About The New Pioneers

singers of traditional western songs

The New Pioneers are a group of western musicians who have been admirers and followers of the original Sons of the Pioneers for virtually all their lives. Their music is patterned after that great group dating back to the thirties and forties. As family members they grew up singing many of the early western classics made popular by the original Sons of the Pioneers, many of which were composed by the incomparable Bob Nolan and Tim and Glen Spencer. Most of their younger lives they practiced and enjoyed their music privately and casually. Only in recent years have they been persuaded to get more serious and "go public" with their music. Their great love of the pure traditional "old Pioneers" music is evident in everything they do. They hold a life membership in the International Western Music Association and have been regular performers at the annual WMA festival in November since 1993. They also appear regularly at the National Festival of the West in Scottsdale, Arizona in March and at the annual Cowboy Songs and Range Ballads festival hosted by the Buffalo Bill Historical Society in Cody, Wyoming in April. For the last several years they have been regular event features at the Cheyenne Cowboy Songs and Celebration in Cheyenne, Wyoming over Labor Day weekend and at various events at the George Ranch Historical Park near Richmond, Texas.

The New Pioneers with Dale Evans Rogers

"It was a long-awaited experience and our great pleasure in March, 2000 to finally meet the very beautiful and ever gracious Ms. Dale Evans in Scottsdale Arizona. What a delightful person she was, and so very genuine - truly rare qualities of personality and character for a celebrity of her stature for these many years", stated The New Pioneers' Gene Butts. "We were afforded the great honor of performing on stage immediately before Dale and her granddaughters, the 'Rogers Legacy' on the Sunday morning Cowboy Gospel program of the National Festival of the West in Scottsdale. And she was most gracious in her compliments after we sang! What a thrill it was for all of us! To our knowledge, that was her last public appearance!"

A Tribute To Tommy Doss

What a wonderfully delightful time it was when we had the great honor and privilege to be on stage together with the one and only Tommy Doss of the Sons of the Pioneers (1949-1972) November 2004 in Tucson, Arizona. Our good friend John Payne and The Home Ranch Hands Chapter of the WMA hosted the annual Tucson Cowboy Music Roundup and scheduled The New Pioneers along with Tommy for the Saturday night concert. The occasion was a special tribute to Tommy promoted and organized in no small part by Fred Goodwin of Nashville, Tennessee, along with John Payne and the Home Ranch Hands chapter of Tucson, Arizona. Tommy retired from the Sons of the Pioneers in 1972, and had not sung publicly since - some 32 years! With a big assist from Fred Goodwin, we were able to persuade Tommy to join us in Tucson and appear publicly with us. For the occasion Tommy chose to sing, with The New Pioneers, the great Bob Nolan classics Cool Water and Tumbling Tumbleweeds, Tim Spencer's Everlasting Hills of Oklahoma and The Timber Trail and the very beautiful love song Let's Pretend, another Bob Nolan composition. On the final curtain call Tommy sang a very touching rendition of My Best to You to express his heart-felt gratitude to John and Fred and to the packed house of wonderful folks who gave him a very vocal and enthusiastic standing ovation after every song! Tommy, along with the New Pioneers, was nearly totally overwhelmed! He commented to the crowd "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine this could happen to me!" Such a very genuine and humble gentleman of the west! And he can still sing!

The occasion also included the formal introduction and release of an album that was originally recorded by Tommy back in 1972. With help from our own Paul Denton and the Pioneers Productions studios the taped recordings were digitized, re-edited and re-mastered to enhance the sound quality and add some accompaniment. The album, containing 17 wonderful songs and entitled Tommy Doss sings A Million Memories, was then produced on cd's and released by Fred Goodwin's Concept Productions of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, under the Texas Moon Records label.

Members of The New Pioneers

The New Pioneers membership currently consists of brothers Gene Butts of Sugar Land, Texas, Ken Butts of Caldwell, Texas, Paul Denton now of Chappell Hill, Texas, and cousin Alan Meyer of Magnolia, Texas. Having grown up together singing and playing this wonderful music, coupled with their great love for it, helps explain their ability to reproduce those unique original sounds. Many of their fans and contemporary musician friends say they have picked up the mantle laid down by the originals and indeed are now the "real thing"!

For more information contact The New Pioneers directly via email at newpioneers@juno.com or by phone at 281-265-1030.