A lot of country and Americana artists like to write tunes about riding and wrangling, but only a handful of them have actually done it. Ross Cooper, who just released the aptly titled album I Rode The Wild Horses, is one of those artists, as he had a career as a professional bareback rider before trying his hand at music.
In a new video for the album’s title track, Cooper offers a glimpse of the rodeo life, from loading up the trailer the night before to hanging on for dear life atop a bucking horse. Cooper shot the video at the Texas Cowboy Reunion Arena, the Swenson Ranch, the Mallet Event Center, and Lubbock, Texas bar the Blue Light.
“I’m a second generation cowboy,” Cooper says. “Both of my folks used to rodeo, and my brother and I grew up riding bucking horses (saddle-bronc and bareback). That’s how we were raised. I was brought up in and around rodeo arenas. So when I sat down to write this song, it didn’t take a whole lot of time. I know the characters and could see the story.”
Eric Masse produced I Rode The Wild Horses, and the album features contributions from Erin Rae, Steelism’s Jeremy Fetzer, Eli Beard, Tommy Perkinson, Skylar Wilson, and Eddy Dunlap.