My guess is that, if you are more than 25 years old and live in the United States, you have heard the song (Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend, although you probably know it as Ghost Riders in the Sky. And, of course, you might very well know it even if you are younger than 25 or living elsewhere, too.
My next guess is that you probably have not heard the original version of the song, the one recorded by the writer of the song, Stan Jones, in the late 1940s.
The unveiling of the tune by Jones in late 1948 and early 1949 unleashed a “gold rush” (gold record rush, that is), as 1949 saw (heard) versions of the song recorded by Burl Ives, Bing Crosby, Peggy Lee, and Vaughn Monroe (which became possibly the best known version of the time).
If your experience is like mine, you probably are most familiar with either the version by The Outlaws (a southern rock band from Florida) or The Highwaymen (a country music supergroup, which included in its ranks Willie Nelson, Waylong Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Kris Kristofferson).
But, of course, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary); in other words your introduction to this song may have been from one of many other sources, such as Johnny Cash or Me First and the Gimme Gimmes or someone else.
As mentioned already, (Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend was written by Stan Jones (1914-1963), who also later became an actor. Among the various titles the song is known by are "Riders in the Sky", "Ghost Riders", "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and "A Cowboy Legend". According to wikipedia, members of the Western Writers of America chose it as the greatest Western song of all time.
Jones said the story the song tells was related to him when he was 12 years old (thus, in 1926 or 1927) by an old Native American man in Arizona. But he wrote the song 20 or more years later, while he was working for the National Park Service at Death Valley, California. Location scouts from Hollywood who he was showing around Death Valley wanted to hear a campfire song, and he sang his song for them. That was a turning point for him, as his music and movie career took flight at that time.
"Ghost Riders" has been recorded hundreds of times, so in this article I will narrow down the versions referenced to the original by Jones and those versions which I consider to be the best and/or the most unusual or interesting.
Most surprising to me is that one of my favorite versions is by Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra of all people, a collection of musicians whom I normally consider to be purveyors of elevator music (yick!). Then again, prolific writer of Western novels Louis L'Amour was a North Dakotan, and Teddy Roosevelt cowboyed on a North Dakota ranch, so maybe it's not as macabre as it initially seems that North Dakotan Welk would record a quintessentially Western song such as Ghost Riders in the Sky.
I provide links to my favorite versions below (if you are curious about any versions that I have left out, simply google "youtube Ghost Riders in the Sky [name of artist]" and you should be able to find them easily enough).
First, though, the lyrics (although some of the versions that have been done, such as the one by Lawrence Welk and his Orchestra, are instrumentals):
An old cowboy went ridin' out one dark and windy day Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows, he saw Plowed through the ragged skies and up a cloudy draw
Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath you could feel A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky For he saw the riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cry
Yippie I oh, yippie I ay, ghost riders in the sky Their face is gaunt, their eyes were blurred
Their shirts all soaked with sweat He's ridin' hard to catch that herd but he 'ain't caught 'em yet 'Cause they've got to ride forever on that range up in the sky On horses snorting fire as they ride on, hear them cry
As the riders leaned on by him, he heard one call his name If you want to save your soul from hell a riding on our range Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride Tryin' to catch the devil herd across these endless skies
Yippie I oh, yippie I ay, Ghost riders in the sky Ghost riders in the sky Ghost riders in the sky
Without further ado or adon’t, here are what I consider the more significant and/or better or more interesting versions of Ghost Riders in the Sky:
Stan Jones (the original was recorded in late 1948; this version was recorded early 1949)
Marty Robbins
The Ramrods (instrumental, which also features saxophone, in addition to the otherwise ubiquitous guitar)
The Shadows (kind of a disco-flavored instrumental version)
Lawrence Welk and His Orchestra (also an instrumental, with an unusual percussion instrument accompanying the electric guitar)
Mungo Jerry (best known for their hit “In the Summertime,” Mungo Jerry provide a somewhat psychedelic/surf/jazzy version which segues into Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" before resolving back to "Ghost Riders")
The Outlaws
The Highwaymen (1990 live performance)
The Blues Brothers (2000)
So which version is your favorite? And which is the version you first heard? Please leave your comments diesbzg. in the comments section below.
Note: “diesbzg.” is short for the German word diesbezüglich, which literally means “this concerning” (my best translation into English is: “in connection with this”) and which doesn’t seem to have a really good English equivalent.
Selected albums (which contain my favorite versions of Ghost Riders in the Sky) are:
Ghost Riders In The Sky by Various Artists
This album contains 30 versions of the song, three of them being among my favorites listed and linked to above (namely those recorded by Lawrence Welk, the Ramrods, and the original version by Stan Jones):
https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Riders-Various-VARIOUS-ARTISTS/dp/B07NN6DT8C/garrphotgall-20
Previous installments of the series “The Name of That Tune” are:
#1: The End of the World: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/the-end-of-the-world
#2: City of New Orleans: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/city-of-new-orleans
#3: Hobo’s Lullaby: https://ramblingnotesofageezer.substack.com/p/hobos-lullaby