The Sons of the Pioneers are an American cowboy singing group founded in 1933 by Leonard Slye (better known by his later screen name Roy Rogers), with Tim Spencer and Bob Nolan. They were soon joined by others including Karl Farr, Hugh Farr, Lloyd Perryman,and Pat Brady They remained popular into the 1950s. A group with the name is still in existence today (2003) and gives occasional concerts in Branson, Missouri and other spots. Although best known as an actor, Ken Curtis was a member of the Sons from 1949 until 1953.
The Sons of the Pioneers did several songs for the John Ford movies Wagon Master (in 1949) and Rio Grande in (1950).
The six members who made the Sons of the Pioneers famous in the late 1930s with their close-harmonied western style music were elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1980. In 1995, they were inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In 1977, the Smithsonian designated the Sons of the Pioneers as “national treasures”. Through many changes to the line-up, the Sons of the Pioneers have continued to perform. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
