Chris LeDoux

Chris LeDoux (born October 2, 1948 in Biloxi , Mississippi , USA; † March 9, 2005 in Casper , Wyoming , USA) was an American country singer and professional rodeo rider.

biography

Beginnings

Chris LeDoux's father, Alfred H. LeDoux, was an officer in the US Air Force. His childhood was therefore characterized by frequent changes of residence. Only after the father's retirement was the family able to settle permanently in Austin , Texas . Chris was twelve years old at the time. In his new home he became enthusiastic about horses and equestrian sports almost immediately . He first took part in a rodeo when he was fourteen. After winning the national championship of Wyoming, he received a college - scholarship . Even during his art studies he mainly dealt with horse riding. At the same time he proved to be a talented artist who specialized in bronze sculptures with motifs from the rodeo world.

In the early 1970s he became a professional rodeo rider. It was around this time that he began writing songs and performing to his friends. His songs were mostly about horses and rodeos. The positive response encouraged him to record records. Financed by his parents, the first songs were recorded in a Nashville studio and released on his own label , which he founded with his father. The sale was made exclusively by family members during rodeo events. Little by little, LeDoux built up a loyal fan base. Hundreds of thousands of albums have been sold over the years.

The first steps in the music business

In 1972 Chris LeDoux began his music career. With friends he recorded about a dozen songs in a small studio in Sheridan / Wyoming. He himself played guitar and sang, his friends, they were ranchers, also played guitar and a highway policeman played bass. Some songs from this first recording session found their way on LeDoux * s first LP: "Chris LeDoux - Sings of Rodeo Life" at his father Al LeDoux's newly founded record company, the American Cowboy Songs, Inc. label in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. 1973 this LP was released.

In 1977 Chris LeDoux decided to revise this first album, omitting certain songs and re-recording others. This album is mistakenly referred to as the first LP by Chris LeDoux. The title of this re-release is also a little different: "Chris LeDoux - Songs of Rodeo Life".

In the early days of his musical career, his wife Peggy made the duplicates for the 8-track cassettes at home, where she also stuck the labels onto the cassettes by hand. These were also the first steps of American Cowboy Songs, Inc. record company.

Career

After initial difficulties, his career as a rodeo professional took off. The highlight was winning the World Cup in 1976. In 1984 he ended his career after a few minor injuries and bought a ranch in Wyoming. Now he had time and opportunity to devote himself to his music. With his band, the Saddle Boogie Band , he made numerous appearances and continued to produce records. By the end of the 80s he had recorded 22 of his own albums.

In 1989, rising country music star Garth Brooks had a hit with the song Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old) , which mentions his friend Chris LeDoux. The former rodeo rider was suddenly known throughout the country scene. A little later he signed a contract with the Liberty / Capitol label. Remarkably, the record company decided to include all 22 previous albums in their own catalog and publish them. The first new album, Western Underground , was released in 1991. The sales figures and hit parade placements for this and the following productions were by no means bad, but rarely came out above mediocre. His greatest success was the duet Whatcha Gonna Do It With A Cowboy sung with his friend Garth Brooks . In part, the radio stations were responsible for the lack of great success, as they rarely played the authentic cowboy songs. This did not detract from the popularity of his fan base, especially since LeDoux developed into a sought-after live artist who performed more than 100 performances per year.

After the turn of the millennium, severe, non-alcohol-related liver disease developed which required a transplant. Chris LeDoux survived this critical phase unscathed and was back on stage after only six months. He then lived with his wife, to whom he has been married since the early 1970s, and their five children on his ranch near Kaycee, Wyoming. His son Ned LeDoux , born in 1977, is also a country singer.

Chris LeDoux succumbed to cancer on March 9, 2005 in Casper, Wyoming.

Discography (albums)

American Cowboy Songs, Inc.

• 1973 - Sings of Rodeo Life - NR 2776
• 1973 - Sings Rodeo Songs "Old and New" - NR 4249
• 1974 - Songs of Rodeo and Country - NR 5305
• 1975 - Songs of Living Free - NR 5835
• 1975 - Life as a Rodeo Man - NR 6520
• 1976 - Songbook of the American West - NR 7648
• 1977 - Sing Me a Song Mr. Rodeo Man - ACS 5524
• 1977 - Songs of Rodeo Life - NR 8650
• 1978 - Cowboys Ain't Easy to Love - NR 9175
• 1979 - Paint Me Back Home in Wyoming - NR 10193
• 1980 Sounds of the Western Country LM-10194-10
• 1980 - Western Tunesmith - LM-10194-11
• 1981 - Old Cowboy Heroes - ACS 12001
• 1981 - He Rides the Wild Horses - ACS 13001
• 1982 - Used to Want to Be a Cowboy - ACS 14001
• 1983 - Old Cowboy Classics - ACS 16001
• 1983 - Thirty Dollar Cowboy - ACS 17001
• 1984 - Melodies and Memories - ACS 20001
• 1986 - Wild and Wooly - ACS 21001
• 1987 - Gold Buckle Dreams - ACS 22001
• 1988 - Chris LeDoux and the Saddle Boogie Band - ACS 23001
• 1989 - Powder River - ACS 24001 - (was only released as CD / 1st CD album by Chris Ledoux)
• 1990 - Radio and Rodeo Hits - ACS 25001 - (was only released as CD / 2nd CD album by Chris LeDoux)

In 1990 all of Chris LeDoux's American Cowboy Songs, Inc. albums, with the exception of "NR 2776", were re-released on CD by Liberty / Capitol Records . However, the design and the images used on these CD covers differ considerably from the images used on the original vinyl album covers.

Liberty / Capitol Records

• 1991 - Western Underground - CDP-7-96499-2
• 1992 - Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy - CDP-7-98818-2
• 1993 - Under This Old Hat - CDP-0777-7
• 1994 - Best of - CDP-7243-8-28458-2-9
• 1994 - American Cowboy - (3 CD Box) - CDP-7243-8-28458-2-9
• 1994 - Haywire - CDP-7243-8-28770-2-8
• 1995 - Rodeo Rock and Roll Collection - CDP-7243-8-30465-2-2
• 1996 - Stampede - 7243-8-34071-2-5
• 1997 - Live - 7243-8-52775-2-8
• 1998 - One Road Man - 7243-8-21942-2-4
• 1999 - 20 Greatest Hits - 7243-4-99781-2-6
• 2000 - Cowboy - 7243-5-26601-2-4
• 2002 - After the Storm - 7243-5-34571-2-9
• 2002 - The Capitol Collection (1990-2000) - (6 CD box) - 7243-5-38207-2-5
• 2003 - Horsepower - 7243-5-81580-2-1
• 2004 - 20 Originals: The Early Years - 72435-76763-2-8
• 2005 - Anthology Volume 1 - 0946-3-30588-2-8
• 2006 - The Ultimative Collection (2 CD) - 0946-3-76546-2-0
• 2008 - Classic Chris LeDoux (CD and DVD Collection) - (1 CD and 1 DVD) - 509992 12872 20

The 1977 LP "Songs of Rodeo Life - NR 8650" is a re-release of the first album of Chris LeDoux's "Sings of Rodeo Life - NR 2776" from 1973. However, the 1977 album contains different songs than the first album. This first album from 1973 contains partly songs, or versions of songs that were not released on any later LP or CD. The album "NR 2776" is therefore the rarest album by Chris LeDoux, as it was only pressed in a small edition, was almost exclusively sold by himself at rodeo events and is largely unknown today:

1973 - Chris LeDoux - Sings of Rodeo Life - NR 2776
1. Bareback Jack
2. Tweedle Dee
3. Ain't No Place For A Country Boy
4. New Bread
5. Riverboat Gambler
6. Punchy Bareback Rider
7. Colorado
8. Them Bareback Horses
9. Mountain Wild Man
10. Bull Rider
11. Cowboy's Prayer

For a certain period of time, the albums from the American Cowboy Songs, Inc. label were also available as 8-track and compact cassettes. Mainly in the USA, various single releases from the albums were also distributed.

Kyle Evans and Tony Glenn, both friends of Chris LeDoux, recorded three albums under his own American Cowboy Songs, Inc. label. Hence the "gap" in the record numbers from LeDoux's albums in 1983/84.

• 1983 - Tony Glenn - Grandpaw's Raisin '- ACS 15001
• 1984 - Kyle Evans - In heaven on a horse - ACS 18001
• 1984 - Tony Glenn - Summer Thunder - ACS 19001

Web links

• Official website of Chris LeDoux