Foy Willing was a singer, songwriter, musician, and bandleader who performed Western music

Western music (North America)

Western music originated as a form of American folk music. Originally composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of...

 and appeared in Western movies

Western (genre)

The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...

. He formed the Western band Riders Of The Purple Sage

Riders of the Purple Sage (band)

Riders of the Purple Sage was a name used by three separate western bands in the United States.The original Riders of the Purple Sage was formed in 1936 by singer and guitarist Buck Page. The group spent three years as the staff band for radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, performing five hour-long...

.

Early years

Foy Willingham was born May 14, 1914 in Bosque County, Texas

Bosque County, Texas

Bosque County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2000, the population is 17,204. Its county seat is Meridian. Clifton, however, is the largest city and the cultural/financial center of the county. Bosque is named for the Bosque River, which runs through...

. He began his career while attending high school in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 by working at a local radio station. In 1933, he traveled to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 to further his radio career. In 1940 he moved to Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, and in 1942 to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 where he became popular during the Golden Age of Radio.

Riders of the Purple Sage

In 1942, Willing co-founded Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage

Riders of the Purple Sage

Riders of the Purple Sage is Zane Grey's best-known novel, originally published in 1912. Most critics agree that it played a significant role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre.- Plot in a paragraph :...

 with Iowa musician Al Sloey. The band included Patti Page

Patti Page

Clara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...

 on vocals, fiddler Johnny Paul, and accordionist Ken Coopern. The band's first hit, "Texas Blues", was written by Willing. They grew in fame and over their ten year career, performed as the musical group backing up Monte Hale

Monte Hale

Monte Hale was a Country singer and movie actor of B-Western films. Often reported to have been born in San Angelo, Texas, Hale was really born in Ada, Oklahoma, but a Texan location sounded better for the movies...

 and Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...

 for Republic Studios.

Willing and his band appeared as performers in many Western movies in the 1940s and early 1950s with Charles Starrett

Charles Starrett

Charles Starrett was an American actor best known for his starring role in the Durango Kid Columbia Pictures western series. He was born in Athol, Massachusetts.-Career:...

, Monte Hale, and Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers

Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...

 and Dale Evans

Dale Evans

Dale Evans, was an American writer, movie star, and singer-songwriter. She was the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers.-Early life:...

. The Willing-led Riders of the Purple Sage disbanded in 1952.

Later years

During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purplke Sage occasionally reunited to record and perform, and Willing went on to appear at Western festivals during the 1970s. Willing also traveled with Gene Autrey during Autrey's North American tour. In 1960, Willing married Sharon Lee.

Willing died on July 24, 1978 in Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

of a heart attack.

Discography

• 2007 Tumbling Tumbleweeds (Var;se Sarabande)
• 2005 And the Riders of the Purple Sage (BACM)
• 2005 Timber Trail (Cattle)
• 2005 Trail Herdin' Cowboy
• 2003 Sagebrush Swing (Collectors' Choice Music)
• 1999 Cowboy/New Sound of American Folk (DRG)
• 1998 Collectors Edition (Pickwick)
• 1962 The New Sound of American Folk
• 1958 Cowboy
• 1950 Riders of the Purple Sage

Filmography

• 1951 Heart of the Rockies
• 1951 Spoilers of the Plains
• 1950 Trail of Robin Hood
• 1950 North of the Great Divide
• 1950 Sunset in the West
• 1950 Trigger, Jr.
• 1950 Twilight in the Sierras
• 1950 Bells of Coronado
• 1949 The Golden Stallion
• 1949 Down Dakota Way
• 1949 Susanna Pass
• 1948 The Far Frontier
• 1948 Grand Canyon Trail
• 1948 The Timber Trail
• 1948 California Firebrand
• 1947 Under Colorado Skies
• 1947 Along the Oregon Trail
• 1947 Last Frontier Uprising
• 1946 Out California Way
• 1945 Saddle Serenade
• 1945 Sing Me a Song of Texas
• 1944 Cyclone Prairie Rangers
• 1944 Cowboy from Lonesome River
• 1944 Swing in the Saddle
• 1944 Twilight on the Prairie
• 1944 Sundown Valley
• 1944 Cowboy Canteen
• 1943 Cowboy in the Clouds