Who is Red Steagall?
Red Steagall is an all-American cowboy icon that has helped preserve country western music and cowboy culture in a vastly different world — one that often equates cowboys with a bygone era. Red has given the rest of the world poetry, music, and meaningful entertainment that will last as long as the sun still sets in the west. The man embodies the values and culture of the great cowboys of the silver screen like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Hopalong Cassidy. The knowledge of cowboy culture that he has could fill the Rio Grand twice. His accomplishments are no less than outstanding in his field of entertainment, and you still might be unfamiliar with this cowboy legend, so let me give you a few sparks to light your tender about him.
Born Russell “Red” Steagall in Gainesville, Texas, he started life as any good cowboy might riding bulls in the rodeo. Unfortunately, he had to abandon his rodeo career as it was cut short by his catching polio at the young age of 15. Red turned to other outlets while he recovered from his illness; those new passions would lead him to create some chart-topping music. Red’s talent for mandolins and guitar complemented his writing of great song lyrics. Not only did he write some great songs, but he is also a noted cowboy poet.
Red has a total of 26 recorded albums and 23 singles to date. One of his most successful songs that charted at number 11 is “Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music,” which pays homage to Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing. I have my version covering the incredibly catchy tune, but Red’s recording will make any buckaroo want to take their partner dancing. He is a great songwriter honoring country western music in its truest form. If you haven’t heard him sing “Somewhere My Love,” you are surely missing out on a western classic.
For years Red appeared on the television show “Hee-Haw,” a country music version of “Laugh-In.” His TV show “West of Wall Street” on the Cowboy Channel is one of my favorites as he takes viewers on a journey into the history and culture of the American West and some of its most famous people and ranches. He also hosted the National Finals Rodeo and the Winston Pro Tour in 1985.
His accomplishments in the music industry are more than just his recordings. He discovered the recording artist Reba McEntire when he heard her sing the national anthem at a National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma. Red helped get her signed to Mercury Records in 1975. Red is known to be the type of cowboy to always lend a hand to any cowboy/cowgirl that needed it.
Red still lives in Texas, where for the last 30 years, he has held the annual fall “Red Steagall’s Cowboy Gathering” in Fort Worth, Texas. The Gathering is a huge festival that started as a cowboy poetry conference. The entire event today is a celebration of the American cowboy and ranchers that have made this country so great. Music, entertainment, demonstrations, food, wagon trains, and a rodeo make this event a must-see for anyone who loves the American West.
Knowing what you know now about Red Steagall, I would like to recommend a few of his songs for your listening pleasure.
1. Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music
8. When The Grass Was Still Deep
9. My America
10. Panhandle Wind
Hope to see you next year at the “Cowboy Gathering” in Fort Worth. If you are lucky, maybe you will get a chance to say hi to Red!
Check out Red’s website www.redsteagall.com
John PayCheck is a song writer, entertainer, civil servant, author and father. He has a Masters of Science in Military Studies from USMCU and Bachelores of Science from Franklin University. He resides in Virginia on his family farm.
For more of stories and articles please like and subscribe to my Medium.
For a sample of my music go to my Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, or Apple Music.
© Jonathan PayCheck & HorseBite Entertainment llc., 2022. All rights reserved. To reach John PayCheck, email countrymusic@johnpaycheck.com and mention which story brought you to me. I appreciate it and hope to see you down the trail some day. To reach HorseBite Ent., email thebighorse@horsebite.us .
