by Terry Lidral
Roy Rogers made a name for himself with his legendary singing group Sons of the Pioneers. Born Leonard Slye in 1911 in Duck Run, Ohio, the future Roy Rogers grew up learning to ride horses, how to play the guitar and mandolin, and to sing and yodel. He loved to sing and when he became a young adult, he decided to set out for California to seek a singing career.
Taking work singing hillbilly songs with whomever offered him a job, early on Slye joined a group called “Uncle Tom Murray’s Hollywood Hillbillies.” But Murray didn’t pay and Slye moved on to other opportunities, seeking out those that would give him a chance to perform on radio. After a gutsy solo performance on a radio showcase, Slye was approached by the well-established group the Rocky Mountaineers, an instrumental group that was looking for a singer.
It was tough going trying to make it in the music business in Hollywood in the 1930’s. But Slye was determined to make it in the business.
Slye convinced the Rocky Mountaineers manager to include another singer for harmonies. Bob Nolan was a lifeguard who sang and played a variety of instruments. Slye and Nolan formed a bond while working together with a number of various groups. This bond would bring them back together even after Nolan left the music business when he’d had enough of hard times.
A singer, yodeler and aspiring song writer by the name of Tim Spencer eventually took over for Nolan. Slye and Spencer experienced a series of hard luck jobs that included a disastrous tour ending in the disbanding of their current group O-Bar-O-Cowboys. But Slye and Spencer had also formed a bond.
Slye was a musical entertainer and he wasn’t about to quit. He contacted Nolan and Spencer talked them back into the music business and into forming a trio with him that they called The Pioneer Trio. The group was well received and their music was promoted by a local newspaper columnist named Bernie Milligan. The reputation and success of the Pioneer Trio grew and they found themselves making money and numerous radio appearances.
Slye found his niche as an actor living out the life of a cowboy as Roy Rogers. But he never gave up his love of singing.
In 1934 The Pioneer Trio performed on a radio show announced by Harry Hall. Hall renamed the group Sons of the Pioneers, declaring that the three men looked far too young to be actual pioneers. The name stuck and the group was highly successful. Their Western lyrics, beautiful harmonies, yodeling and instrumental interludes appealed to radio listeners and the Sons of the Pioneers built a large audience.
The group eventually added more members and their popularity continued to grow. They were offered contracts for record albums and movie appearances. The group had achieved the high level of success they had dreamed about through the early days of hardship.
It was this success that drew Slye away from his singing career with the Sons of the Pioneers. Slye was singing in movies when he was offered a contract as an actor with a rival company that had signed the Sons of the Pioneers. Slye resigned from the group for the acting contract and took on the infamous role of Roy Rogers.
Even though he had to quit the group, Slye would sing with the Sons of the Pioneers as Roy Rogers on numerous occasions. His appearance in the movie “Don’t Fence Me In,” a film he starred and sang in, has become an icon among the American Western history buffs.
The Sons of the Pioneers were popular for many decades. In 1980, they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
