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Rusty Richards is known to contemporary audiences
and performers for his recent recordings and appearances as a
celebrity and headliner at many kinds of Western events,
including Western music festivals. But his career has been a
long, varied and fascinating one. He is a real cowboy (as well
as a "reel" cowboy), having won numerous rodeo awards, including
prized buckles that are coveted by all rodeo cowboys. As a young
man in Hollywood, Rusty worked as a stuntman in many Western
films and tv shows, e.g. Rawhide, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke,
Bonanza, Have Gun-Will Travel, How the West was Won, etc. In
addition, he is widely known for his abilities as a horse
trainer.
During his long career in Western music, Rusty
sang tenor with the Sons of the Pioneers over a period of some
20 years, beginning in 1963. He was the Pioneers’ first true
yodeler since the departure of Roy Rogers some 25 years earlier,
and this permitted the group to reinstate a number of the older
songs in their stage repertoire. Rusty also worked with Hi Busse
& the Frontiersmen and Ken Curtis between stints with the
Pioneers. Earlier, at age 16, Rusty had his own tv program in
Los Angeles, Song Trail, and he recorded a solo LP for Jimmy
Wakely’s Shasta label, an album that was re-issued on CD by
Varese Sarabande in 2003.
His work with the Pioneers included thousands of
public appearances, numerous performances on radio and national
television plus a tv pilot, Stage to Gunsight, featuring Marty
Robins and the Sons of the Pioneers. Rusty recorded albums with
the Pioneers on the Granite and Silver Spur labels and later, as
a solo artist, on the Young Oak label. He has composed a number
of outstanding Western songs, some of which, like "Call of the
Wild," have been recorded by the Sons of the Pioneers, the
Reinsmen, Robert Wagoner and other leading artists.
Rusty’s first solo all-Western CD, American
Cowboy, has long been recommended by critics as a "must" for any
Western music collection. His public appearances, including
those with his American Cowboys and with his talented family,
have always been the "hit" of Western music festivals and other
events (Rusty and his American Cowboys performed at the 1988
get-together that initiated the Western Music Association).
During his tenure with the Sons of the Pioneers,
Rusty worked closely with Pat Brady and, together, they were the
glue that connected the Pioneers to their fans. When Pat left
the group, Rusty continued to handle the unofficial job of
liaison officer with the fans, taking time to talk with fans,
sign autographs and to show a genuine interest in them, thereby
endearing him to legions of admirers around the world. No one in
Western music today is more loved and appreciated than Rusty
Richards. |
Gary
plays lead guitar and sings for the Sons of The Pioneers.
He is the son-in-law of Sunny Spencer.