Special Guests

Special Guests
Saturday, November 20, 1999

The Cowboys first got together 26 years ago to sing the country music they all enjoyed. All residents of South Dakota’s Black Hills, the group takes pride in singing songs of the west in very close three-part harmony, emphasizing control and blend. They perform songs by the Sons of the Pioneers and other singing cowboys in venues across the United States and Canada to help keep old western music alive. They appear regularly at Heritage Village near Custer, South Dakota, in a show that uses their old tunes to tell the story of pioneers blazing a trail across the west, with a few favorites from ’40s and ’50s movies thrown in for good measure. The songs tell of “the strength, quiet faith, down-to-earth humor, and tragedy faced...as our ancestors pioneered the west.” The Cowboys have also sung for several governors of South Dakota and were guests on Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know? Though the personnel has changed some over the years, they are still led by bass player Jim Lovell, who yodels and sings tenor. Lovell is a recipient of the Old West Trails Foundation Award, which recognizes preservation of the music of the west. (Past winners include Charlie Pride and Kenny Rogers.) Lovell is joined by baritone Buddy Meredith on rhythm guitar and harmonica. Meredith has been performing for over 40 years, and once had his own radio and television shows. The lead singer for the group, Kenny Hamm, also plays rhythm guitar and shares yodeling duties with Lovell. Hamm has been making music since 1956. Walt Copeland, the band’s sound technician and steel guitar player, had his own band for 34 years, and spent over 35 years selling and servicing music equipment. The Cowboys have produced several cassette tapes, including Hymns of the West, Hear Those Pioneers, and Way Out There.

Becky Schlegel grew up in Kimball, South Dakota, and played piano in a band that included her mother on bass and her sister on drums. As a child, her favorite artists were The Kendalls and Patsy Cline, to whom she has been compared. During college, she spent her summers playing in a Mountain Music Show in Custer, South Dakota. After a friend there gave her three albums by Reno and Smiley, she became addicted to bluegrass music. Schlegel moved to Minnesota in 1994, sold her piano, and forced herself to become a better guitar player. A jam session at a friend’s house in April of 1997 led to the formation of her band, True Blue. Within a few years of entering the world of bluegrass music, the group has released a self-produced CD (This Lonesome Song), performed at the Minnesota Music Awards, opened for two national country acts, landed a hard-to-get booking at the Minnesota State Fair, and just last month, was one of only 24 bands to be showcased at the International Bluegrass Music Association convention in Kentucky. In addition to Schlegel, True Blue includes Matt Thompson on mandolin. Thompson started playing mandolin as a teen and discovered bluegrass by accident when he found a Bill Monroe album in a discount bin. He’s played with several bands over the last 15 years. John Niemann, the band’s fiddle player, is an original member of Stoney Lonesome, which disbanded earlier this year. He also plays mandolin and guitar, and sings lead. Heath Loy is the newest member of the band. A banjo player from Rochester, Minnesota, he had never played in a bluegrass band before joining True Blue. Bass player Joe Weismann is the only member of the band with a degree in music. His main love is jazz and swing, which he plays with his band The Jazztronauts.