Remember when it used to be called “country and western” music? Well, this classic album, called “Sons Of the Pioneers: Cool Water,” is the very epitome of western.

As we were getting ready to launch this site, we solicited ideas from friends of ours as to albums we should feature. To our astonishment, several of them suggested the Sons of the Pioneers. Our first response was, “you've got to be kidding.” We thought nobody below the age of 70 had ever even heard of them, much less cared about their music. But we were wrong! This music is far more sophisticated than you might imagine. One envisions a guitar, a harmonica and maybe a fiddle. Let’s face it. How many times have you seen a full orchestra sitting around the campfire? Yet this album, recorded in RCA’s newly developed “Living Stereo” in 1959, features a full orchestral sound on various tracks.

A former truck driver and Del Monte fruit picker from Ohio named Leonard Slye founded this group. You may know him better as Roy Rogers, the famed cowboy actor/singer. Another key member was Bob Nolan, who sang, played bass and wrote songs. They were known for the high quality of their vocal performances, musicianship and songwriting. They produced finely crafted and innovative recordings that have inspired many western performers. Dating back to 1933, despite the change in personnel over the years, (41 performers can claim membership), they have remained one of the longest-surviving vocal groups in country music history. They also appeared in 87 films, movie shorts, and various television series.

This album had been deleted in the U.S. but remastered by a foreign label. Originally released on 78s, then LPS, then 8-track tapes, it’s remarkable that music such as this by a group of guys singing harmony on some tunes immortalizing the Old West has survived the ages.

If you wonder why this could be, just listen to one track: “Riders In the Sky.” This minor-key song is incredible. We also bet you’ve never heard yodeling in three-part harmony, but the Sons do just that on “Way Out There” — a trademark song of theirs.

Their version of “Cattle Call” puts Eddy Arnold to shame. The word pictures that are painted by the lyrics of all these songs make it easy to imagine the wide open range, the cowboys on horseback, the cactus, the rugged canyons, the “tall timbers calling.”

And can you imagine flute playing on a cowboy-themed “Red River Valley”? Hear the tight harmonies on “Tumbling Tumbleweeds.” (Written by Bob Nolan, it was originally called “tumbling leaves,” but the name was changed to give the song a western character).

You owe it to yourself to at least listen to the sample we've posted below.

It's okay to like the Sons of the Pioneers. Honestly. We’ll keep your little secret. We won’t tell anybody.

To sample some of the tracks, click the speaker icon below to hear them. Then scroll down the page to order today!