To this day, LeDoux is the epitome of a true American Cowboy.
Chris LeDoux was born on October 2, 1948 in Biloxi, Mississippi.
At 12 years old, LeDoux’s family moved to Austin, Texas, after his dad retired from the Air Force.
At 14 years old, the young LeDoux started playing guitar and writing songs. His love for rodeo also blossomed around this age as well.
When his family moved to Wyoming was when Chris started taking rodeo more seriously and started competing in high school rodeo competitions which led to a college rodeo scholarship. He continued singing and quickly became known in the rodeo circuit for songs such as “Bareback Jack”, “Hometown Cowboy”, and “Rodeo Life”.
It was 1970 when LeDoux made the leap to become a professional rodeo cowboy in the PRCA riding broncs. In order to help offset the costs of gas and entry fees, Chris got serious about composing songs that described his lifestyle. Within a few years, he had written enough songs to produce his first album. Wanting complete control over his songs and albums, he started his own record label — American Cowboy Songs — with his father. He recorded his first album in a friend’s basement and then began selling his tapes at rodeo events out of the back of his pickup truck.
In 1972, Chris married Peggy Rhoads. During this period, music came second behind being a cowboy. His commitment paid off as Chris went on to win the world championship bareback riding at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City in 1976. For Chris, the best thing about winning the NFR was the credibility he gained with his music audiences. It served as proof that the cowboy songs he wrote were a part of him. LeDoux continued competing for the next several years, then retired in the early 1980s.
“I won a saddle and a buckle and I got a hat and a pair of boots – and a little bit of money. The money’s gone. The boots are worn out. The hat’s gone – someone bit a big chunk out of it at Fort Worth that next winter. I still have the saddle and the buckle. But that championship gave me credibility in the music that I’m doing and helped tremendously,” LeDoux said at the time.
After his retirement from rodeo, Chris wasn’t close to done with the western lifestyle. His family settled on a 500-acre ranch in Kaycee, Wyoming. LeDoux continued to write and record his songs and also began playing concerts. His concerts, were very popular and were designed to mimic the feel of a rodeo, often featuring a mechanical bull and pyrotechnics. He even rode the bull during his show while he sang.
By 1982, LeDoux had sold more than 250,000 copies of his albums with minimal marketing effort. By the end of the decade, he had self-released 22 albums.
Then in 1989, everything changed, again, when LeDoux was name-dropped in Garth Brooks’ song, “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)”. He gained national recognition almost overnight. Shortly after that happened, Chris signed a deal with Capitol Records, then in 1991, released his first national label album, Western Underground. He followed that album up with, Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy, in 1992. This album was certified gold and reached the top 10, with the title track, a duet with Garth Brooks, became LeDoux’s first and only top-10 country single, reaching number seven on the music charts in 1992.
At just 52, Chris was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a disease involving bile ducts, which required him to receive a liver transplant. In true cowboy spirit, he cranked out two more albums after he recovered. Then in 2004, he was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, cancer that affects the liver bile ducts, for which he underwent treatment.
LeDoux passed on March 9, 2005, at age 56. He was survived by his wife Peggy and their five children, Clay, Ned, Will, Cindy and Beau.
It’s no surprise that America was left with a hole the size of Wyoming Skies in their hearts when LeDoux passed. LeDoux changed the face of country music and helped influence several of today’s classic talents such as Garth Brooks and Toby Keith.
His legacy lives on today in several different ways — family philanthropy, a spirits line, the Chris LeDoux Memorial Foundation, Chris LeDoux Days, music that will forever be cherished by fans of country music, and his son, Ned LeDoux. who carries the family name and tradition of singing songs that encompass the American West.
Chris LeDoux is a true American Cowboy who will never be forgotten.
Chris LeDoux Playlist
Start a Chris LeDoux playlist with these 10 all-time great songs.
This Cowboys Hat
Western Skies
Eight Second Ride
Look at You Girl
Cadillac Ranch
Even Cowboys Like a Little Rock and Roll
Cadillac Cowboy
Copenhagen
County Fair
A Cowboy’s Got To Ride
