform both the group's legions of dedicated fans and aficionados of country and western music.

Author: Bobbie Malone,Bill C. Malone
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Published: 05/15/2025
Pages: 264
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.93lbs
Size: 8.67h x 6.20w x 0.41d
ISBN: 9781648432859

About the Author

BOBBIE MALONE is the author of Lois Lenski: Storycatcher and Rabbi Max Heller: Reformer, Zionist, Southerner. She also coauthored with Bill Traveler: The Musical Odyssey of Tim O'Brien and Nashville's Songwriting Sweethearts: The Boudleaux and Felice Bryant Story. BILL C. MALONE is the author of Country Music, USA, which served as the narrative framework for Ken Burns's 2019 documentary series, Country Music, Don't Get Above Your Raisin' Country Music and The Southern Working Class, and Singing Cowboys and Musical Mountaineers.