Carmen William "Curley" Fletcher (18921954), also known as Curley W. Fletcher and Curley Fletcher, was an American composer of

cowboy songs Western music is a form of country music composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Western music celebrates the lifestyle of the cowboy on the open ranges, Rocky Mountains, a ...

and

cowboy poetry Cowboy poetry is a form of poetry that grew from a tradition of cowboys telling stories. Authorship Contrary to common belief, cowboy poetry does not actually have to be written by cowboys, though adherents would claim that authors should have so ...

. A prolific creator of this material, he is best remembered for the classic cowboy song "

The Strawberry Roan ''The Strawberry Roan'' is a 1948 American Western (genre), Western film directed by John English (director), John English and starring Gene Autry. Plot Joe is paralyzed by a wild horse, a strawberry roan. His father, Walt, tries to kill the ...

", written in 1915, and for his 1931 book ''Songs of the Sage''.

Career

Like many similar artists, Fletcher had numerous occupations, including cowboy/cowhand, mineral prospector, poet, champion rodeo rider as well as promoter, musician, publisher, movie actor, and advisor for Hollywood films. His songs and poems are regarded as strong material that comes across beautifully with or without music. They have been recorded by many musicians, particularly

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

and

Michael Martin Murphey Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter best known for writing and performing Western music, country music and popular music. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including ''Cowboy Songs' ...

. He appeared as a rancher in the 1947 movie ''Gunsmoke''.

Personal life

Fletcher was born on September 22, 1892, in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

to an Italian immigrant Benedetta Rossi and English Sailor William Henry "Harry" Fletcher Sr. The Fletchers moved to

Bishop, California Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in California, United States. It is the largest populated place and only incorporated city in Inyo County. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The city was na ...

where Curley grew up with his three brothers and two sisters. Around 1914, Curley was wed to his childhood sweetheart, Minnie Edna Flesher. However, she died about ten years later, in 1926, leaving Curley heartbroken. In 1931 or 1932 Curley married Marie Alice Welch, daughter of Canadian mural artist Guy Martin Welch. They had one child, Dawn Eden Fletcher, born October 21, 1933. They later divorced. Curley married Joan Putters in 1945. The two stayed together until Curley's death, September 5, 1954, only a few weeks before his 62nd birthday. He is buried in West Line Street Cemetery, located in his hometown of Bishop, California.

References

1892 births 1954 deaths Songwriters from San Francisco People from Bishop, California Cowboy culture Cowboys 20th-century American musicians {{songwriter-stub