Movie Music Monday: I'm An Old Cowhand

The movies have served as a musical education to me. They have constantly broadened and expanded my musical taste and knowledge and continue to do so. From the cowboy music of The Sons of the Pioneers, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers to the classical music of Fantasia to the musical standards of the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals to the rock and roll of Elvis Presley and concert films like The Last Waltz (1978) to jazz legends like Miles Davis, Paul Whiteman and Louis Armstrong to crooners like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, films have helped introduce me to so much great music. These Movie Music Monday posts I hope will give you some of the same experience the movies have given me.

Today's song is a cowboy classic, I'm an Old Cowhand. This is a fun and often funny little novelty number that has become a staple of cowboy music. The song was introduced in the feature film, Rhythm on the Range (1936). Preforming the song in the movie was an all star line-up including Bing Crosby, Louis Prima, The Sons of the Pioneers, Matha Ray, Leonid Kinskey and Bob Burns. This song was specifically written for this movie by Johnny Mercer. Fans of movie music should be familiar with Johnny since he wrote s or co-wrote such classic movie songs as I'm Old Fashioned, You Were Never Lovelier, On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe, Charade, One for My Baby (and One More for the Road) and Hooray For Hollywood. This song was inspired by a trip across the U.S.A. write his wife and how he was amused by the sight of cowboys in full cowboy garb driving cars instead of riding horses. The satirical lyrics of this song also helped him vent his frustration with his not having made it in Hollywood up to this time. Of course that would change 

The song would return to the movies when Gene Autry and Mary Lee sang it in the feature film, Back in the Saddle (1941).





Roy Rogers (who had previously been a member of the Sons of the Pioneers and appeared as such in Rhythm on the Range (including the scene that introduced this song) sang it in the movie, King of the Cowboys (1943).




The same year that Rythym on the Range was released both Bing Crosby and The Sons of the Pioneers, did solo versions of the song.







Also in 1936 the overlooked country music pioneer Carlson Robison did a version of this song.





Frank Sinatra recorded the song in 1945.

 

Jazz saxophonist, Sonny Rollins did an instrumental version of this song on his 1957 album, Way Out West.

 

The Mills Brothers did an excellent version in 1961.




When The Charlie Daniels Band did an album of cowboy songs, By the Light of the Moon (1997).


 

-Michael J. Ruhland