Douglas Bruce Green (born March 20, 1946), better known by his stage name Ranger Doug, is an American musician, arranger, award-winning Western music songwriter, and

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divi ...

member best known for his work with Western music and the group Riders in the Sky in which he plays guitar and sings lead and baritone vocals. He is also an exceptionally accomplished

yodeler Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from th ...

. With the Riders, he is billed as "Ranger Doug — The Idol of American Youth" and "Governor of the Great State of Rhythm". Riders in the Sky website
Accessed July 16, 2008. He is also a member of

The Time Jumpers The Time Jumpers is the name of a Western swing band formed in 1998 by a group of Nashville studio musicians who enjoyed jamming together. Country star Vince Gill was a member of the group between 2010 and 2020. The 11–member group started ...

Biography

Green graduated from Cranbrook in 1964, and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1968. He has a master's degree in Literature from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

.Cusic, Don. (2003). "It's the Cowboy Way". Lexington, KY. University Press of Kentucky Press. . He continues to write as a music historian. His 2002

Vanderbilt University Press Vanderbilt University Press is a university press that is part of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt University Press is the principal publishing arm of Vanderbilt University. The Press selects, edits, and markets scholar ...

book "Singing in the Saddle" was the first comprehensive look at the singing cowboy phenomenon that swept the United States in the 1930s. In addition, he hosts "Ranger Doug's Classic Cowboy Corral"

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

radio show, delving into his personal vintage cowboy music collection. The show features the music of such classic western performers as

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason an ...

Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "the Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his contribu ...

, and the

Sons of the Pioneers The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...

, as well as more obscure recordings. Green provides commentary with fellow Rider in the Sky

Fred LaBour Frederick Owen LaBour (born June 3, 1948 in Grand Rapids, Michigan), better known by his stage name Too Slim, is a Grammy award-winning American musician, best known for his work with the Western swing musical and comedy group Riders in the Sk ...

(stand-up bassist stage-named Too Slim) in the role of Ranger Doug's sidekick, the crusty old trail cook called Sidemeat. The show currently airs Fridays at 11pm ET, Saturdays at 8pm ET, and Sundays at 9am ET, on Sirius/XM's

Willie's Roadhouse Willie's Roadhouse (formerly Willie's Place) is a channel on the Sirius XM Radio that specializes in playing traditional country music, as well as some older country hit songs. It is available on channel 59 (previously 56) and Dish Network 6059 ...

Channel SiriusXM56. Prior to forming Riders in the Sky, he performed with The Boys from Shiloh, The Shinbone Alley All Stars, and The Doug Green Band. In 1967 and 1969 he worked two stints with

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

's Blue Grass Boys and one with Jimmy Martin in 1969. He recorded two albums in 1972 with Vic Jordan and the Buck White Family, one of gospel songs (''In God's Eyes'') and one traditional bluegrass named after his daughters Liza Jane and Sally Anne. Green has also recorded the solo album ''Songs of the Sage''.

Songs of the Sage at Allmusic. A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

Accessed July 13, 2008.

References

External links

Riders in the Sky website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Douglas B. American country singer-songwriters 1946 births Yodelers Living people University of Michigan alumni Vanderbilt University alumni Music historians People from Great Lakes, Illinois Singer-songwriters from Illinois Country musicians from Illinois