Ken Carson, Raymond Courtney (aka Joe “Curley” Bradley) and Jack Ross met in the early 1930s when Bradley and Carson worked with the Beverly Hill Billies in California. Late in 1933, they formed the Ranch Boys trio, which actually evolved from an earlier group with the same name.
They had a smooth vocal blend, accompanied by Carson’s acoustic guitar. Instead of writing their own material, they focused on singing and recording traditional cowboy songs and Western songs composed by others, many of which were soon to become Western standards or classics. In 1941, Decca released a 78rpm album of Ranch Boys recordings of Billy Hill compositions and before that, in addition to a large number of “singles,” Decca had released an album of medleys of early Western songs.
- On Sept. 7, 1934, they had recorded Bob Nolan’s “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” for Decca in Chicago one month after the Sons of the Pioneers recorded their initial version for the same label in August, 1934, in Los Angeles. But Decca released the Ranch Boys’ record first, on October 9, so it became the first commercial release of that Western classic. Their work on film with Gene Autry ( Old Monterey in 1939) resulted in a large following among members of the Gene Autry fan club. the film, the trio sang “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” in three-quarter time, which sets that version apart from all other recordings of that song.
In 1938, the trio drew considerable national attention to themselves and to Western music when they carried out a publicity stunt, riding horseback across the country, ending up on the steps of City Hall in New York City where they presented greetings from the Governor of California to NY’s Mayor LaGuardia, followed by appearances at the Madison Square Garden rodeo. They had stopped to perform their Western music many times along the way, broadcasting remotely for the WLS National Barndance.
Moving from the coast to Chicago, the trio worked on the very popular Tom Mix radio series, which helped them establish a national reputation and fan base, but the trio dissolved in 1941 when “Curley” Bradley was offered the role of Tom Mix on the radio. The following year, Ken Carson joined the Sons of the Pioneers, but re-issues of their recordings kept the work of the Ranch Boys before the public long after the group broke up. And many of their recordings are available on CDs today!
O.J. Sikes
Awards:
- 2020 Hall of Fame Inductees