Mr. Western Verified

Johnny Western is a singer, actor, songwriter, and on-air personality who has been entertaining listeners and viewers for more than 50 years.[CR-LF][CR-LF]At age 15, while still in high school, Western became a dee jay and singing cowboy on the radio in his home town of Northfield, MN. By age 16, he became a singing cowboy on local television and got his first recording contract.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In the early 1950s, he began performing on the rodeo circuit. In 1954, he moved to Hollywood and toured Canada with Gene Autry in 1956, where he met Johnny Cash.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Western wrote "The Ballad Of Paladin," theme song for the TV series "Have Gun Will Travel" starring Richard Boone, which ran from 1957 to 1963. Johnny Cash asked Western to join his show as emcee and singer. Western was a featured musician on most of Cash's recordings from August 1959 through April 1963. [CR-LF][CR-LF]Western has appeared in over 50 western movies and TV westerns such as "Have Gun Will Travel", "Pony Express," "Gunsmoke," "Boots & Saddles," "Wells Fargo," and "Bat Masterson."[CR-LF][CR-LF]In 2000, Western was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in Nashville. In 2001, he was inducted into the Western Music Association Hall of Fame.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In March, 2003, Johnny received "The Cowboy Spirit of the West" award from The National Festival of the West in Scottsdale, AZ. He was honored in 2004 the the Western Swing Music Society of Kansas "Hall of Fame" Award. [CR-LF][CR-LF]Western is still out there working Country Music shows and Cowboy events all across America. Today, he hosts a daily radio show on Classic Country AM KFTI in Wichita, KS.

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