The sound was essentially background sound, myself, and Carl, Dennis and Al Jardine, Mike was our lead singer. The four of us put our voices together. We had done it really beautifully. We had a beautiful blend. We really did.

Boys everywhere are quick to recognize and respect any kind of talent in each other, and one of Will Rogers' best talents was talking.

There have been many great performers, but only four great stylists—Al Jolson, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

There have been many great performers, but only four great stylists—Al Jolson, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

There was chaos and turmoil and narrow escapes but through it all there was singing that could not be denied. Many people believe that the sound that made George Jones the King of Country Music came about because George listened so closely to his ex–bass player and was more dependable. And when a guy who rides his lawn mower to the liquor store because his wife hid the car keys is more dependable, you have a sense of what country music was like at the time.

Those were stirring times out on that wild frontier- rough, dangerous times in many ways. But to young Will Rogers, growing up on his father's range, that frontier was the garden spot of the world. He had a comfortable home, kind parents, jolly playmates, and the whole country-side for a playground. But above all, he was happy because he was learning to rope and ride, the two things he cared for most in all the world.

If I was a cowboy, I'd be wild and free,
Rolling around these towns like tumbleweeds.
I'd be a legend at loving and leaving,
Nipping on a whiskey and numbing up my feelings.
You thought the west was wild, but you ain't saddled up with me,
If I was a cowboy, I'd be the queen.

Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals. He was a man who preached tolerance of all sorts of people in ways that directly contradicted the Bible. His syrupy teachings led millions astray. He was a wuss and he was an enabler of wusses.

Sorry for the tune up between time, but what the hell, cowboys are the only ones who stay in tune, anyway...

Yeah, that's what I was wondering!! Who the fuck is Will Rogers?

I'm the oldest son of a crazy man, I'm in a cowboy band.

I should've been a cowboy.
I should've learned to rope and ride.
Wearing my six-shooter, riding my pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girls' hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs.
I should've been a cowboy.

In most of my westerns, in fact most of the movies I did at Columbia, I was the meanie, the bitch. Like ‘Colorado Sundown’ (at Republic) with Rex Allen and even the musical, ‘Arkansas Swing’ with the Hoosier Hot Shots, a terrific quartet who were also in ‘Song of Idaho’.

So strong had his voice become that people on neighboring ranches and farms would drag their rocking chairs onto their patios on the nights they knew he was visiting and listen to the corridos he and Fernando Cisneros sang, their voices carried on the gentle breezes of the Gulf for miles on end.