Billy Timmons,
then a sixteen year old cowboy working for Charlie Goodnight, recalled
the preparation and significance of a cowboy square dance in his memoirs.
"Our Gay Nineties social events in the Texas range country were almost exclusively
square dance affairs; hence a caller who could keep everything going in a
lively fashion was a prime necessity. ...Goodnight’s cowboys did nothing by
halves. They set about to make this the grand social event of the Texas
Panhandle in 1894. The Bunkhouse was made spick-and-span. Food was provided
for a spread at midnight and a big breakfast at daylight. In addition, they
wanted all the little extras they could think of, especially things that would
please the girls - and the arrangers had taken a census to see that no pretty girl
failed to get an invitation."
Cowboy Legacy explores the Great
American fiddle tradition carried to the Northern plains by Texas cowboys over
100 years ago. The Cowboy's solitary life was brightened by hard-driving
fiddle tunes and graceful waltzes, which are presented here as a lasting
heritage of yesterday's working cowboys and their square-dance socials.
Cowboy Legacy ~
Fiddle Music: by Fiddlin' Johnny
Click on underlined song titles to hear samples on Windows Media Player.
To download Windows Media Player -
click here.
The following sample songs
have been encoded for loading speed. The actual CD will be of superior
sound quality.
