Sons of the Pioneers... The Sons of the Pioneers was an American cowboy singing group founded in 1933 by Leonard Slye (better known by his later screen name Roy Rogers), with Tim Spencer and Bob Nolan. They were soon joined by others including Karl Farr, Hugh Farr, Lloyd Perryman, and Pat Brady. The group remained popular into the 1960s. Though all of the above members have passed away, the group continues on today (2007), led by Dale Warren (a member since 1953 replacing Ken Curtis), and performs regulary at concerts in Branson, Missouri and other spots. It is believed that the Sons of the Pioneers is the oldest continually performing private musical group in history. Ken Curtis was best known as an actor (primarily as "Festus" on Gunsmoke), but was a member of the Sons from 1949 until 1953. The Sons of the Pioneers did several songs for the John Ford movies Wagon Master (in 1949, Rio Grande in (1950), and performed the theme song for "The Searchers" in (1953). The six members who made the Sons of the Pioneers famous in the late 1930s with their close-harmonied western style music were elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1995, they were inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In 1977, the Smithsonian designated the Sons of the Pioneers as "National Treasures". That same year, their album A Country-Western Songbook hit #50 on the US Country charts. Writing in Country Music Magazine in 1975, author Wayne Forsythe said: "The Sons of the Pioneers were the first country and western group to sing at Carnegie Hall and the first to perform at the lavish nightclubs in Las Vegas." (Country Music Magazine, April, 1975, "The Sons of the Pioneers" by Wayne Forsythe). In 2001, the Bill O'Neal, an author based in Carthage, Texas, published with Fred Goodwin an historical account of the singers entitled The Sons of the Pioneers. Some of their best known hits include: Cool Water Happy Trails Ride Ranger Ride Riders in the Sky That Pioneer Mother Of Mine Tumbleweed Trail Tumbling Tumbleweeds Way Out There Sons of the Pioneers was also the name of a 1942 singing cowboy film starring Roy Rogers and featuring the Sons of the Pioneers. -From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia- You can learn more about Sons of the Pioneers by visiting Wikipedia-the free encyclopedia website. Just click here > Sons of the Pioneers

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