Cowboy Slim Rinehart (born ''Nolan Alfred Rinehart''; March 11, 1911 in

Comanche County, Texas Comanche County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 13,594. The county seat is Comanche. The county was founded in 1856 and is named for the Comanche Native American tribe. Hi ...

– October 28, 1948 in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

), was an American singer. He was among the first of the "Singing cowboys" of the 1930s and 1940s (whose ranks included

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers (September 8, 1897 – May 26, 1933) was an American singer-songwriter and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as "the Father of Country Music", he is best known for his distinctive rhythmi ...

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

, and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

among others), and gained notoriety and national recognition as a broadcaster and singer on the infamous

border radio ''Border Radio'' is a 1987 independent film directed by Allison Anders, Dean Lent and Kurt Voss. Summary A document of the last days West Coast punk rock, the story follows two musicians and a roadie who haven't been paid rob money from a club ...

station XEG during that time period. Rinehart was and is regarded among many as the original "King of Border Radio," preceding Dallas "Nevada Slim" Turner, and "

Wolfman Jack Robert Weston Smith (January 21, 1938July 1, 1995), known as Wolfman Jack, was an American disc jockey active from 1960 till his death in 1995. Famous for his gravelly voice, he credited it for his success, saying, "It's kept meat and potatoes ...

," who were also famous for broadcasting from these stations." "Border Radio," also called "

Border Blaster A border blaster is a broadcast station that, though not licensed as an external service, is, in practice, used to target another country. The term "border blaster" is of North American origin, and usually associated with Mexican AM station ...

s" were names applied to several super powered radio stations that broadcast out of Mexico, and therefore, were not regulated by the U.S. broadcasting laws. They were extreme media powerhouses from the 1930s through the 1970s. These stations had towers so powerful that they were capable of transmitting their signals to a very large portion of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Rinehart had his own

radio program A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

on XEG where he would sing and play guitar, as well as make infamous Border Radio product pitches for various items. The original "cowboy's sweetheart,"

Patsy Montana Rubye Rose Blevins (October 30, 1908 – May 3, 1996), known professionally as Patsy Montana, was an American country music singer, songwriter and actress. Montana was the first female country performer to have a million-selling single with her ...

, was often featured on the program with him. Cowboy Slim Rinehart had a notable influence on many future musician's careers. In addition to having an influence on

Big Bill Lister "Big Bill" Lister (January 5, 1923 – December 1, 2009) was an American honky tonk country music singer. Born Weldon E. Lister, he was nicknamed "Radio's Tallest Singing Cowboy," standing over 6-foot-7 without his cowboy boots and hat.

and others, Rinehart helped shape

Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), m ...

's career. After Tubb signed onto

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

, he tried in vain to get Rinehart to do the same. Rinehart was wary of the recording industry, and feared a record deal would hurt his music book sales through XEG. During the 1940s, his

persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...

had become notorious enough that

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

studios approached him to be featured in early singing cowboy

westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

, but he vehemenently declined the proposals after he was told he would have to change his surname to something less "German sounding." Rinehart had very good potential for a solid and legendary career in the

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, ...

scene, but tragically, his life came to an early end when he was killed in a car accident while on the way to finally record his first commercial record. Although the world has no commercial recordings available of Cowboy Slim Rinehart, recorded tapes of his radio program on XEG are still widely available through collectors and traders, and several of his songs can be found on country music compilation albums. Rinehart was inducted into the

Texas Country Music Hall of Fame The Texas Country Music Hall of Fame, located in Carthage in Panola County in East Texas, honors those who have made outstanding contributions to country music and were born in the state of Texas. This includes singers, songwriters, disc jocke ...

in October 1996, in recognition of his being a pioneer of the Texas music scene.

External links

Texas Music Pioneers

(Dallas speaks of Slim Rinehart, who was his inspiration) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rinehart, Cowboy Slim 1911 births 1948 deaths American male singer-songwriters American radio personalities American country singer-songwriters American folk singers People from Comal County, Texas 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Texas Road incident deaths in Michigan Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers