Riders in the Sky gallops back to Renaissance Center for Sept. 28 show
Release Date: 8/24/2006. Expired: 9/28/2006
With more than 5,000 performances and counting over the last 28 years, Riders in the Sky has revived the popularity of cowboy music made popular by legends like Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Sons of the Pioneers. The multiple Grammy-winning group has opened Western music to new audiences through popular animated movies as well as their own fun-filled performances that enchant audiences of all ages.
Riders in the Sky returns to The Renaissance Center in Dickson for its seventh appearance on Thursday, Sept. 28. Tickets for the 7 p.m. concert are $20 and are expected to sell out quickly like the six previous shows did.
Since their formation in 1977, Riders in the Sky has been at the forefront of revitalizing an entire music genre. Original members Ranger Doug (Idol of American Youth), Woody Paul (King of the Cowboy Fiddlers) and Too Slim (a Righteous Tater) added Joey The CowPolka King as the fourth official member in 2001.
Riders in the Sky became the first exclusively Western music artist to become members of the Grand Ole Opry with their induction in 1982 and the group has won two Grammy Awards for their work in conjunction with Disney/Pixar animated films.
Woody’s Roundup featuring Riders in the Sky was a companion album for Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 2 and Scream Factory Favorites accompanied Monsters, Inc., both winning the Grammy Award for Best Musical Album for Children.
The Riders have continued their connection with hit animated movies with the 2006 release of Cars, which features music written and produced by Joey The CowPolka King.
Since 1989, the group has recorded Riders Radio Theatre, a radio program that’s been broadcast by more than 170 public and commercial stations. They also starred in their own Saturday morning children’s TV series on CBS and hosted another on TNN. They’ve served as spokesmen for the National Park Service, Opryland, Levis, Taco Bell, Budweiser, Coca-Cola and Cheer as well as appearing in Sweet Dreams, the movie biography of Patsy Cline, and the Kenny Rogers television movie Wild Horses.
Guitarist Ranger Doug sings lead and baritone vocals and is a breathtaking yodeler. He is an award-winning songwriter and author of Singing in the Saddle, the first comprehensive look at the singing cowboy phenomenon that swept the country in the 1930s.
Bassist Too Slim provides much of the comedy in the Riders show and prior to the group’s formation worked as a janitor, puppeteer, hay stacker, burlesque show emcee, sportswriter and wildlife manager.
Woody Paul sings lead and tenor vocals in addition to playing fiddle. He gained early experience in country-western music by hanging out with Roy Acuff.
Accordionist Joey The CowPolka King apprenticed with the late polka king Frank Yankovic and has played with everyone from Roy Rogers to U2. He also produces the Riders albums, including Silver Jubilee, a two-CD set of new recordings of their best-loved songs. It is the group’s 32nd album.
For more information on Riders in the Sky, visit www.ridersinthesky.com. For information or to purchase tickets for their Sept. 28 concert at The Renaissance Center, call (615)740-5570.
The Renaissance Center is a fine arts and technology education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.
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