Please help me welcome Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy with a topic that’s near and dear to my heart…classic country music. Not the new stuff they’ve been putting out for the last few decades, but the real, classic good stuff. Take it away, Lee Ann…
Music can provide a soundtrack for our lives. I’ve listened to music all my life, from the early years when I borrowed my parents’ records and used their stereo to my teen years when I got my own. Straight out of college, I worked at a small country music station where I wrote ad copy and eventually had on-air shifts too. Although I don’t put together playlists, music also provides a soundtrack for my fiction.
My stories and novels often reflect my personal music tastes and in The Cowboy’s Last Chance (The Wild Rose Press, October 21,2024), Calhoun Kelly shares my appreciation. Cal likes the traditional greats from the past, Cash, Williams, He’s a huge fan of the late Johnny Horton, which is no surprise because so am I.
Cal shares a hometown, Rusk, Texas, with the singer. As they travel from one rodeo to another, Calhoun often sings along to Horton’s music. Although most people think of Johnny’s monster hit, The Battle of New Orleans, Cal and I prefer some of the lesser-known songs. There are songs Horton recorded at home with nothing but his voice as he played the guitar. If you listen closely, a few domestic sounds can be heard. One of these tunes is Down That River Road where Johnny sings about walking home down a river road. He appreciates simple pleasures like sitting on the porch and listening to the rain to fishing with his ever-loving baby sitting beside him.
If interested, you can hear the song on You Tube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuv1IK9nkM0
I like to think Calhoun Kelly isn’t so very different from Johnny Horton. Both were Texas raised and called the Piney Woods around Rusk home. As far as I know, Johnny never rode bulls but he did perform so that’s a similarity. Both men are good looking, soft spoken with a sweet Texas draw, and devoted to family. Here’s a little taste from the novel:
“You must really like Johnny Horton,” she commented when the sixth different song by Horton played.
“Pretty Lady, he was a hometown boy.”
“What hometown?” She scooted closer.
“Horton called Rusk home, too. His folks are buried there, so is at least one of his sisters. He graduated from Gallatin, which is just a few miles from Rusk. Besides, he was one of the artists who got famous on The Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. It was second only to The Grand Old Opry in its day.”
“I’ve heard of it. Nanna’s talked about it, and she has several of Horton’s albums. Until riding with you, I really didn’t know his songs except Battle of New Orleans, Sink The Bismarck, and North To Alaska.”
His fingers tapped out the rhythm from the last song she listed. “Those are the big hits, but I like a lot of his lesser-known music the best. He’s buried east of Bossier City in Haughton, and someday, I’ll show you his house in Shreveport.”
Take a listen as you read and enjoy!
LOVED this post, Lee Ann. Your book sounds fabulous. I also adore Johnny Horton, Hank Sr. and the other great classics. I agree about preferring Johnny’s lesser known songs. I love “One Woman Man,” “All For the Love of a Girl” and “Whispering Pines.” I haven’t heard the one you mentioned but I’ll give it a listen. His grave is beautiful. Such a tragedy he was taken so soon. Thanks for being my guest!
Links: https://wildrosepress.com/product/the-cowboys-last-chance/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-cowboys-last-chance-lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/1146105247
Also available at Target, Books A Million, Indie Bound, Kobo, Google, and I-Tunes.
Author Alicia Dean 
Thank you for hosting me!!
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