Chris LeDoux

Before rising to prominence as an independent country musician, Chris LeDoux distinguished himself as a rodeo champion celebrated for his prowess in bareback riding while establishing his songwriting reputation through an abundance of compositions drawn from rodeo experiences. Born in Biloxi, MS, in 1948, he relocated frequently during childhood because his father served in the Air Force. At age 13 he first competed in rodeo riding in Denison, TX, and quickly began claiming victories in junior events. During high school his family settled in Cheyenne, WY, where he persisted with the sport; upon graduation he captured the Wyoming State Rodeo Championship, securing a scholarship to Caspar College. Additional training came at Sheridan and Eastern New Mexico, culminating in his Intercollegiate National Bareback Riding Championship. Turning professional in 1970, he sustained himself on the national circuit by earning just enough prize money to continue, simultaneously crafting lyrics about the rodeo existence—an area no other country artist had yet claimed, akin to the specialized niche later occupied by trucker songs. His debut effort, "Bareback Jack," led to an album recorded in 1972 inside a friend’s basement. With his father he founded the label American Cowboy Songs and initially peddled cassettes from the tailgate of his pickup at rodeo grounds; as demand grew he began traveling to Nashville for expedited sessions with session musicians.

LeDoux’s persistence on the circuit reached its peak when he claimed the 1976 world bareback riding championship at the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City. He competed until 1980, when accumulating minor injuries and a wish to spend more time with family prompted retirement. Settling on a ranch in Kaycee, WY, he maintained his songwriting and recording while building a growing audience and a reputation for dynamic live shows. By 1982 he had moved more than 250,000 units of his independently released albums, ultimately completing 22 such projects by the close of the 1980s. Long resistant to major-label offers in order to preserve his autonomy, LeDoux reconsidered after Garth Brooks referenced him on the 1989 hit "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)." He joined Capitol subsidiary Liberty and issued his major-label debut, Western Underground, in 1991. The 1992 follow-up, Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy, included a duet with Brooks on the title track; that single marked LeDoux’s sole Top Ten country hit, while the album itself reached the Top Ten and achieved gold status. Although subsequent singles did not replicate that success, he continued releasing material for Liberty throughout the decade. Each of the resulting albums—1993’s Under This Old Hat, 1994’s Haywire, 1996’s Stampede, 1997’s Live, and 1998’s One Road Man—charted inside the country Top 40 and sold steadily to his loyal supporters. On 2000’s Cowboy he revisited his earliest material, then faced a life-threatening liver condition that necessitated a transplant. After recovery he returned with the more introspective After the Storm in 2002. Horsepower appeared in 2004 and stood as his final completed project; he succumbed to complications from liver cancer in March 2005.