ROOTS of Country Music

Antioch, TN 37013

Sons of the Pioneers

Sons of the Pioneers

Career Highlights

Radio, Film & TV

Bells of San Angelo, 1
Blazing Six Shooters, 1
Ernest Tubb’s Midnight Jamboree, 3
Eyes of Texas, 1
Gay Ranchero, 1
Grand Ole Opry, 3
Night Time in Nevada, 1
North of the Yukon, 1
On the Old Spanish Trail, 1
Outlaws of the Panhandle, 1
Outlaws of the Prarie, 1
Red River Valley, 1
Riders of Black River, 1
Ridin' Down the Canyon, 1
Rio Grande, 1
Romance on the Range, 1
South of Arizona, 1
Spoilers of the Range, 1
Springtime in the Sierras, 1
Sunset on the Desert, 1
Sunset Serenade, 1
Texas Stagecoach, 1
Texas Stampede, 1
The Man From Sundown, 1
The Old Wyoming Trail, 1
The Searchers, 1
The Stranger From Texas, 1
The Thundering West, 1
Under California Stars, 1
Wagon Master, 1
West of Abilene, 1
West of Cheyenne, 1
West of the Santa Fe, 1
Western Caravan, 1

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV

Billboard Chart Data

No. 1 Singles: 0
Top-20 Singles: 10
Crossover Singles: 1
Charted Singles: 10
Years Active: (1945-1949)

Awards

Country Music Association

Country Music Hall of fame (1980)

Career Labels:

Decca Records (1947-1948)
RCA Records (1945-1949)

Billboard Top-20 Singles

Stars and Stripes on Iowa Juma# -1945
No One to Cry To -1946
Baby Doll -1947
Cool Water*1
Cigarettes, Whiskey and Wild, Wild Women
Teardrops in My Hesrt
Tumbling Tumbleweeds -1948
Cool water, 1
My Best to You -1949
Room Full of Roses, 2

#-Biggest Chart Single

1-Decca Records

2-Crossover Chart Single

All above singles RCA Records except (1)

*-Written by Bob Nolan

Ten Original Recordings

1.Song of the Bandit [LA 1491-A]

Los Angeles, California. Oct. 26, 1937. Bob Nolan (lead vocal), Roy Rogers (vocal, rhythm guitar), Lloyd Perryman (vocal, string bass), Hugh Farr (fiddle), Karl Farr (lead guitr)

2.At Rainbows End [LA 1550-A]

Los Angeles, California. Dec. 16, 1937. Bob Nolan (lead vocal), Roy Rogers, Lloyd Perryman (vocal, rhythm guitar), Hugh Farr (fiddle), Karl Farr (lead guitr), Pat Brady (string bass), Sam Koki (steel guitar)

3. Hold That Critter Down [LA 1547-B]

Los Angeles, California. Dec. 16, 1937. Bob Nolan, Roy Rogers, Lloyd Perryman (alternate lead vocals-in addition to vocal trio sing), musicians and instruments same as No. 2 above.

4.When the Golden Train Comes Down [LA 1545-A]

Los Angeles, California. Dec. 14, 1937. Vocal arrangements same as No. 3 above, musicians and instruments same as No. 2 above.

5. Cajon Stomp [LA 1497-B]

Los Angeles, California. Oct. 26, 1937. Hugh Farr (fiddle), Karl Farr (lead guitr), Lloyd Perryman (rhythm guitar), Bob Nolan string bass)

6. You Must Come In At the Door [LA 1541-A]

Los Angeles, California. Dec. 14, 1937. Hugh Farr (lead bass vocal on chorus), Bob Nolan (lead vocal), Karl Farr, Lloyd Perryman (guitars), Pat Brady (string bass), Sam Koki (steel guitar)

7. The Devil's Great Grandson LA 1543-A]

Los Angeles, California. Dec. 14, 1937. Bob Nolan, Roy Rogers, Lloyd Perryman (alternate lead vocals-in addition to vocal trio sing), musicians and instruments same as No. 2 above.

8. Cowboy Night Herd Song [LA 1500-A]

Los Angeles, California. Oct. 28, 1937. Roy Rogers (vocal solo), musicians and instruments same as No. 5 above.

9. Send Him Home To Me [LA 1499-B]

Los Angeles, California. Oct. 28, 1937. Bob Nolan (lead vocal), Roy Rogers, Lloyd Perryman (vocals), Hugh Farr (fiddle), Karl Farr (guitar).

10. The Touch of God's Hand [LA 1551-B]

Los Angeles, California. Dec. 14, 1937. Bob Nolan (vocal solo),Hugh Farr (fiddle), Karl Farr, Lloyd Perryman (rhythm guitars), Pat Brady (string bass), possibly Sam Koki (steel guitar).

Under Western Skies: The Sons of the Pioneers

The original Sons of the Pioneers was a cowboy singing group founded in 1933 by Roy Rogers, Tim Spencer and Bob Nolan.

The Sons of the Pioneers are one of America's premier western singing groups whose classic recordings set a new standard for performers of western music. Known for the high quality of their vocal performances, musicianship and songwriting, they produced finely-crafted and innovative recordings that have inspired many western music performers and remained popular through the years.

The Original Sons of the Pioneers

Bob Nolan (vocal, string bass, 1933, 1948)

Roy Rogers (vocal, rhythm guitar, 1933-1936)

Tim Spencer (vocal, 1933-1935, 1937-1948)

In early 1933, Leonard Slye (Roy Rogers), Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer formed a group called the Pioneer Trio. The three young singers rehearsed for weeks honing their singing. While Slye continued to work with his radio singing group, Spencer and Nolan began writing songs for the group. They were joined by Hugh Farr in 1934, Karl Farr in 1935 and Lloyd Perryman in 1936. The group matured and expanded into the Sons of the Pioneers, the most influential of the B western singin' groups.

By the summer of 1934, the Sons of the Pioneers' popularity and fame extended beyond the Los Angeles area and quickly spread across the United States through short syndicated radio segments that were rebroadcast all over the country.

They signed a recording contract with the newly founded Decca label and on August 8, 1934, the Sons of the Pioneers made their first commercial recording.

Three more members later came into the fold, which along with the original three, made up the core of the Sons of the pioneers for several years.

Joining the group in succession were:

Hugh Farr (vocal, fiddle, bass guitar, 1934-1957)

Karl Farr (vocal, guitar, 1935-1960)

Lloyd Perryman (vocal, string bass, rhythm guitar, 1936-1941, 1946, 1976)

Since 1933, through many changes in membership, the Sons of the Pioneers have remained one of the longest-surviving country music vocal groups in history.

Between 1935 and 1984, the Sons of the Pioneers appeared in 87 films, several movie shorts and a television series.

In 1937, the Sons Of The Pioneers signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to appear in a number of movies. The following year, Leonard Slye was offered a contract as an actor with rival Republic Pictures. Part of that deal required him to officially leave the group. Leonard Slye changed his name to Roy Rogers, and went on to achieve major success as a singing cowboy in the movies.

Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers remained close throughout the coming years. When their contract with Columbia Pictures ended, they signed a new contract with Republic Pictures to be with Roy Rogers. They were soon appearing as highly popular supporting players in many of Roy Rogers' movies.

In addition to their appearances and filmed performances, their music was used in numerous other films and television shows. They recorded songs for the John Ford movies Wagon Master in 1949 and Rio Grande in 1950, and performed the theme song for the John Ford classic The Searchers in 1956. Tumbling Tumbleweeds was used in the Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski in 1998.

Bob Nolan

(Apr. 1, 1908 ~ May 16, 1980)

The Canadian born Bob Nolan, whose real name was Robert Nobles, was also a proficient and prolific songwriter and among his creations are Cool Water and Tumbling Tumbleweeds.

In September 1931, Bob Nolan answered a classified ad in the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner that read, "Yodeler for old-time act, to travel. Tenor preferred." The band was The Rocky Mountaineers, by then led by Leonard Slye. After listening to the tall, slender, tanned Nolan sing and yodel, Slye hired Nolan on the spot. Although Nolan stayed with the group only a short time, he stayed in touch with Slye. Nolan was replaced by Tim Spencer, who had been working in a Safeway Store warehouse.

Bob Nolan joined the Sons of the Pioneers in 1933. Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers did tunes and helper duty with Charles Starrett at Columbia. But he and they are probably best remembered for all their appearances in Roy Rogers films.

In 1971, Bob Nolan was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Roy Rogers

(Leonard Slye)

(Nov. 5, 1911 ~ Jul. 6, 1998)

Mr. Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye in Cincinnati, Ohio to a musical family. His father played guitar and his Kentucky-born mother was a singer.

Style grew up in Duck Run, Ohio a little town near Portsmouth. He quit high school after two years forced to work in a shoe factory to help support his family. At nineteen, he moved to California and formed a band which became known as the Sons of The Pioneers. Soon, they were on the radio and with the songwriting of Bob Nolan a band member, they yodeled and sang their way to stardom.

He began playing at local functions during the 1920s. After stints with such groups as the Rocky Mountaineers and the Hollywood Hillbillies, he formed his own band, the International Cowboys.

Roy Rogers was a western movie star from 1938 to 1953, producing some 37 movies. Rogers began playing bit parts in films, first under the name of Dick Weston, and then assuming his guise as Roy Rogers. Rogers teamed up with his horse Trigger and eventually won a starring role in Under Western Skies (1938).

Tim Spencer

(Jul. 13, 1908 ~ Apr. 26, 1974)

Tim Spencer was born in Webb City, Missouri. He moved to California and finally, during hard times, got a job with Safeway, a grocery company. At this time, Spencer came in contact with Leonard Slye and Slumber Nichols. The men formed a trio, but were unsuccessful in their efforts. Eventually, the group broke up with Slye and Spencer trying to make it with other western bands.

In 1933, Spencer was approached once again by Leonard Syle. They added Bob Nolan and formed The Pioneer Trio, making their debut on radio station KFWB in Los Angeles, California. Spencer and Nolan wrote a lot of the songs performed by the trio.

In 1934, the Pioneers Trio consisted of Leonard Slye, Bob Nolan, and Tim Spencer on vocals, with Nolan playing string bass and Slye playing rhythm guitar.

Later that year, the Pioneers Trio became the Sons of the Pioneers through a radio station announcer's chance remark. Asked why he'd changed their name, the announcer said they were too young to have been pioneers, but that they could be sons of pioneers. The name was received well and fit the group, who were no longer a trio.

In 1971, Tim Spencer was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Hugh Farr

(Dec. 6, 1903 ~ Apr. 17, 1980)

Hugh and Karl Farr were the most important fiddle-and-guitar duo in the history of country & western music, a team of brother virtuosos who brought the vocabulary and dexterity of the best jazz into the confines of country and cowboy songs for more than 25 years. The fact that they weren't better known as a duo stems from the fact that their work from the mid-'30s onward was largely confined to membership in the Sons of the Pioneers

In 1934, fiddle player Hugh Farr joined the group, adding a bass voice to the group's vocal arrangements. He also sang lead on some songs.

Hugh Farr was born in Llano, Texas. His parents were both part-time musicians, when he wasn't working as a building contractor and she wasn't raising a family, playing local dances as a fiddle-and-guitar duo.

Hugh Farr took up the guitar at age seven, mastered it quickly and within a year was playing local dances as part of a duet with his father, playing songs like Texas Crapshooter, The Arkansas Traveler and Fire in the Mountain. His father wanted a fiddle player, however and by age nine Hugh Farr had not only learned the instrument but also knew how to play every song in their repertory.

By 1916 Karl Farr was playing with Hugh and their brother Glen Farr on the mandolin. Hugh's fiddle style, as it developed in the late teens and early '20s, was influenced heavily by the jazz of the era, especially the work of the Kansas City Nite Hawks. Karl Farr had started out learning the mandolin and then picked up the banjo and finally the guitar.

After leaving the Pioneers, Hugh Farr tried for a time to lead his own version of the Sons of the Pioneers, claiming ownership of the name as the last active member of the original quartet. Farr's group failed to find an audience, however and disbanded soon after it was organized.

Hugh farr played with singing cowboy star Jimmy Wakely and later co-founded the Country Gentlemen with Pat Patterson, Kenny Baker and Jimmie Widener, who broke up after a short but successful performing career and recording one album. Hugh Farr spent the 1960s playing with different groups and passed away in 1980.

Karl Farr

(Apr. 25, 1909 ~ Sep. 20, 1961)

Karl Farr was born in Rochele, TX. His father and mother were both part-time musicians, when he wasn't working as a building contractor and she wasn't raising a family, playing local dances as a fiddle-and-guitar duo.

By 1916 Karl Farr was playing with Hugh Farr and their brother Glen Farr on the mandolin. The three Farr brothers continued to play together after their father moved the family to California (CA) in early 1925. Hugh Farr had landed a gig with a local combo at a place called Mammy's Shack and by 1928, when the group broke up, he was ready to pursue music as a permanent career.

Karl Farr later followed suit, after he and his brothers made their first appearance on radio in Los Angeles, CA. Hugh and Karl joined Len Nash and His Country Boys, a Los Angeles CA country music group which hosted the program Len Nash and His Country Boys' Barn Dance.

The program lasted from 1929 until 1933, during which time Hugh Farr appeared on several Len Nash records, among them On the Road to California, Going Down to Town and Kelly Waltz. In 1933, the group moved to a new dancehall in Anaheim, CA which was unsuccessful and they broke up. Hugh and Karl Farr then formed a group, the Haywire Trio, with fellow bandmember Ira McCullough.

Meanwhile, Karl Farr continued playing with different groups around Los Angeles, CA. The Pioneers, however, knew that they needed a proper guitar player who could handle lead parts; Hugh Farr proposed his brother and in 1935 Karl Farr joined the group. While Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer were brilliant songwriters and Slye was a great performing talent, the Farrs brought an instrumental dexterity that was extraordinary. The brothers were also improvisers capable of coming up with material to fill time on radio shows on a moment's notice.

Karl Farr remained with the Sons of the Pioneers until a show in Massachusetts on September 20, 1961, when a string broke on his guitar in the middle of a solo and while struggling to change it, he collapsed and died of a heart attack.

Lloyd Perryman

(Jan. 29, 1917 ~ May 31, 1977)

Lloyd Wilson Perryman was born in the little farming community of Ruth, Arkansas. He was the youngest of nine brothers and sisters. Three years later, his parents (Samuel and Sally) moved their family to Zion, Arkansas, where they farmed and operated a general store.

Although his parents were not musical, there was always music present in the family, church and community gatherings and Lloyd began playing a guitar when he was nine. The family moved to Wasco, California (CA) in 1928 and Lloyd began to seriously contemplate a career in music. In his high school musical events, he found that his listeners loved his voice and he loved singing to them.

Mr. Perryman began appearing on the amateur programs on radio KERN in nearby Bakersfield, CA. Lloyd headed to Los Angeles, CA in 1932 and sang tenor with Bert Crowe and the Sierra Mountaineers for about a year.

The year previously he had auditioned for Bennie Nawahi and the International Cowboys and now Slumber Nichols remembered him and asked if he would care to join a new group, Cyclone and His 4-S Ranch Boys, for a tour of the Southwest.

Snipe (Carl Cobb), Slumber (Bill Nichols), Slats (Lloyd) and Squire (Ray Head) made it as far as the Dallas - Ft. Worth area in Texas where they performed as the Melody Millers. The tour was not a success but Lloyd Perryman was able to regain his place in the Sierra Mountaineers, then appearing on Radio KGER, Los Angeles, CA.

In 1935, Mr. Perryman joined Jack and His Texas Outlaws on Radio KFWB as Bob Nolan had a few years before. With the Texas Outlaws, he was on air 5 1/2 hours a day, including performances with four other groups on other radio stations.

When Tim Spencer left the Sons of the Pioneers in sympathy with his brother, Leo, who had been released from his managerial chores, it must have seemed that it would be the end of the group. They had to find someone quickly to take his place. During this time, Lloyd Perryman was substituting for members of the Sons of the Pioneers when they had to be out of the group and coincidentally he joined Jimmy LeFevre and His Saddle Pals. Roughly nine months later, in September, 1936, Bob Nolan called him up and asked Lloyd if he would like to fill the spot left by Tim Spencer when the Pioneers returned from the Texas Centennial. He never looked back. He was 19 years old.

In 1937 the Sons of the Pioneer were given a spot on Peter Potter's Hollywood Barn Dance at KHJ with the Stafford Sisters and the Four Squires, etc. Perryman’s first part in a movie as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers was in The Old Wyoming Trail in August 1937. He sang his first solo, My Saddle Pals and I, in Outlaws of the Prairie the next month.

However, it was in a later Charles Starrett film, Rio Grande in 1938, that his lyrically beautiful rendition of Bob Nolan's Slumber Time on the Range, drew audience attention. The Sons of the Pioneers never did commercially record the song and it was lost until the old Columbia / Starrett films appeared again, this time on video.

Members of the Sons of the Pioneers

Roy Rogers (1933-1936)

Bob Nolan (1933, 1948)

Tim Spencer (1933-1935, 1937-1948)

Hugh Farr (1934-1957)

Karl Farr (1935-1960)

Lloyd Perryman (1936-1941, 1946, 1976)

Pat Brady (1937-1943, 1946-1948)

Sam Koki (steel guitar, 1937)

Ken Carson (1942-1946)

Shug Fisher (1944, 1949-1953, 1955-1958)

Ken Curtis (1949-1953)