Riders keep cowboy music alive

Riders in the Sky typically end their live shows with a rendition of the signature Roy Rogers tune “Happy Trails,” so it makes sense that they’d eventually dedicate an entire album to the King of the Cowboys. The Nashville-based quartet, which specializes in western music and campfire songs, brings its salute to the legendary singer and actor to the Bing Crosby Theater on Friday.

“A lot of people don’t remember him anymore, but to us, Roy Rogers was the moon,” said singer and guitarist Douglas Green, who’s better known by his stage name, Ranger Doug. “Anybody who does traditional music is doing it to keep something precious alive, and that’s what we’re doing.”

Along with Green, the folky four-piece is rounded out by fiddler “Woody” Paul Chrisman, upright bassist Fred “Too Slim” LaBour and accordionist Joey “The Polka King” Miskulin. They began performing in the late ’70s as a trio (Miskulin officially joined in the ’90s) when figures like Rogers, Tex Ritter and Gene Autry had started to fade from public consciousness.

“We discovered we had a mutual love for the western music of the ’40s and ’50s and saw that it was a vital American musical style that was being relegated to the nostalgia bins,” Green said. “We were young guys then, and we thought this music was too good to just be forgotten and shelved away. We wanted to give it young life.”

Early on in their career, Green says, the Riders were sometimes accused of succumbing to kitsch: Because of their colorful costumes, the deliberately anachronistic style of their music and the looseness of their onstage banter, the band was often classified as a goofy novelty act.

“We felt that if you play the music well, you can get away with the comedy,” Green said. “You’d be taken seriously if you were serious musicians and singers. A lot of those first-generation cowboy singers, like Bob Nolan and Lloyd Perryman and Ken Curtis, were really encouraging. They said, ‘You guys are keeping this alive. Keep going.’

“And so that gave us hope, if people were too shortsighted to see that we really cared about the music. It was validation from the people that meant the most to us.”

The Riders’ shows blend music and comedy – the band is known for riffing with one another and the audience between songs – and the upcoming Bing concert will feature film clips of Rogers in action, as well as nods to Rogers’ wife and frequent co-star Dale Evans, his sidekick Gabby Hayes and his horse Trigger.

“The audience is laughing and having a good time with us,” Green said. “We’re engaging them. It’s not just guys who turn around and tune their guitars between songs. Comedy became a part from the very start of our presentation.”

But Riders in the Sky aren’t merely a musical time machine. The group will be familiar to younger audiences for its contributions to the “Toy Story 2” soundtrack – they’re responsible for that catchy “Woody’s Roundup” song – and Green finds the appeal of the Riders in the Sky to be as vast as the plains in a classic Western film.

“There’s something about cowboys that kids will always love, whether it’s the outfits or the loping beat or the fact that the songs aren’t about broken hearts and getting drunk,” Green said. “They’re about things kids can understand – being outside, being on a horse and being with your friends. I think it’s the most uplifting music. It’s all about free life and fresh air.

“We’ve had the situation several times where a lady will come up and say, ‘I was sitting between my dad and my son, and you’re the favorite group of both of them.’ ”