The Outlaws did it best…….
I’ve got monroe’s version on my car’s playlist.
I also liked the Blues Brothers version...
I was born in May of ‘49 and have enjoyed that song my whole life. I recall singing the refrain when I was three. Other than “Rockabye Baby”, it was my first favorite song.
“Crosby is fine, although he takes it, as he did most things, in his stride - so that the overall effect is “Hey, there’s some zombie cowboys stampeding ghost cows across the sky, but it’s no big deal...”
He always cracks me up.
Such a great recording. Close your eyes and it’s scary!
Ghost Chickens In The Sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WOP9dW-F78
Cowboy gothic...
There is a dark side to the American Cowboy legend, the nearest thing to the universal symbol of the American spirit.
Mostly poorly-paid rural workers, with no roots and an uncertain future, this was the ultimate test of whether a young fellow “has what it takes”.
But the tests of endurance and perseverance never seem to end, and the rewards, if any, are a disappointment even to the most patient of souls. But slog on these young men do, for this is no country if one has grown old, and there is no forgiveness for failure.
Lord of the Rings - Ghost Riders - Outlaws
https://youtu.be/nceeTDWVv0c
Cool.
https://youtu.be/x7ZLnK_6NiU?si=hLbO0yW-p_pB5L96
Best version ever from Dallas Texas
Their club on greenvillle ave
Definitely huge influence on Allman Brothers and Skynyrd. They were the beginning of Southern Rock.
By the Highwaymen. Love the guitar riffs.
Over 25 posts and Duane Eddy doesn’t even get an honorable mention.
“(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend” was a cowboy-styled country/western song written in 1948 by American songwriter, film and television actor Stan Jones.
This song was re-recorded many times, and changed a little, by a number of different groups. Names like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Peggy Lee, Bing Crosby, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and was even used by professional wrestler “Hangman” Adam Page, who first used it at the All Elite Wrestling Revolution pay-per-view event on March 5, 2023.
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), 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.
Here’s an interesting version you might not have seen and/or heard:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkPn3aZ31Fo
wy69
The inspiration for “Riders on the Storm”
I like the Burl Ives and Johnny Cash versions, but there are a lot of good ones out there.