Album Notes

As the title “This Cowboy’s on His Own” suggests, this album is Jim alone with his guitar highlighting his first-rate vocal and guitar skills. This third release is a great combination of traditional, original, and contemporary cowboy western music. Writing in the western periodical, Rope Burns, Rick Huff, has this to say about this CD, \"Jim Garling\'s honest musicianship is clean and crisp... Garling gives snappy, fresh spins to classics such as \'Ghost Riders in the Sky,\' \'Whoopie Ti-Yi-Yo\', \'Blue Shadows on the Trail\', \'South of the Border\' and more... Garling even takes on Dave Stamey\'s showstopper \'If I Had a Horse\' and rides it in perfectly... Jim Garling is one of those performers who makes it sound easy...\" See \"Links\" for complete review. Jim embarked on a life-long journey of playing the guitar and singing in his teen-age years. He spent most of his spare time hanging out at a local, family-owned music store where he picked up many guitar skills through jamming with other musicians playing the good, old-time country and western swing standards. In the back of this store was a recording studio where Jim had opportunity to play along with recording musicians instilling a dream in the back of his mind of some day recording his own music. He now has three albums to his credit—This Cowboy’s on His Own; Here Comes a Change; Cattle, Trails, and Romance. During his musical journey he always had a full-time job providing for his family, but he continued enjoying his music even learning to play the fiddle which opened a new area of music—old-time fiddling and contest fiddling. It was after selling his RV dealership that he began his teaching, performing, song-writing, and recording career. He keeps grounded by keeping a rigorous teaching schedule for two-full days a week that includes, at most times, 54 students of fiddle and/or guitar. Back in 2002 Jim was introduced to cowboy music at the Gene Autry Oklahoma Film and Music Festival. It was then that he really discovered and came to love the soothing quality and character of western cowboy music. Since that time he has thoroughly immersed himself in the cowboy-era music and music of the cowboy movie stars as well as music of more contemporary artists who reflect on the cowboy life. Jim has performed publicly at numerous venues around the country: The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City; Cheyenne Cowboy Symposium, Wyoming; Western Music Association Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Cedar Depot Memorial Celebration, Cedar, Kansas; Gene Autry Oklahoma Film & Music Festival; Acoustacadia Music Festival, Edmond, Oklahoma; Western Heritage Days-Tom Mix Festival, Dewey, Oklahoma; Miles of Memories Country Music Festival, Hastings, Nebraska. In programs for schools and libraries, he also combines music with cowboy history particularly as it relates to Oklahoma. Audiences young and old enjoy Jim\'s unique vocal style, his incredible guitar skills and his all-around gregarious, outgoing spirit and love of music. Discover the character and quality of this cowboy western genre that brings back memories of the pure music of an earlier time.