Hugh McLennan
Hugh McLennan and his wife, Billie.
British Columbia rancher, horse trainer, narrator, professional speaker and creator of the radio show, "Spirit of the West", Hugh McLennan continues to keep western music on the air. "Spirit of the West" is heard on a large network of stations in the US and Canada and by the rest of the world via the Internet.
September 13, 2007
Describing the influence Bob Nolan had on my life is a
daunting challenge because the influence was so profound. My lifelong love of
cowboy life began with Bob's unique and spellbinding speaking voice, in
picturesque prose, describing the life of a cowboy under the big western sky as
he introduced songs on the Sons of the Pioneers Radio Broadcasts. I was a young
city kid, but when I closed my eyes, those vivid images of a cowboy silhouetted
against the western sky, sitting like a statue on his good horse as the cattle
bedded down stirred something deep inside. Something peaceful, serene,
wholesome, challenging and beautiful; something I wanted to experience first
hand.
A few years later, helping out at a riding stable in the Rockies, I rode for
hours by myself, along those mountain trails, singing "Here on the Range I
Belong" over and over to my horse. The flames of this passion for the west were
fanned higher at the Saturday Matinees when "Bob Nolan and the Sons of the
Pioneers" came up on the credits.
More than 50 years later, here I am still in the saddle, riding good horses,
working cattle in some of the most beautiful ranch country of the west, and it
seems the spirit of Bob Nolan still rides with me. Songs like "Lord you Made the
Cowboy Happy", "The West is in My Soul", "He Walks With the Wild and Lonely",
"The Mystery of His Way", "Happy Rovin' Cowboy", "He's Ridin' Home, "The Boss is
Hangin' Out a Rainbow", and literally hundreds more still roll through my mind
while we're trailing cows and calves up to the summer range, or gathering in the
fall.
What a wonderful job Calin and Elizabeth are doing with the Website. I love
riding through it regularly, seeing the video clips, reading the latest memories
and hearing the song clips. Keep up your great work.
Hugh,
McLennan Ranch
Home of THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST
http://www.hugh-mclennan.com
or
http://www.hugh-mclennan.com/hugh-mclennan.htm
In September and October 2006, Hugh McLennan hosted 2 Bob Nolan tribute programs on internet and radio. The following are excerpts from these programs with guests Dick Goodman, Robert Wagoner, Dale Warren (leader of the current Sons of the Pioneers) and Elizabeth McDonald.
1. Bob Nolan's reflections on the desert, "Song of the Rover" sung by the Sons of the San Joaquin.
2. Bob Nolan's early life by Elizabeth Drake McDonald.
3. Robert Wagoner sings "Chant of the Plains" and remembers Bob Nolan.
4. Bob Nolan speaking of Trails. "Trail Dreamin'" sung by Les Gilliam.
5. Bob Nolan telling how "Tumbling Leaves" became "Tumbling Tumbleweeds".
7. Memorial at Rex Allen's Ranch (Robert Wagoner), "Ridin' Home".
8. Last album and "That Old Outlaw, Time"
9. "Happy Cowboy" (Jack Sadler), Dick Goodman's memories of Bob Nolan
10. Informal jam - Bob Nolan and the Reinsmen
11. "One More Ride" introduced by Bob in a Teleways radio show.
12. "Can You Hear Those Pioneers?". Dick Goodman's comments.
13. Dick Goodman, Rex Allen and "At the Rainbow's End", credits
