Johnny Western - Minnesota's
Hall of Fame Singing Cowboy!
How many people get to do the things they dreamed of as a kid?
Five year old Johnny Westerlund of Northfield, MN knew back in 1939 when he saw a singing cowboy movie starring Gene Autry in Guns and Guitars that he wanted to do that too.
And 17 years later, Autry would put Johnny under contract and take him all over the U.S. and Canada until Autry retired in 1957. Then Johnny worked with singer-songwriter, Johnny Cash, for almost 40 years!
Plus making his own adventures in the country music business. He was under contract to Columbia Records as a singer but could also play on other people’s recording sessions as a guitarist. “So I played on 71 singles and five albums for Columbia with Johnny (Cash),”
I want to be…
Johnny Westerlund came from a musical family. His mother, Dolly, “had studied to be an opera singer when she was young…until the money rang out during the depression and she took a job as a secretary.” His dad, John, worked his way through college playing piano in college dance bands.
“Neither one was in country music,” Johnny recalled, “but they were both very musically inclined and I liked all kinds of music because of that.”
And when his folks got him a guitar when he was 12, Johnny was on his way!
Having moved from Two Harbors, MN to Northfield in 1941, Johnny recalled that the town had a population of about 5000 people in the summer. It’s over 20,000 now.
“Our family’s big thing of the year was to go up to the twin cities and shop at Dayton’s (a large department store).”
Radio opportunity…
As a teenager, Johnny got the opportunity to host a 15 minute radio program on KDHL at its Northfield link. Paul Shea, KDHL program director recalls: “Johnny Western was and is a talented broadcaster, actor, and musician and we at Townsquare Media were fortunate to have Johnny bless our airwaves during his broadcast career. He is a true Hall of Famer.”
It was on Johnny’s first show in July 1950 that the announcer decided Johnny needed a different name than Westlund. They were going on the air in one minute when the announcer looked at a calendar on the wall and saw the sponsor’s name: Great Western Salvage Company.
He told Johnny: “You’re going to be Johnny Western”.
A couple years later Johnny legally changed his name to Western.
His hero - his guest!
Gene Autry showed up as a guest on his show in Northfield. The situation led to Autry commenting: “if you ever come to Hollywood kid, I’ll try to help you.
Johnny added, “And that’s exactly what he did.”
But there is more to the story.
Johnny married in 1953 and left Northfield for a job in the Austin, MN broadcasting system. Then moved to Hollywood in 1954.
So how did Gene Autry help him? It happened when Johnny was the entertainment at a private party at a ranch in the San Fernando Valley. Guests were Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, all of the Sons of the Pioneers and their wives… along with Gene Autry. Two weeks later, Autry’s personal guitarist for 30 years decided to retire and Autry got hold of Johnny.
It was 1956 and Western was just turning 21 years old.
“I went all over the world with him for the next two years. More people in the world knew who Gene Autry was than knew who the president of the United States was.” he recalled.
Greatest era of country music…
And so Johnny got to be in “the beginning of the greatest era of country music starting 71 years ago.”
When Autry retired a couple years later, it gave Johnny “prestige for my first film”. This venture included parts in western TV shows like a gunfight with Richard Boone in the TV show, Have Gun Will Travel.
It was this show that captivated him on the day his daughter Leslie was born. While waiting to return to the hospital to see her (they had different rules about “visitors” then), Johnny explained that he was going to be alone “so I picked up my guitar and the idea was in place and I wrote that song in 20 minutes.” It’s “The Ballad of Paladin,” from the television show.
Another time, Cash and Western combined their talents to write lyrics for the theme song for Bonanza.
Singing in the prison…
Every year in California, some of the best musicians would be featured in a show in San Quentin prison.
Johnny Western was there with the Johnny Cash concert. He recalled, “When Cash came on the stage and sang "Folsom Prison Blues” (the place) just went crazy!”
Western noticed one prisoner, a trustee, sitting in the front row. Afterwards he talked to him. It was Merle Haggard. He was finishing a sentence of 2 1/2 years for attempted armed robbery.
Haggard told Western, “I want to be a country singer when I get out”. He was coming up for parole in a few months.
Western reminisced, “The next time I saw Merle - he was playing with a band in Bakersfield for $15 a night. And he thought it was ‘all the money in the world’.“
Western continued: “That’s a true story. I was booked in that night club as the guest star and (Haggard) was in the band.”
Later on, when Haggard got popular, Governor Ronald Reagan pardoned him.
Years later, Western booked Haggard in Wichita, Kansas for a show. Western recalled: “The ballroom seated 2000 people and I paid him $25,000 for that one show.”
Recalling the traveling…
“As of January this year,” Western explained he had “been on the road over 4 million miles…100,000 miles with Johnny Cash, 100,000 miles with Gene Autry and then all the concerts with my own band.”
Western has been all over the world. From hosting The Great American Cowboy in a sold-out Carnegie Hall in New York to being part of a musical group playing on the Great Wall in China in 2006. The latter was a result of the show at Carnegie and a two year negotiation by the Chinese who had seen it.
Another country music icon, Waylon Jennings, introduced Western to his wife… now of 55 years. His first marriage had ended in divorce.
Jennings had booked Western for a three day stand back in April 1966. On the second day he introduced Western to this nice gal and four months later they married.
The 86 year old Johnny Western happily recounted they have a family of several daughters, 17 grandkids and 20 great grandkids - with more on the way!
Country music today…
Western’s thoughts on country music today? “It’s not country music today… basically. 1950 - 2010 was the high in country music.
“There are a few people like George Straight that keep making country records, but most are like rock and roll… they’re just recording pop songs.”
“We have lost so many great artists. These giants will never be imitated… but we have the memories.”
Western continued, “People are hungry to hear real true country music.”
And that’s what you hear when you listen to Johnny Western (The Singing Cowboy from Minnesota!).
Photo of Gene Autry and Johnny Western in 1958.
Photo of Johnny Cash and Johnny Western in 1978.
