Gary McMahan (born 1948 in

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, Weld County, Colorado, ...

) is an American Western music singer-songwriter, yodeler, humorist and

cowboy poet 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 ...

, known for his wide-ranging influence in post-19th century Western music and poetry, and for writing " The Old Double Diamond", which members of the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include histori ...

chose as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

Early life

McMahan's father owned a cattle trucking business in Greeley. Gary traveled with his father as a child, spending time in and around the

ranches A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

feedlots A feedlot or feed yard is a type of animal feeding operation (AFO) which is used in intensive animal farming, notably beef cattle, but also swine, horses, sheep, turkeys, chickens or ducks, prior to slaughter. Large beef feedlots are called con ...

, and rodeo arenas of Northern Colorado and neighboring states. Beginning in his teenage years he rode bareback broncs and saddle broncs in rodeos, also trying his hand at calf roping and

steer roping Steer roping, also known as steer tripping or steer jerking, is a rodeo event that features a steer and one mounted cowboy. Technique The steer roper starts behind a "barrier" - a taut rope fastened with an easily broken string which is fastene ...

, even winning the money in a few events. He tried his hand at

bull riding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

, but was "never any good at it". Before entering the world of Western music and poetry, he worked as a cowboy, rodeo performer, and

guide A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom. Travel and recreation Ex ...

, where he learned to wrangle, drive teams, shoe horses,

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

, calve,

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similar ...

fence A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting. A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length. ...

, and pack. Later, he often referred to those activities in his poems and songs. After two years studying

animal science Animal science is described as "studying the biology of animals that are under the control of humankind". It can also be described as the production and management of farm animals. Historically, the degree was called animal husbandry and the ...

at Colorado State University and a stint as a Vietnam-era Navy

corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician ( ...

, he made a conscious decision to become a cowboy songwriter.

Career

In the early seventies he moved to Nashville, where he hung out with aspiring Western artists Fred (Too Slim) LaBour, Chris LeDoux, and

Ian Tyson Ian Dawson Tyson (September 25, 1933 – December 29, 2022) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who wrote several folk songs, including " Four Strong Winds" and " Someday Soon", and performed with partner Sylvia Tyson as the duo Ian & Sylvia. Ea ...

. After five years in Nashville, he moved back to Colorado. While living there, he was signed by New York-based

Tomato Records The Tomato Music Co. Ltd., also known as Tomato Records, is an American independent record label founded in New York City in 1977 by music manager Kevin Eggers. It was a successor to his previous record labels Utopia and Poppy, the label was self- ...

. At the time, that label had only four artists:

Dick Gregory Richard Claxton Gregory (October 12, 1932 – August 19, 2017) was an American comedian, civil rights leader, business owner and entrepreneur, and vegetarian activist. His writings were best sellers. Gregory became popular among the Afric ...

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

, Philip Glass, and he. Since then, McMahan has written over 300 songs and poems and recorded six albums. His songs have been recorded by artists such as the now-famous Chris LeDoux, Ian Tyson, and Riders in the Sky (featuring Fred LaBour). The

Western Music Association The International Western Music Association was incorporated in 1989 to promote and preserve Western Music (North America), western music in its traditional, historical, and contemporary forms. The IWMA stages the International Western Music Fes ...

named him National Champion Yodeler in 1991. In 1992 he earned the

National Cowboy Hall of Fame The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...

Wrangler Award for writing the year's best cowboy song. His performing career got a boost when he was invited to perform at the first National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in 1985. He saw that audiences liked what he was doing, and

Baxter Black Baxter Black (January 10, 1945 – June 10, 2022) was an American cowboy poet and veterinarian. He wrote over 30 books of poetry, fiction—both novels and children's literature—and commentary, selling over two million books, CDs, and DVDs. ...

encouraged him to do more of it. Today he mostly entertains at banquets, concerts, and events such as the National Gathering and the Colorado Cowboy Gathering, which he co-founded in 1988. In a 2014 interview, McMahan said "I’ve made my living with either a horse or guitar or both for the last 40 years, and it’s been a great life."

References

External links

Gary McMahan website
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahan, Gary Living people Roping (rodeo) Bareback bronc riders Saddle bronc riders Cowboy poets American country singer-songwriters 1948 births