"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is a popular

western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

song. The lyrics were written by

Grant Clarke Grant Clarke (May 14, 1891, Akron, Ohio – May 16, 1931, California) was an American songwriter. Clarke moved to New York City early in his career, where he worked as an actor and a staff writer for comedians. He began working on Tin Pan Alley, ...

and the music was composed by Lewis F. Muir and

Maurice Abrahams Maurice Abrahams (March 18, 1883 – April 13, 1931) was an American songwriter and music publisher, who was successful in the early years of the 20th century. Biography Abrahams was born in Odessa, Russian Empire, and emigrated to the US as a c ...

. It was copyrighted and published in 1912 by F.A. Mills.

Artists

The song has been recorded by a diverse group of artists, including

Bob Roberts ''Bob Roberts'' is a 1992 satirical mockumentary film written, directed by, and starring Tim Robbins. It depicts the rise of Robert "Bob" Roberts Jr., a right-wing politician who is a candidate for an upcoming United States Senate election. Rober ...

(1912), the Tune Wranglers (1936), Pinky Tomlin (1939),

Eddy Howard Edward Evan Duncan Howard (September 12, 1914 – May 23, 1963) was an American vocalist and bandleader who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s. Early years Eddy Howard was born in Woodland, California, and after attending San Jose State Coll ...

(1947),

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

(1949), and

the Chipmunks Alvin and the Chipmunks, originally David Seville and the Chipmunks and billed for their first two decades as the Chipmunks, are an American animated virtual band and media franchise first created by Ross Bagdasarian for Novelty records in ...

(1959). It was also performed by

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 12, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. She rose to fame in the 1940s as a contract player for Paramount Pictures, appea ...

in the 1945 musical film '' Incendiary Blonde''. In 1978,

Jimmy Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

made a memorable surprise cameo appearance performing the song on the piano on the final episode of ''The Carol Burnett Show''.

Origin

The song's lyricist and composers are Clarke, Muir and Abrahams. Clarke also wrote "Second Hand Rose". "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" was composed in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

after an appearance at the home of Abrahams by his nephew, Joe Abrahams, wearing a cowboy outfit. Maurice Abrahams was so captivated by the appearance of his nephew dressed up as a cowboy that he was inspired to write "Ragtime Cowboy Joe". It became a number-one hit song for singer

, also the second best-selling record of 1912.

Original lyrics

As with many popular songs of the era, the verse is often omitted: the refrain's lyrics vary somewhat depending on the performer. (verse) : ''Out in Arizona'' : ''Where the bad men are,'' : ''And the only friend to guide you'' : ''Is an evening star,'' : ''The roughest and the toughest'' : ''Man by far'' : ''Is Ragtime Cowboy Joe.'' : ''He got his name from singing '' : ''To the cows and sheep'' : ''Every night they say'' : ''He sings the herd to sleep'' : ''In a basso'' : ''Rich and deep,'' : ''Crooning soft and low.'' (refrain) : ''He always sings'' : ''Raggy music to the cattle'' : ''As he swings'' : ''Back and forward in the saddle'' : ''On a horse'' : ''That is syncopated gaited'' : ''And there's such a funny meter'' : ''To the roar of his repeater.'' : ''How they run'' : ''When they hear that fellow's gun'' : ''Because the Western folks all know'' : ''He's a high-faluting, scooting, shooting,'' : ''Son of a gun from Arizona,'' : ''Ragtime Cowboy Joe.'' (verse) : ''Dressed up every Sunday'' : ''In his Sunday clothes'' : ''He beats it to the village'' : ''Where he always goes'' : ''And every girl'' : ''In town is Joe's'' : '' 'Cause he's a ragtime bear.'' : ''When he starts a-spieling'' : ''On the dance hall floor'' : ''No one but a lunatic'' : ''Would start a war'' : ''Wise men know'' : ''His forty-four'' : ''Makes men dance for fair.'' Variations include: "Where the bad lands are", "How he sings", "Ragtime music", "That's syncopated gaited/And you ought to hear the meter", "scootin' shootin'" or "rootin' tootin'", "Son of a gun from old Wyoming", or additions of "(A pretty good horse)", "He's some cowboy", and/or "Talk about your cowboy".

On radio

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" was the radio show theme song for New York City's long running, award-winning public radio show, ''Cowboy Joe's Radio Ranch'' (1976–1988), hosted by Paul Aaron, New York's Cowboy Joe. During one of his radio shows Paul Aaron had the elder Joe Abrahams (the original Cowboy Joe) as a special guest. Paul Aaron played many versions of his favorite song dating back to one sung by Bob Roberts from an RCA Victor 78 rpm record. He also played many "live" versions recorded during the University of Wyoming football and basketball games. A more recent rendition of the song appears on Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks' 2009 album "Tangled Tales".

College fight songs

University of Wyoming song

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is also the

fight song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand, these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

of the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

. Traditionally, Cowboy fans stand and clap to the beat of the song as played by Wyoming's Western Thunder Marching Band. The version of the song appropriated by Wyoming was written by Francis Edwin Stroup (1909–2010) in 1961. He rewrote the chorus. Stroup had been an assistant professor of Health and Physical Education for Men at Wyoming until August 31, 1950. He also had composed the fight song for his alma mater, the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

in 1939, ten years after graduating. The song, "Fight, North Texas", has endured for years and the lyrics have changed minimally to reflect the name changes of the university. Stroup also composed school songs for

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, Legal education, law, and pharmacy. Drake U ...

and the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. Stroup, while teaching at

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

in 1961, also wrote the "Huskie Fight Song", which was adopted as the university's fight song in 1963. The lyrics Stroup wrote for the University of Wyoming follow: : (for the

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

) : ''C! O! W! B! O! Y! S!'' : ''COWBOYS! COWBOYS! COWBOYS!'' : (for the Cowgirls) : ''C! O! W! G! I! R! L! S!'' : ''COWGIRLS! COWGIRLS! COWGIRLS!''

University of California, Davis

The Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh! at

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

also adapted the song with the following variation: : ''He's a high-falutin', rootin' tootin' '' : ''Son of a gun from California'' : ''He's some cowboy'' : ''Talk about your cowboy'' : ''Ragtime Cowboy Joe''

The Chipmunks

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe" is the third and final single from the Chipmunks' debut album '' Let's All Sing with the Chipmunks''. The song was released as a single in 1959. The Chipmunks' two prior singles, " The Chipmunk Song" and " Alvin's Harmonica", both reached the Top Ten; "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" peaked at No. 16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the week of August 2, 1959. The song was also a success on the Billboard Black Singles, peaking at No. 29. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

it reached No. 4 Since the song was also credited to

David Seville David "Dave" Seville is a fictional character, the adoptive father and producer and manager of the fictional singing group ''Alvin and the Chipmunks''. The character was created by Ross Bagdasarian, who had used the name "David Seville" as his ...

by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', it became Seville's fourth consecutive Top 20 single. The single also reached No. 11 in the UK singles chart, the first and only Chipmunks song to chart in the UK until 1992's "

Achy Breaky Heart "Achy Breaky Heart" is a song written in 1990 by Don Von Tress. First released in 1991 by the Marcy Brothers with the title "Don't Tell My Heart", it was later recorded by American singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus and released on his debut al ...

". The B- or flip-side, also written by Bagdasarian, is titled "Flip Side".

References

External links

"Ragtime Cowboy Joe"
1912 Victor recording by Bob Roberts, at the ''Discography of American Historical Recordings'', UC Santa Barbara
1912 full sheet music
at ''Knowledge Bank'', Ohio State University

''New York Times'' article about "Cowboy Joe's Radio Ranch" {{Authority control 1912 songs Songs written by Maurice Abrahams Mountain West Conference fight songs Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls Alvin and the Chipmunks songs English children's songs Songs about fictional male characters Songs about cowboys and cowgirls Songs written by Grant Clarke