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Stanley Davis Jones (June 5, 1914 – December 13, 1963) was an American
songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
and actor, primarily writing Western music. He is best remembered for writing " Ghost Riders in the Sky".


Early life

Jones was born in
Douglas, Arizona Douglas is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States that lies in the north-west to south-east running Sulpher Springs Valley. Douglas has a border crossing with Mexico at Agua Prieta and a history of mining. The population was 16,531 ...
, and grew up on a ranch. His physician father was one of the first settlers in
Cochise County, Arizona Cochise County () is a county in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is named after the Native American chief Cochise. The population was 125,447 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Bisbee and the most populous city ...
. When his father died, his mother moved the family to
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
. He earned a master's degree in zoology from the
University of California at Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of Californi ...
and competed in
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaq ...
s to make money. However, he dropped out in 1934 to join the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. After his discharge, he worked at many jobs, including as a miner, a fire fighter, and a park ranger.


Musical career

In his free time he wrote songs, and eventually more than 100 were recorded. His most famous, "
(Ghost) Riders in the Sky "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" is a cowboy-styled country/western song written in 1948 by American songwriter, film and television actor Stan Jones. A number of versions were crossover hits on the pop charts in 1949, the most ...
", was written in 1948 (or 1949) when he worked for the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
in
Death Valley, California Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North A ...
. As the guide for a group of Hollywood scouts who were looking at potential locations for films, he sang "Riders in the Sky" when they wanted to hear a sample of campfire music. Assigned as technical advisor to the filming of ''
The Walking Hills ''The Walking Hills'' is a 1949 American Western film directed by John Sturges and starring Randolph Scott and Ella Raines. The film's plot has film noir elements in its story of a search for an old treasure by nine men including a detective t ...
'', he became friends with director
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
, who opened his way into Hollywood. Jones wrote almost entirely Western music. He composed songs for several
Western movies 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 ...
by Ford and others producers, including ''
The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John W ...
'' and ''
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
''. He also played small parts in several westerns. In 1955 Jones began writing for
Disney Studios The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and is the Studios Content segment of the Walt Disney Company. Based mainly at the namesake studio lot in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multifaceted ...
. He was co-writer of the theme song for the television series ''
Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...
'', and Jones wrote again for John Ford's Civil War film ''
The Horse Soldiers ''The Horse Soldiers'' is a 1959 American adventure war western film set during the American Civil War directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, William Holden and Constance Towers. The screenplay by John Lee Mahin and Martin Rackin w ...
'', in which he made an uncredited appearance as
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union A ...
in the opening scene. The theme song "I Left My Love" was featured throughout the film. The following year, he returned to working for Disney Studios. He played Wilson W. Brown, a Union soldier and locomotive engineer who was a member of the Andrews Raid depicted in Disney's film ''
The Great Locomotive Chase ''The Great Locomotive Chase'' is a 1956 American adventure western film produced by Walt Disney Productions, based on the Great Locomotive Chase that occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War. Filmed in CinemaScope and in color, the fi ...
''. In his final film, '' Ten Who Dared'', Jones appeared as Seneca Howland, a member of John Wesley Powell's 1869 expedition. He also is credited with writing "Jolly Rovers" and "Roll Along", which he sang in this film. Three of his songs, "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky", the theme from ''
The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John W ...
'', and "Cowpoke", were chosen by 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 historian ...
as being among the Top 100 Western songs of all time.


Personal life

Jones married twice. He had a daughter with his first wife, but later gave up all parental rights. His second marriage produced one son.


Death

Jones died from
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in Los Angeles in 1963 at the age of 49. He was buried at Calvary Memorial Park in his hometown, Douglas.


Recognition

In 1997, he was posthumously inducted into the
Western Music Association Hall of Fame The Western Music Association Hall of Fame is sponsored by the Western Music Association. Inductees are those individuals deemed important to the traditional and contemporary music of the American West and the American Cowboy. The organization is ...
.


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Stan 1914 births 1963 deaths People from Douglas, Arizona Military personnel from Arizona University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American musicians Songwriters from Arizona Deaths from cancer in Arizona