It was 45 years ago in Portland, Oregon. I went to see George Thorogood and The Destroyers. The opening band—whose name has escaped me, alas—played a rendition of “Ghost Riders” that was the most beautifully haunting I had ever heard. To this day I can hear that song in my head.
As for Leroy Troy and his “Ghost Chickens in the Sky”: Get a rope.
MIKE GUENTHERNovember 20, 2021, 8:46 AM
Nearly 40 years ago, I went to a small venue in Wilton Manor FL and saw New Riders Of The Purple Sage. This song was one of their iconic hits.
I was running a Christmas tree lot for the local Kiwanis Club at the time and a couple of the guys invited me to go. It was a terrific show and I had a blast. I was staying in a rented RV on the lot across the parking lot from the police station. My brother would deliver trees from WNC about every four days and bring me a small sack of weed to boot. I’d sit in the RV and burn one as I looked out the window to see a police cruiser sitting in the lot as they wrote out their reports or just sat there watching the lot to make sure no one tried to steal any trees.
hooodathunkitNovember 22, 2021, 5:29 PM
If it was the ’78 tour, might have been the Outlaws. Not released on album until ’93, but were playing it live 10 years earlier.
hooodathunkitNovember 22, 2021, 5:40 PM
Whoops! Make that 1980! On the album Ghost Riders. (embarrassment, slinks away)
Andrew RNovember 20, 2021, 9:23 AM
My Grandma watched Lawrence Welk. When she babysat me I had to sit and watch with her. Dark Days. Dark, dark days…
I guess it now falls to an old fart like me to remind you younger folks of the original version of “Ghost Riders In The Sky”, by Vaughn Monroe in 1949 — reached #1 on he Billboard charts for that year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1JUG2pF6MI
Clayton In MississippiNovember 20, 2021, 9:29 PM
hmm … not sure how the word”male” sneaked in there … obviously it should have been “me”.
Don’tcha just hate it when you post a typo in a Comment section and then can’t correct it?
🙂
VanderleunNovember 21, 2021, 6:40 AM
I feel your pain and have removed it from your side.
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Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.

My feet are on the hilltops.

My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of
universal life.

Down in the sounding foam of primal things I
reach my hands and play with pebbles of
destiny.

I have been to hell and back many times.

I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.

I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.

I know the passionate seizure of beauty

And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs
reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive
 in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
It was 45 years ago in Portland, Oregon. I went to see George Thorogood and The Destroyers. The opening band—whose name has escaped me, alas—played a rendition of “Ghost Riders” that was the most beautifully haunting I had ever heard. To this day I can hear that song in my head.
As for Leroy Troy and his “Ghost Chickens in the Sky”: Get a rope.
Nearly 40 years ago, I went to a small venue in Wilton Manor FL and saw New Riders Of The Purple Sage. This song was one of their iconic hits.
I was running a Christmas tree lot for the local Kiwanis Club at the time and a couple of the guys invited me to go. It was a terrific show and I had a blast. I was staying in a rented RV on the lot across the parking lot from the police station. My brother would deliver trees from WNC about every four days and bring me a small sack of weed to boot. I’d sit in the RV and burn one as I looked out the window to see a police cruiser sitting in the lot as they wrote out their reports or just sat there watching the lot to make sure no one tried to steal any trees.
If it was the ’78 tour, might have been the Outlaws. Not released on album until ’93, but were playing it live 10 years earlier.
Whoops! Make that 1980! On the album Ghost Riders. (embarrassment, slinks away)
My Grandma watched Lawrence Welk. When she babysat me I had to sit and watch with her. Dark Days. Dark, dark days…
You missed the Spike Jones version though:
https://archive.org/details/78_riders-in-the-sky_spike-jones-and-his-city-slickers-i-w-harper-sir-frederick-gas_gbia0019928b/_78_riders-in-the-sky_spike-jones-and-his-city-slickers-i-w-harper-sir-frederick-gas_gbia0019928b_01_3.5_ET_EQ.flac
What do you have against three small-town boys from the Dakotas who became accordion stars? Here’s Lawrence himself with Myron Floren and Joey Schmidt– two ethnic Germans and a Norwegian, with the “Beer Barrel Polka”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq0pCQXuh6g&t=98s&ab_channel=LawrenceWelkShowFans
Hey, you at least have the dancers to look at if the 1981 turquoise leisure suits on Schmidt and Floren hurt your eyes.
I like the Ghost Riders version done by the Outlaws.
Try this one. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zol906ltPU
I guess it now falls to an old fart like me to remind you younger folks of the original version of “Ghost Riders In The Sky”, by Vaughn Monroe in 1949 — reached #1 on he Billboard charts for that year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1JUG2pF6MI
hmm … not sure how the word”male” sneaked in there … obviously it should have been “me”.
Don’tcha just hate it when you post a typo in a Comment section and then can’t correct it?
🙂
I feel your pain and have removed it from your side.
Late to the party – one more:
https://youtu.be/WPDWJalJcZU
Also: Riders In The Sky! Cowboy group: https://www.ridersinthesky.com/ 44 years touring.