Biography
Singer and songwriter Don Edwards devoted his entire musical journey to reviving and safeguarding the essence of the Old West through both traditional and newly written cowboy material. When he first embraced the genre, few others shared his passion, yet by the 1990s he stood as its leading authority, a domain that soon drew numerous additional performers. Born and raised in Boonton, a farming community in New Jersey, Edwards drew inspiration from the writings of cowboy author Will James, including The Lone Cowboy, and began playing guitar at age ten. His earliest Western songs came from the movies of cowboy crooners Gene Autry and Tex Ritter; he later encountered the work of Jimmie Rodgers. At age 16 he departed home to labor in the oil fields and ranches of Texas and New Mexico, seeking direct experience of Western life and terrain.
Edwards launched his professional career in 1961 upon being engaged as singer, actor, and stuntman at the recently opened Six Flags Over Texas amusement park. He remained there five years before relocating to Nashville in pursuit of a recording contract. Although the folk revival flourished, Western music attracted scant interest at the time. He eventually issued an album that blended classic Western pieces with original compositions on the independent Stop label. Several tracks received radio airplay yet never charted, prompting Edwards to return to Texas and settle near Fort Worth.
In 1980 Los Angeles DJ Larry Scott assisted Edwards in recording the Happy Cowboy album, which included backing musicians drawn from Gene Autry’s band and the Sons of the Pioneers; Edwards issued the set on his own Sevenshoux imprint. An early-’80s visit to the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada prompted a 24-song tribute to Jack Thorp, the cowboy musician who originated the collection of traditional cowboy songs, released as a cassette paired with the book Songs of the Cowboy. Edwards next produced the book-and-cassette anthology Guitars and Saddle Songs and, in 1990, the album Desert Nights and Cowtown Blues.
Edwards signed with the newly formed Warner Western label, headed by Michael Martin Murphey, in 1992 and delivered Songs of the Trail, a spare collection of traditional songs that lent the dry, melancholy, sometimes-violent cowboy narratives fresh immediacy. The major-label affiliation brought greater visibility, establishing him as a regular presence at clubs and Western-themed events across Texas and the Southwest. He followed Songs of the Trail with Goin’ Back to Texas (1993), featuring newly composed Western songs by leading Nashville writers. After West of Yesterday (1996), Edwards joined the folk-oriented Shanachie label and explored his extensive repertoire of traditional Western material on the double-CD Saddle Songs: Vols. 1 & 2 in 1997.
Later Shanachie releases found Edwards expanding his musical range while remaining focused on Western songs. My Hero, Gene Autry: A Tribute (1998) captured a live performance honoring Autry on his 90th birthday; two years afterward Edwards returned with Prairie Portrait, recorded alongside cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Kin to the Wind, a tribute to Marty Robbins, appeared in early 2001. The 2002 project High Lonesome Cowboy united Edwards with folk-bluegrass singer Peter Rowan and additional acoustic-music luminaries, offering a fresh perspective on his cowboy repertoire. Shanachie’s final Edwards release, the double-disc Last of the Troubadours: Saddle Songs, Vol. 2, arrived in 2004 and was followed by Moonlight and Skies on Western Jubilee in 2006. Don Edwards died on October 23, 2022 at the age of 86.
Edwards launched his professional career in 1961 upon being engaged as singer, actor, and stuntman at the recently opened Six Flags Over Texas amusement park. He remained there five years before relocating to Nashville in pursuit of a recording contract. Although the folk revival flourished, Western music attracted scant interest at the time. He eventually issued an album that blended classic Western pieces with original compositions on the independent Stop label. Several tracks received radio airplay yet never charted, prompting Edwards to return to Texas and settle near Fort Worth.
In 1980 Los Angeles DJ Larry Scott assisted Edwards in recording the Happy Cowboy album, which included backing musicians drawn from Gene Autry’s band and the Sons of the Pioneers; Edwards issued the set on his own Sevenshoux imprint. An early-’80s visit to the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada prompted a 24-song tribute to Jack Thorp, the cowboy musician who originated the collection of traditional cowboy songs, released as a cassette paired with the book Songs of the Cowboy. Edwards next produced the book-and-cassette anthology Guitars and Saddle Songs and, in 1990, the album Desert Nights and Cowtown Blues.
Edwards signed with the newly formed Warner Western label, headed by Michael Martin Murphey, in 1992 and delivered Songs of the Trail, a spare collection of traditional songs that lent the dry, melancholy, sometimes-violent cowboy narratives fresh immediacy. The major-label affiliation brought greater visibility, establishing him as a regular presence at clubs and Western-themed events across Texas and the Southwest. He followed Songs of the Trail with Goin’ Back to Texas (1993), featuring newly composed Western songs by leading Nashville writers. After West of Yesterday (1996), Edwards joined the folk-oriented Shanachie label and explored his extensive repertoire of traditional Western material on the double-CD Saddle Songs: Vols. 1 & 2 in 1997.
Later Shanachie releases found Edwards expanding his musical range while remaining focused on Western songs. My Hero, Gene Autry: A Tribute (1998) captured a live performance honoring Autry on his 90th birthday; two years afterward Edwards returned with Prairie Portrait, recorded alongside cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell and the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. Kin to the Wind, a tribute to Marty Robbins, appeared in early 2001. The 2002 project High Lonesome Cowboy united Edwards with folk-bluegrass singer Peter Rowan and additional acoustic-music luminaries, offering a fresh perspective on his cowboy repertoire. Shanachie’s final Edwards release, the double-disc Last of the Troubadours: Saddle Songs, Vol. 2, arrived in 2004 and was followed by Moonlight and Skies on Western Jubilee in 2006. Don Edwards died on October 23, 2022 at the age of 86.
Albums
