Performer Information

Johnny Western grew up in Northfield, Minnesota where his father was Director of Physical Education. (This is the town where the James Gang had their raid on the First National Bank in 1876.)

When he was five, Johnny saw Gene Autry's movie "Guns and Guitars" and became a lfe-long fan. At 15, still in high school, he was a DJ and singing cowboy on KDHL in Northfield; he was named by Billboard as the youngest DJ and singer on commercial radio in the United States. He became a singing cowboy on KMMT-TV by 16 and got a recording contract with J.O.C.O., a Minneapolis-St. Paul label. He recorded "The Violet & The Rose," "Give Me More, More, More," "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her Way." and "Little Buffalo Bill" for that label. In 1954, Johnny had his own TV show, "Circle 6 Ranch Time," where, as the singing cowboy host, he introduced the daily western movie. This helped make it possible for him to open for Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, Rex Allen, and others when they performed in the area, and he often had them as guests on his show.

In the early 1950s, he began performing on the rodeo circuit with the Sons of the Pioneers; in 1956 he moved to Hollywood and toured Canada with Gene Autry that year and met Johnny Cash in Toronto.

Western wrote "The Ballad of Paladin" theme song for the TV series "Have Gun Will Travel" starring Richard Boone, which ran 1957-1962. Western was signed to Columbia Records by Mitch Miller. Around 1958, Johnny Cash asked him to join his sown as emcee and singer; at Columbia both Cash and Western were produced by Don Law. Western played on most of Cash's recordings from August 1959 through April 1962' among these recordings were "Ballad of Paladin" (1958), "Only the Lonely" (1959), "Della's Gone" (1960), and "Darling Corey." In 1960 he made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry.

In 1962, when Cash became ill before a session, Johnny took the time to record the self-penned "Gunfighter" and "Geronimo" with the Tennessee Three. He remained with Cash for about six yaers or until 1965 when producer Hap Peebles booked him as a solo act and he became popular at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

During 1970 he recorded the theme for the movie "Dodge City, Kansas" starring Hugh O'Brien. In 1976 he wrote the music for the Movie "Rodeo-A Matter of Style" and recorded the title song for the TV series "Mr. Rodeo Cowboy." That same year he was in a near-fatal accident in Rawlings, Wyoming.

Johnny Western has appeard in over 50 western movies as well as in TV westerns "Have Gun Will Travecl," "Pony Express," "Gunsmoke," "Boots and Saddles," "Wells Fargo," and "Bat Masterson."

In 1986 Western signed with Great Empire Broadcasting and began broadcasting over KFDI in Wichita, Kansas.

In 1993 he recorded an album "Johnny Western and Sons of the Pioneers and Friends" which included Rex Allen, Rex Allen, Jr., Sons of the San Joaquin, Red Stegall, and Michael Martin Murphey. That same year he had a quintuple heart bypass.