The Sons of the Pioneers are the most legendary and revered of all Western music groups. They are celebrating an unparalleled milestone, 93 unbroken years of best-in-the-West entertainment.
As the longest-performing group in American music history, the Pioneers continue to thrill audiences with enchanting harmonies that invoke images of the majestic American West.
They have won more top awards than any other group in the history of Western music, earning membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Western Music Association Hall of Fame, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Texas Swing Hall of Fame, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to name a few.
The group’s music has also been honored by the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Smithsonian Institution named the Pioneers one of America’s “National Treasures.”
It all started in 1933 when three talented musicians (including the man who would soon become Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys) were introduced on a Los Angeles radio station as the Sons of the Pioneers. Little did those young men know they were launching a juggernaut that would somehow survive the Great Depression, World War II, the advent of television, space travel, Elvis’s rock ‘n’ roll, the Internet, the tech revolution, and a global pandemic.
The group’s numerous achievements in radio, movies, television, recordings, and on stage have been fueled by a steady rotation of now nearly 50 talented musicians. The current group—John Fullerton, Ken Lattimore, Chuck Ervin, Trent Prewitt, and Trustin Baker—are proud to continue the Pioneer tradition and they don’t take the responsibility lightly.
Over the years the Pioneers have created a vast catalog of treasured songs that define Western music itself including “Cool Water,” “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” and “The Timber Trail”. Rhapsody.com observed, “they are just as influential to American culture—and Americana—as blue jeans, baseball, and Betsy Ross.”
“These songs are masterpieces and part of who we are as Americans,” says John Fullerton, the outfit’s trail boss. “That’s why so many gifted singers and instrumentalists have rotated into the group over nine decades, enabling the continuation of the Pioneers’ historic musical legacy.”
What people are saying . . .
No other group had as profound an effect on the history of Western music. Their lyrical musical portraits virtually define the romanticized West … painting its colors as no one had done before or has done since.– Douglas Green (“Ranger Doug”), Riders in the Sky
The world’s premier cowboy singing group. – American Cowboy Magazine
The Sons of the Pioneers are American icons known around the world for their trademark harmonies and haunting lyrics that tell the story of the American West. – Grand Ole Opry
A Living Legend in their own time... an American institution. – Western Music Association
Awards
· True West Magazine – Best of the West Award (2015, 2016)
· Motion Picture and Television Fund – Golden Boot Award (2003)
· National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences – Grammy Hall of Fame (1986, 2002)
· Texas Trail of Fame – Trail of Fame Star (2001)
· National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum – Director’s Award for outstanding contribution to Western music (1995); Hall of Great Western Performers (1995)
· International Western Music Association – Hall of Fame (1989)
· Texas Western Swing Hall of Fame (1989)
· Country Music Association – Country Music Hall of Fame (1980)
· Academy of Country Music – Top Vocal Group (1967); Band of the Year (1977); Pioneer Award (1977)
Built-in 1925, in the grand architectural style of Beaux-Arts Classical Revival, the Simon Theatre provided a splendid setting for many theatrical performances, film screenings and ballroom dances. The James Simon family commissioned Houston architect Alfred C. Finn, whose career included designing a number of prominent Houston buildings as well as the San Jacinto Monument, to design the theatre for the community of Brenham. Today, after a meticulous million-plus dollar renovation, the glamour and grand style lives on for future generations in the newly named Barnhill Center at Historic Simon Theatre.
