Carl Tyler "Doc" Sprague (May 10, 1896 – February 21, 1979) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

ian. He was often dubbed "The Original Singing Cowboy". Sprague was one of the first country musicians on record, recording in 1925.

Biography

He was born in

Manvel, Texas Manvel is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 9,992, up from 5,179 at the 2010 census. History The population increased from 5,179 to 9,992 from 2010 to 2020, and in November 2021 there wer ...

, United States. Sprague grew up on a farm near

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and learned traditional

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

songs as a child. During his college years at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

, he played in a band and, later on, worked as an athletic trainer. He also found time to conduct a weekly radio program on campus. Sprague served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Sprague served in the

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. He graduated from college in 1922 and was offered occasional work performing on radio. He received a recording contract by

Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

in 1925. In August, the same year, he went to

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

to record his first ten songs. His debut sides were "When the Work's All Done This Fall" and "Bad Companions"; the former would go on to sell over 900,000 copies. His recording of "The Dying Cowboy" became a hit in 1926. Other successful recordings were "The Mormon Cowboy," "

The Boston Burglar ''The Boston Burglar'' (Roud 261) was a number one hit in the Irish Charts for Johnny McEvoy in 1967. It is a transportation ballad commonly assumed to have been adapted in America from the sea shanty ''The Whitby Lad'' / ''Botany Bay''. before t ...

" and "The Two Soldiers." He recorded with

until 1929, releasing 33 songs. In the 1930s he moved to

Bryan, Texas Bryan is a city and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of College ...

and ceased recording, though he would return to play

folk festival A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods. Handicraf ...

s during the genre's resurgence in the 1950s and 1960s. He died in 1979 in Bryan, Texas.

References

External links

Carl T. Sprague
Western Music Association

*''Stars of Country Music'', (University of Illinois Press, 1975) 1896 births 1979 deaths American country singer-songwriters Singing cowboys American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas 20th-century American singers Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers {{US-country-musician-stub