On July 6, 1998, Roy Rogers died of congestive heart failure at age 86 in Apple Valley, California. Before he embodied the ideals of the American West in films such as Springtime in the Sierras and The Golden Stallion, Rogers got his start as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers, one of the earliest Western singing groups. Today, we’re celebrating the six-decade legacy of the man who inspired a key part of Willie Nelson’s image.
Before He Was Roy Rogers
The man who would become Roy Rogers was born Leonard Franklin Slye on November 5, 1911, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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When he was 8 years old, the family moved into a six-room farmhouse near Lucasville, up the Ohio River from Cincinnati. No radio meant the family had to entertain themselves, which they did by inviting neighbors over on Saturdays for square dances.
These events were a young Slye’s first taste of performing, as he would sing, play mandolin, and call the square dances. He also learned to yodel, a skill that would certainly come in handy during his prolific career.
Slye would end up leaving high school early, taking a job at the factory to help out his family financially. In 1930, the family moved to California, seduced by warmer weather and better job prospects. (They found only the latter, since the Great Depression hit a short while later. At one point, Slye earned money by picking peaches at the kind of labor camp John Steinbeck wrote about in The Grapes of Wrath.)
At his sister’s urging, Slye reluctantly auditioned for the Midnight Frolic radio program in Inglewood, playing guitar, singing, and yodeling. A few days later, he accepted an offer to join a country music band called the Rocky Mountaineers as a singer and guitarist.
Slye convinced them to hire singer-songwriter Bob Nolan for harmonizing purposes. In 1933, he and Nolan formed the Pioneers Trio with Nolan’s replacement, Tim Spencer. The trio later became the Sons of the Pioneers when they added fiddle player Hugh Farr.
Landing a contract with Decca Records, the Sons of the Pioneers recorded 32 songs across two years, including the all-time classic “Cool Water”.
From the Stage to the Screen
Slye’s first film roles were uncredited parts in movies starring fellow singing cowboy Gene Autry. In 1938, Autry demanded a pay raise, inspiring the studio to hold auditions for another singing cowboy (one they could get away with paying lower wages).
Slye landed the starring role in Under Western Stars, originally intended for Autry. he adopted the stage name Roy Rogers, after the popular Western comic Will Rogers.
Soon, he was a household name, along with horse Trigger—who inspired the name of Willie Nelson’s iconic guitar—and dog Bullet. In 1944, he met future wife, Dale Evans, on the set of The Cowboy and the Senorita. They would appear in many films together.
In the early 1950s, they moved away from films and launched The Roy Rogers Show. A little more than a decade later, that became The Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Show—an instant favorite among NBC viewers.
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