Talk:(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend

Alternate Tunes
GRITS has been occasionally sung and recorded to alternate tunes over the years - Google now not turning up results which were available some years ago. 60.240.77.120 (talk) 04:19, 13 February 2018 (UTC)

Roots?
I suspect that this song might have roots in much older tales. Here in the PA Dutch Country there are old tales of the Ewich Yaeger - the Eternal Huntsman - who, if I recall correctly, rides through the night with a pack of ghostly hunting dogs. So many of these old tales go back centuries, if not millenia... I'm wondering if there's not something older to tie this to....PurpleChez (talk) 19:34, 31 October 2019 (UTC)


 * You're right. It's a common European legend called the Wild Hunt. In Italy it's called Caccia Morta or Caccia Selvaggia. The original leader of the hunt is Odin, but he's substituted by a lot of different figures in various countries. It also influenced Santa Claus' legend (a rider in the sky who is a bearded old man)  So, it's a beautiful thing to find such an ancient legend even in the Far West! 79.17.39.221 (talk) 09:25, 20 November 2019 (UTC)


 * Here is an article making the connection explicitly.  Ghmyrtle (talk) 15:55, 20 November 2019 (UTC)
 * Late to the party, but there are also parallels to be made to the Cosmic Hunt myth (Which potentially shares roots with the Wild Hunt, haven't looked much into it). 168.102.132.47 (talk) 18:04, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

WP:SONGCOVER
So, does WP:SONGCOVER not apply to this article? --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106; &#x1D110;&#x1d107; 16:30, 22 February 2021 (UTC)

Keith Donnelly
I have no idea if this is notable, but the folk comic Keith Donnelly has just released a triple CD of parodies recorded during lockdown, called Ghost Eiders in the Sky. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.132.153.116 (talk) 10:58, 14 September 2021 (UTC)

Who recorded and released this song first? Stan Jones or Burl Ives?
The current article has:
 * The original version by Stan Jones was recorded in late 1948.

and then:
 * Burl Ives, who recorded his own version a year later.

The early history of this recording isn't well documented but I've found no references that Stan Jones recorded the song in 1948 or before Burl Ives. There are some references to the contrary.

secondsongs.com states that the song was first recorded by Burl Ives on February 17, 1949 (which agrees with the date in this article) and first released by Ives in March 1949. The same page says Jones' version was recorded and released in May 1949.

The first mention I could find for the Stan Jones release (Mercury 5320) in Billboard is in the May 28, 1949 issue (page 35). Wantnot (talk) 08:04, 17 October 2022 (UTC)