Sons of the Pioneers

The Sons of the Pioneers galloped onto the music scene in 1934, forever transforming cowboy music with their thrilling harmonies and poetic images of the West, and still set the standard for Western music today. In 2023, the group is celebrating its 89th year of continuous performing with their Grammy-winning music, such as “Cool Water” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds.” The group's newest release, RED RIVER VALLEY, extends its vast discography. When Roy Rogers (then Len Slye) and songwriters Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer developed their trademark “Pioneer sound” in the early '30s, little did they realize they were launching a juggernaut that would become perhaps the longest-lived group in American music history. The current lineup features trail boss Tommy Nallie (vocals, lead guitar), Ken Lattimore (vocals, fiddle), John Fullerton (vocals, rhythm guitar), Paul Elliott (lead fiddle, vocals), and Chuck Ervin (string bass, vocals). The Pioneers are the most decorated group in western music, winning honors such as the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Western Music Association Hall of Fame, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Texas Swing Hall of Fame, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “No other group had as profound an effect on the history of western music,” writes music historian Douglas B. Green, also known as Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky. “Their lyrical musical portraits virtually define the romanticized West … painting its colors as no one had done before or has done since.”