User:T.C. Mits

'Cowboy' Ralph Spicer was born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina in 1926. He is the great-grandson of Judge Wells Spicer, the judge who tried the Earps after the Gunfight at the OK Corral. He joined the Army at the start of WWII, and served with General George Patton.

After his discharge from the Army, Ralph joined the rodeo circuit as a bullrider, and traveled throughout the west. It was at this time that Ralph met Lefty Frizzell. They became close friends, and Ralph joined Lefty's band. In the early fifties, Ralph and Lefty toured with country music legand Hank Williams, Sr. as "Kings of the Honky Tonks". Lefty and Ralph remained close friends until Lefty's death in 1975.