Rusty Richards
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. Rusty Likes to call himself, "a Cowboy who sings" and his album "The American Cowboy" was declared one of the 25 best cowboy albums of all time in the official magazine of the Western Music Association in 2002.
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 Trails with Rusty Richards, 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, titled, Country Pioneer.
His work with the Sons of the Pioneers included thousands of public appearances, numerous performances on radio and national television plus a TV pilot, Stagecoach 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 and used in films.
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.
Rusty has received many Honors and awards for his work over the years. While with the Sons of the Pioneers he was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, their star was placed in the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the group was declared a "National Treasure" by the Smithsonian Institution, and they were awarded "The Best Touring Band" by the Academy of Country Music.
Rusty has received two "Pioneer Awards" in Arizona, is a Member of the Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame, and is a Member of the Aksarben Hall of Fame in Omaha, Nebraska. The"Golden Lariat Award" was presented to him by the National Western Film Festival in Ogden, Utah. He was given the "Pioneer Award" by the California Country Music Association, the "Cowboy Spirit Award" by the National Festival of the West, and "The Ben Johnson Award" by the Western Film Festival in Sonora, California.
In 2004 Rusty was inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame.
In April of 2004 the historic Portola Ride in Orange County, California, was dedicated to Rusty.
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