Fun publicity pictures of the Texas Rangers’ time under Kellogg sponsorship in 1937 as The Box K Ranch Boys. Beginning in 1941 the Texas Rangers began recording literally hundreds of songs that were sponsored by Kellogg’s in a number of Texas markets. After the cereal maker dropped the band the band’s transcription library was rented out to radio stations across the country. It became a significant source of income even as the group was disbanded through World War II.
A list of the original stations broadcasting the Texas Rangers’ 65-episode transcribed series Life on the Red Horse Ranch. My overview of the series is included in the ultimate reference volume of Western old-time radio, Radio Rides the Range, edited by Jack French and David Siegel. I will post my published article on the series on this blog later.
Survey results from December 10 – 14, 1934, measuring the the Texas Rangers on KMBC’s Big Brother Club.
Even Will Rogers was jumping on the Texas Rangers bandwagon. Years later in 1947 the band appeared in Gene Autry’s The Last Roundup motion picture.
Even more praise for the Texas Rangers.
More praise for the Texas Rangers. I looked up the cost of sending a telegram in 2013 and it was exorbitant.
January 11, 1935, predates the release of their first transcribed series Life on the Red Horse Ranch. The band had been appearing intermittently on CBS’ West Coast network, however, since 1932.
Some telegrams addressed to KMBC program manager Ted Malone praising the Texas Rangers. Malone was, himself, a man of no small talent. He became a staple on CBS with his Between the Bookends series and didn’t go off the air for good until 1986.
Don’t let the costumes fool you! None of the Texas Rangers hailed from Texas nor is there any documentation to suggest any of them cowboys or Westerners by any stretch of the imagination. Paul Sells came from Lima, Ohio, and several of the earliest members including both Gomer Cool and Bob Crawford were natives of northwestern Missouri.
Wistful Vistas 