Sons Of The Pioneers

In western music, no vocal and instrumental ensemble ever surpassed the Sons of the Pioneers, whose unmatched command of cowboy songs established the benchmark that later ensembles would strive to match. Among country vocal groups, they also ranked among the longest-lived, persisting well into a seventh decade. Yet their most enduring contribution was not duration but excellence: three generations of listeners treasured their flawless harmonies and inventive arrangements, which in turn shaped countless other artists.

Their story began amid the Great Depression, when economic hardship, physical strain, and widespread despair had eroded the American outlook. Leonard Slye, born November 5, 1911, in Cincinnati, left Ohio for California in spring 1931 and took whatever work he could find, from driving a gravel truck to harvesting fruit for Del Monte in the Central Valley. A chance entry in a Los Angeles radio amateur contest on Midnight Frolics soon led to an invitation to join the Rocky Mountaineers.

With that group Slye played guitar, sang, and yodeled; the members soon decided they needed another voice to broaden their range. Bob Nolan, born Robert Clarence Nobles on April 1, 1908, in New Brunswick, Canada, and then living in Tucson, answered the call. After years of wandering as a singer, Nolan had settled in Los Angeles, where he worked as a lifeguard while still trying to make music. He and Slye quickly blended voices, but Nolan departed after several months, frustrated by the group’s slow progress. Tim Spencer, born Vernon Spencer on July 13, 1908, in Webb City, Missouri, took his place; Spencer had been supporting himself at a Safeway warehouse.

In spring 1932 Slye, Spencer, and singer Slumber Nichols left the Rocky Mountaineers to start their own trio, an effort that faltered. For the next year Slye and Spencer drifted through short-lived outfits such as the International Cowboys and the O-Bar-O Cowboys. After the latter ensemble collapsed following a failed tour, Spencer stepped away from music. Slye pressed on, joining Jack LeFevre and His Texas Outlaws, a regular act on a local Los Angeles station.

Early in 1933 Slye persuaded Spencer to abandon steady employment once more and also brought Nolan back, who had been working as a caddy at a Bel Air golf course. The three rehearsed relentlessly for weeks; Slye kept his radio job while Spencer and Nolan began composing original material.

Calling themselves the Pioneer Trio, they auditioned for KFWB and earned a spot with Nolan’s song “Way Out There.” Their blend of singing and yodeling, along with their evident enthusiasm, quickly won a following. Within weeks they were appearing on both the morning and evening segments of LeFevre’s program, drawing heavy listener mail for their harmony work.

At first the lineup featured Slye, Nolan, and Spencer on vocals, with Nolan on string bass and Slye on rhythm guitar. Early in 1934 they added fiddler Hugh Farr, born December 6, 1906, in Plano, Texas, whose deep bass voice strengthened the blend and who occasionally took the lead.

Their name changed by accident just before they reached a national audience. A station announcer introduced them as “The Sons of the Pioneers.” When asked why, he explained that the men were too young to have been pioneers themselves but could be sons of pioneers. The new title felt right and reflected their expanded membership.

Their popularity soon extended far beyond Los Angeles. The station recorded 15- and 30-minute segments that were syndicated nationwide. A contract with the newly formed Decca label followed, and on August 8, 1934—the same day Bing Crosby made his first recordings for the company—the Sons of the Pioneers cut their initial sides. Over the next two years they recorded thirty-two songs for Decca.

One track from that first session was Nolan’s composition “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” originally sketched on a rainy day in 1932 as “Tumbling Leaves.” The group later altered the title to suit their western image. It became their signature tune and spread quickly among singers and bands across the country. In 1935 Gene Autry used it as the title of one of his westerns, the first of several times their paths would cross.

Early in 1935 they added Karl Farr, Hugh’s brother, born April 25, 1909, in Rochelle, Texas, on lead guitar, lifting their instrumental work to the level of their singing. That same year they began appearing in films, first in shorts and an Oswald the Rabbit cartoon, then in the feature The Old Homestead. Later releases included The Gallant Defender, Song of the Saddle with Dick Foran, The Mysterious Avenger, Rhythm of the Range with Bing Crosby, and Autry’s The Big Show.

Spencer departed in September 1936; his replacement was Lloyd Perryman, born January 29, 1917, in Ruth, Arkansas, already a fan and occasional substitute. Perryman would eventually handle most vocal arrangements, serve as onstage spokesman, manage business affairs, and remain with the group for forty-one years. Their radio, concert, and film schedule continued with California Mail for Warner Bros. and Autry’s The Old Corral for Republic. Late in 1937 Columbia Pictures signed them to appear regularly in Charles Starrett westerns, beginning with The Old Wyoming Trail.

Film work soon triggered another lineup shift. Slye had already played small acting roles under the name Dick Weston. In 1938 a contract dispute placed Autry on suspension, and the studio sought a replacement. Slye won the part and received the screen name Roy Rogers for Under Western Stars. The picture succeeded, launching a new career, yet Slye had to leave the Sons of the Pioneers because of their exclusive Columbia contract. Friend and singer-comedian Pat Brady, who played bass and supplied much of the comedy, took his place. Because Brady’s voice was lighter, Spencer returned in 1938 to reinforce the harmonies. Between 1937 and 1941 the group appeared in twenty-eight Starrett films.

Their recording activity kept pace. After leaving Decca in 1936 they joined the American Record Company, later absorbed by Columbia, and cut thirty-two sides for Okeh and Vocalion in two 1937 sessions; Rogers rejoined them for those dates even though he had left the performing group. The 1938–1942 configuration—Nolan, Spencer, Perryman, the Farr brothers, and Brady—became the “classic” lineup most audiences knew from their screen work.

When their Columbia contract ended in 1941, Republic Pictures signed them for Rogers films beginning with Red River Valley, billed as Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers. The same year they also returned to Decca Records.

World War II brought further changes. Perryman and Brady were drafted; Ken Carson replaced Perryman while he served in Burma, and musician-comic Shug Fisher replaced Brady, who served in Patton’s Third Army.

In 1944 the group moved to RCA Victor under country division head Steve Sholes, beginning a twenty-four-year association interrupted by only one year elsewhere. RCA added fuller instrumentation and light orchestration to their recordings. Early results were strong: new versions of “Cool Water” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” proved popular, and many listeners still regard the mid-1940s renditions as definitive. They also explored gospel material and pop-oriented or novelty songs, and they provided backing for Rogers, Dale Evans, and Vaughn Monroe.

Among the notable new recordings was Stan Jones’s “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky” in 1949. Nolan had initially declined the song, but after Vaughn Monroe’s hit version appeared, the Pioneers recorded it themselves. Their on-screen movie appearances ended with Rogers’s last B-westerns in 1948, yet two years later director John Ford featured their singing in Wagon Master, Rio Grande, and later The Searchers.

Perryman rejoined in 1946; Carson continued recording with the group for another year. Spencer contributed key songs, Fisher added material as a songwriter, and Perryman took several lead vocals. Brady returned later that year, and the group continued working in Rogers films through 1948.

These years brought a string of country-chart successes: “Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima” in 1945; “No One to Cry To” in 1946; “Baby Doll,” “Cool Water,” and “Tear Drops in My Heart” in 1947; “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” and “Cool Water” again in 1948; and “My Best to You” and “Room Full of Roses” in 1949. Shifting tastes eventually took their toll.

Spencer, author of many signature originals, left in 1949 after vocal difficulties worsened. Ken Curtis, born July 2, 1916, in Lamar, Colorado, and formerly with Tommy Dorsey, replaced him; Curtis would later gain fame as Festus on Gunsmoke. As a farewell gift Spencer gave the group “Room Full of Roses,” which became Curtis’s first lead vocal. Soon afterward Rogers began his television series and recruited Brady as his comic sidekick; Fisher returned to fill the vacancy.

Nolan’s retirement in 1949 produced the most significant change. A private man, he sought more time for himself and for songwriting after sixteen years with the group. His absence was keenly felt, for he had written many of their best-known songs and sung lead on numerous hits. He continued supplying material and occasionally rejoined them in the studio.

Perryman assumed leadership and recruited Tommy Doss, born September 26, 1920, in Weiser, Idaho. Doss’s voice blended beautifully with Perryman and Curtis, yet within a year sales began to slip. Declining interest in cowboy music prompted RCA to steer the group toward the pop market; those efforts failed and cost them part of their country audience.

In 1952, the year they issued their first LPs—Cowboy Hymns and Spirituals and Cowboy Classics—the group left RCA. They recorded nothing in 1953, then signed with Coral Records at year’s end. Curtis and Fisher departed for television and film work, co-starring in one series; Curtis later co-produced low-budget horror films, one of which, The Giant Gila Monster, featured Fisher.

Dale Warren, born June 1, 1925, in Summerville, Kentucky, and formerly of Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage, and Deuce Spriggens, previously with Spade Cooley’s band, took their places. The Coral period proved no more successful than the final RCA years.

By 1955 they had returned to RCA for another fourteen years. The label now wanted the classic Nolan-Spencer sound. Nolan agreed to record with them again, Curtis rejoined for studio work, and Brady also participated in those sessions. In practice the group split into two units: a studio vocal trio of Nolan, Perryman, and Curtis backed by the Farr brothers and Brady recreated the vintage sound on record, while Perryman, Doss, Warren, the Farrs, and Spriggens handled live performances. Not until 1958 did the touring lineup begin recording as well.

Further changes followed. Nolan retired permanently from singing, and Hugh Farr left in 1958, feeling his fiddling was underappreciated. Karl Farr remained until September 20, 1961, when he collapsed and died of heart failure during a concert after a guitar string broke. Roy Lanham, born January 16, 1923, in Corbin, Kentucky, and one of the busiest West Coast session guitarists, replaced him. Brady rejoined after Fisher retired in 1959 and stayed until 1967.

Doss stepped down from touring in 1963 but continued recording until 1967. Luther Nallie joined as lead singer in 1968 and remained until 1974. Over the twelve-year span from 1957 to 1969, RCA issued twenty-one albums by the group.

In 1971 both Nolan and Spencer were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. A 1972 reunion at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles gathered most surviving members, including Rogers, Nolan, and Spencer. Four years later the Sons of the Pioneers entered the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Soon afterward the original and early-era members began to pass away: Spencer on April 26, 1976; Perryman on May 31, 1977; Hugh Farr on April 17, 1980; and Nolan on June 16, 1980.

After Perryman’s death, Warren, who had joined in 1952, assumed leadership and guided the group into the 1990s. The current lineup included Rusty Richards on vocals, Doye O’Dell on guitar and vocals, Billy Armstrong on fiddle, Billy Liebert on accordion, and Rome Johnson on vocals. Together with younger acts such as Riders in the Sky, they kept the legacy of this beloved western ensemble alive.