Clint Eastwood: Rawhide's Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites (Collector's Choice/ABKCO) | Under the Radar Magazine Under the Radar | Music Blog for the Indie Music Magazine
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Clint Eastwood

Rawhide’s Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites

Collector's Choice/ABKCO

Jun 21, 2010 Web Exclusive

The first thing that will shock most listeners about Rawhide’s Clint Eastwood Sings Cowboy Favorites is that the Hollywood icon’s voice is incredibly smooth. It’s downright buttery. It’s got more in common with Bing Crosby than his gravelly Harry Callahan character. In fact, almost half of the songs on this record were hits for Crosby (notably: Bing and the Andrews Sisters’ 1944 version of “Don’t Fence Me In,” and his 1933 solo take on “The Last Round-Up”). And, when you think about it, it totally makes sense.

After almost a decade of working his way through B-movies, 30-year-old Eastwood (an avid musician and jazz fan) had found fame for his stint on the television show Rawhide (1959-1966). When he was offered the chance to make a record by Cameo-Parkway, one of the biggest teen labels at the time, the best way to capitalize on Eastwood’s character Rowdy Yates was to release an album of country standards, of which the majority were recorded live over two days in May of 1963. Highlights include “San Antonio Rose” and “Tumbling Tumbleweeds.” This reissue also includes the 1962 single “Rowdy” b/w “Cowboy Wedding Song.”

Sure, this is ultimately a piece of kitsch, but it’s totally listenable. And, for Eastwood fans it’ll help explain his performance in the 1969 film version of Lerner and Loewe’s truly bizarre Western musical Paint Your Wagon and his later #1 country hit “Bar Room Buddies” with Merle Haggard. (www.ccmusic.com)

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