Singing cowboy wrote music, but his records are rare

From Nov. 26, 2006:

I bought an old LP by Romaine Lowdermilk in a thrift store several years ago. It was originally pressed at the Audio Recorders of Arizona studios in Phoenix. I have since learned that back in the 1920s or so Lowdermilk was quite famous. But I have found nothing regarding this, or any other, recording. There are no etched markings in the interior band or any catalog numbers on the record or the sleeve. Can you help?

I found out quite a bit about Romaine Lowdermilk, but I can’t find anything about how many records he made. Songs he either wrote or performed seem to be in several cowboy music compilations, but I can’t find anything about his solo recordings.

Marshall Trimble, our state historian, knew a lot about him, and Joanne Dawson of The Republic’s library staff found some more stuff for me.

Lowdermilk was born in Kansas in 1890 and cowboyed around the West a bit before his family moved to the Arizona Territory about 1909.

Around 1911, he established the KayEl-Bar ranch north of Wickenburg. Over the years he operated dude ranches in Rimrock, Soda Springs, the Coyote Basin Mountains and Cave Creek.

He wrote short stories, but was best remembered as a singing cowboy. He had a weekly show on a Phoenix radio station for many years and often performed at the Arizona Biltmore.

He published more than 100 Western songs, including “Back to Old Montana,” which was originally called “Back to Old Arizona.”

He sang the original version of “Big Corral,” borrowing the tune from an old gospel song. It was originally meant as a joke on a chuckwagon cook, but got passed around and adapted by so many other singers that it was thought of as an authentic cowboy classic.

Lowdermilk also wrote “Mr. Cowboy Goes to Town,” “The Rodeo Parade” and “Blood on the Saddle,” which was big hit for Tex Ritter.

He died in Phoenix in 1970.