Chris Ledoux tribute

Okay it's a tad early but I felt like doing it! For the first time on March 9, 2005 I actually cried when I heard that someone not related to me or my friends had died. Most of the time I hear that such and such celebrity has died and I'm sad for their family and friends but am not sad myself. When Chris Ledoux died it was different. I grew up wanting to be a singer. I was told that I couldn't do that, that I would never make it and I was set up for failure. Unfortunately I let that stop me, but I guess that's okay because I wouldn't have the life I had now if I had been a singer. NEVER tell your children they CANT do something! (no I'm not criticizing my family, they raised me well) Anyways Mr. Ledoux was a hero to me, he did everything I'd ever wanted to and so much more. He lived and worked on a ranch while still writing and singing good old fashioned country songs that meant something. He declined a record label for many years and made his career on his own. He had a wonderful wife and five children and lived a family life. Best of all he was from podunk Wyoming! YEAH!! I never got to meet the man or even see him in concert :( but I still adore his music to this day and miss him terribly. I put a video over on the right. I wanted to find "song of wyoming" but unfortunately cant get it without paying for it and don't know how to put them on a blog off a CD. So we go with a video I found and his biography below...


CMT Biography
Singer-songwriter and former rodeo champion Chris LeDoux died Wednesday (March 9) in Casper, Wyo., following a lengthy battle with liver ailments. He was 56.
LeDoux was admitted to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper earlier this week after experiencing complications from his cancer. He and his family lived on a ranch near Kaycee, Wyo.
LeDoux underwent a liver transplant in October 2000 after being diagnosed with a rare liver disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis. In November 2004, LeDoux confirmed he had been diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a slow-growing cancer of the bile duct.
Commenting on LeDoux's death, Capitol Records Nashville president and CEO Mike Dungan noted, "In a world of egos and soundalikes, he was a unique artist and a wonderful man."
LeDoux had already recorded and marketed 22 albums on his own Lucky Man Music label before signing to Capitol Records in 1992. In large part, the major label deal was due to the support of another Capitol artist -- longtime fan Garth Brooks -- who had immortalized LeDoux in his 1989 debut single, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)." Through the years, Brooks would openly acknowledge that his concerts were in many ways inspired by LeDoux's high-voltage live shows.
Born Oct. 2, 1948, in Biloxi, Miss., Chris LeDoux was raised in Austin, Texas. His father was an Air Force pilot who moved the family throughout the U.S. While spending time in Texas and Wyoming, LeDoux gained an interest in music and the rodeo. In 1976, he earned the title of world champion bareback rider from the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA).
LeDoux began dabbling at songwriting while in high school and started recording and releasing his own albums in 1973. With titles such as Old Cowboy Heroes, Rodeo Songs and Wild and Wooly, LeDoux's music was aimed directly at the rodeo and cowboy subculture. Selling the tapes at rodeos, LeDoux built a devoted fan base that would continue to support him for more than three decades.
Capitol eventually reissued virtually all of the titles from LeDoux's Lucky Man catalog. His first Capitol album, Western Underground, was released in 1991. His second Capitol release, Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy, featured Brooks on the title track. Peaking at No. 7 in 1992, it was LeDoux's only Top 10 single. LeDoux would later perform duets with others, including a 1994 pairing with Toby Keith on "Copenhagen" and a 1999 collaboration with Jon Bon Jovi on "Bang a Drum."
With career sales of almost 6 million albums, LeDoux is the subject of numerous compilations. Among the most comprehensive are American Cowboy (1972-94), a three-CD set highlighting his earliest work, and The Capitol Collection (1990-2000) , featuring six previously-released albums and bonus tracks.
Living with his family on a ranch in Wyoming, LeDoux was a soft-spoken man who often seemed uneasy in discussing his formidable accomplishments. During a trip to Tennessee in 2003, Capitol Nashville presented him with a plaque for his career record sales. In accepting the plaque, LeDoux told the group, "I couldn't have done this without the help of a lot of people. They gently nudged this lazy old cowboy along to get out there and do this for a living. If it weren't for them, I'd be singing to the sheep and the cows still."