View source for Empty Saddles (in the Old Corral)

[[File:Empty Saddles Record Label.jpg|thumb|Record label for Bing Crosby's 1936 Decca recording of "Empty Saddles"]]
"'''Empty Saddles (in the Old Corral)'''" is a classic [[Western music (North America)|American cowboy song]] written by [[Billy Hill (songwriter)|Billy Hill]]. Hill based the song on a poem by [[J. Keirn Brennan]] grieving for lost companions.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Fred|title=The Crosby Collection 1926-1977|date=1986|publisher=John Joyce|location=Gateshead, UK|page=35|edition=Part Two - 1935-1941}}</ref>
The song became widely known to the public in July 1936, when [[Bing Crosby]] sang it with deep emotion in the [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] musical ''[[Rhythm on the Range]]'',<ref name="preservation">{{cite web |url=http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/billyhill.htm |title=The Last Roundup - A Tribute to Songwriter Billy Hill |work=AmericanMusicPreservation.com |accessdate=2014-08-13 }}</ref> and his [[Decca Records|Decca]] recording of it, made on July 14, 1936, with [[Victor Young]] and His Orchestra,<ref>{{cite web|title=A Bing Crosby Discography|url=http://www.bingmagazine.co.uk/bingmagazine/crosby1bDecca.html|website=BING magazine|publisher=International Club Crosby|accessdate=April 17, 2017}}</ref>  reached the Top 10 that September.<ref name="shapirobernstein">{{cite web |url=http://www.shapirobernstein.com/song/163/Empty-Saddles |title=Song:Empty Saddles |work=Shapiro Bernstein |accessdate=2014-08-13 |archive-date=2014-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813132925/http://www.shapirobernstein.com/song/163/Empty-Saddles |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Crosby's recording of this and other "country" songs gave them a legitimacy by showing that they could appeal to pop sophisticates as well as rural audiences. He performed them with integrity and did not "look down his nose" at the music.<ref name="Cusic">{{cite book |last1=Cusic |first1=Don |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_VH9ZgvtpZcC&q=empty+saddles+song+history&pg=PA112 |title=The Cowboy in Country Music: An Historical Survey with Artist Profiles |chapter=25 - Bing Crosby and Country Music |publisher=McFarland |year=2011 |pages=112–113 |isbn=978-0786486052 |accessdate=2014-08-13 }}</ref>
"Empty Saddles" was later recorded by many artists, including the [[Sons of the Pioneers]], [[Johnny Bond]], and [[Sons of the San Joaquin]].<ref name="preservation" /> Particularly notable recordings were by [[Roy Rogers]] (1947), [[Burl Ives]] (1961), [[Dean Martin]] (1966), and [[Jimmie Rodgers (pop singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]] (1983).<ref name="shapirobernstein" />
Members of the [[Western Writers of America]] chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.<ref name="Top100">{{Cite web |title=The Top 100 Western Songs |author=Western Writers of America |year=2010 |author-link=Western Writers of America |publisher=American Cowboy |url=http://www.americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101019002745/http://americancowboy.com/culture/top-100-western-songs |archivedate=2010-10-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRRDcPm478E "Empty Saddles"] by Bing Crosby
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omnw4qQ0AQw "Empty Saddles"] by the Sons of the Pioneers
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[[Category:1936 songs]]
[[Category:Decca Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Billy Hill (songwriter)]]