Carl Tyler "Doc" Sprague (May 10, 1896 – February 21, 1979) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

ian. He was often dubbed "The Original Singing Cowboy". Sprague was one of the first country musicians on record, recording in 1925.

Biography

He was born in

Manvel, Texas Manvel is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States. As of July 2023, the population was 17,621, up from 9,908 at the 2020 census. History The population increased from 9,908 to 17,621 from 2020 to 2023, and in November 2021 there wer ...

, United States. Sprague grew up on a farm near

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and learned traditional

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

songs as a child. During his college years at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

, he played in a band and, later on, worked as an athletic trainer. He also found time to conduct a weekly radio program on campus. Sprague served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Sprague served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. He graduated from college in 1922 and was offered occasional work performing on radio. He received a recording contract by Victor in 1925. In August, the same year, he went to

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

to record his first ten songs. His debut sides were "When the Work's All Done This Fall" and "Bad Companions"; the former would go on to sell over 900,000 copies. His recording of "The Dying Cowboy" became a hit in 1926. Other successful recordings were "The Mormon Cowboy," " The Boston Burglar" and "The Two Soldiers." He recorded with Victor until 1929, releasing 33 songs. In the 1930s he moved to

Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city in and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of C ...

and ceased recording, though he would return to play

folk festival A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicra ...

s during the genre's resurgence in the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1979 in Bryan, Texas.

References

External links

Carl T. Sprague
Western Music Association

*''Stars of Country Music'', (University of Illinois Press, 1975) 1896 births 1979 deaths American country singer-songwriters Singing cowboys American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers {{US-country-musician-stub