INFLUENCED: Garth Brooks and Chris LeDoux

Cowboys have often been associated as being heroes – chivalrous men who ride in and save the day - men like John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry come to mind.  One cowboy that should be included is Chris LeDoux, a rodeo star and country singer-songwriter who left the world all too soon when he succumbed to liver cancer on March 15, 2005.  Chris was a big influence to superstar phenomenon Garth Brooks, and you can see it especially through Garth’s dynamic live shows as well as in his songs.  It began with Garth’s very first single “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old),” which was released in 1989, with the lyric “a worn out tape of Chris LeDoux, lonely women and bad booze seem to be the only friends I’ve left at all.”  The song brought national prominence to Chris who had only experienced regional success up to that point.
   
In 2005, Garth told CMT, “Chris was exactly what our heroes are supposed to be.  He was a man’s man.  A good friend.”  After Chris’ untimely death at the age of 56, Garth tipped his hat to his friend by recording “Good Ride Cowboy.”  Garth explained of the song, “I knew if I ever recorded any kind of tribute to Chris, it would have to be up-tempo, happy…a song like him…not some slow, mournful song.  He wasn’t like that.”

As a child in Texas, Chris first became interested in the rodeo circuit, and by the time his family moved to Wyoming, it had blossomed into what would become a life-long passion for him.  Chris listened to country music growing up and as a teen loved hearing Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Charlie Daniels, among others.  His mom bought him his very own guitar and Chris was well on his way learning to play and writing songs.  Through the 1970s, Chris competed on the national rodeo circuit and became the world champion professional bareback rider in 1976.
 
Soon after, music took over as Chris’ career.  He wrote hundreds of songs about the American West, cowboy life, the rodeo and love.  Songs like “Copenhagen” and “This Cowboy’s Hat” were among those that fans best loved.  Chris obtained a cult-like following through his energetic live shows which often featured a mechanical bull on stage and pyrotechnics.  Chris would sprint from one end of the stage to the other giving his all for those who came to see him perform.  After Garth released “Much Too Young,” Chris signed a record deal with Liberty Records (prior to that he self-released his many albums) and soon made his national debut with his 1991 album Western Underground.  The following year, Chris released Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy, an album that featured Chris’ two biggest chart successes – that title track, which was a duet with Garth that reached the Top 10, and “Cadillac Ranch.”
 
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Chris continued to record (including a collaboration with Jon Bon Jovi titled “Bang a Drum” and his version of the classic “Life Is A Highway”), but a rare liver condition which required a transplant slowed him down in 2000.  After receiving a transplant, Chris recovered and released two more albums before passing away in 2005.  During his music career, he recorded over 30 albums and became a beloved figure on the rodeo circuit.  Today, Chris’ band Western Underground continues to play shows in honor of their long-time leader.

Photo courtesy of Redferns

Nikita Palmer for Citadel Digital © 2010

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