Fletcher Jowers- Cowboy Gospel Music
A cowboy holding a Bible next to
a campfire was on the cd cover and the title was "Church At The Wagon"
by some fellow
by the name of Fletcher Jowers. After my initial chuckle over someone
sending cowboy music to "The Southern Gospel.Com"
and after looking over the songs on the back I decided that at this
exact moment in time I had nothing better to do than to open this cd and
give it a listen. Now I'm hooked. Or hog-tied or lassoed or whatever you
call it when you get bit by the "cowboy
gospel music bug." This is such refreshing music! And the guy not only
carries a tune he has great voice that just fits the
music like a gun in a holster or a branding iron in a leather glove or
warm fire on a cold prairie night. ( I know, cut it out Brady! LOL!!)
First off I am a southern gospel fan. A rather large fan (in more ways
than one.) I am such a fan of southern gospel music that
long before Woody Wright ever wrote the song "I'm A Southern Gospel Fan" I
had already registered the domain "www.southerngospelfan.com" so Woody
had to register the .net version of the site.
I also love bluegrass gospel music as well. I'll listen to most
anything once for about 10 seconds. Some people found out about
that and started sending in cds to my PO Box and to the office and some
even tracked down my home address and collectively
they send me boxes of cds each week. After a couple years of this I had to
add a secret code to the address line that lets our
staff know which cds to bring to my desk and which go into "the box". The
others go into an ever-growing collection of things
to do when I retire. It would take me 30 hours a day to listen to
everything that comes in and hey… a big guys gotta eat once
in a while.
So the sad fact is that I only get to listen to maybe 5% of everything
that comes through the door. But I do listen to 100% of the ones that
come in coded correctly because it is most likely something I have asked
to hear.
Once in a great while a cd will slip into my laptop because it got
picked up and brought to the house by mistake. Such was the case with
the envelope from Red Oak, TX that somehow wound up on my end table next
to my favorite chair. Now it didn't have the secret code on it but
somehow it managed to get in my way one time too many and I picked it up
and ripped it open and popped it into my cd player.
Listening to Fletcher is like listening to what you'd hear if you mixed
up a generous portion of Marty Robbins &
Carroll Robertson & The Chuck Wagon Gang & Roy Rogers. It's really good
stuff. And it's pure 100% cowboy gospel music.
Music that I was largely (in more ways than one) unaware of before
tonight. The album has 10 songs of which 9 were penned by Fletcher
Jowers and one interestingly enough by Marty Robbins one the obvious
vocal influences of Jowers.
My favorite tune is one called Old Camp Meeting Ground which is a great
up tempo song that takes you back in your mind to a magical time when
the wide open spaces played host to hundreds of wagons in an under the
stars type camp meeting service.
It is a great song and I'm going to have to add it to our online radio
station just to make our listeners go…huh???
One thing I have enjoyed about the online station are the "huh moments"
scattered throughout the day with things like
segments of the "Roadhog Show" and "Herbert the Rabbit." I hope our
listeners "get my sense of humor" when I break up
some powerful sets of great southern gospel music with something totally
out in left field.
One things for certain for this editor this project is from left field
but wow do I love this stuff! Once in a great while I guess
there is a project that even if it doesn't follow the normal process of
getting my attention the Lord just breaks my rules
and makes me listen. I'm glad I did! Fletcher's got a new fan in Charles
Brady and I'm ready to saddle up and join them out
on the plains! (Poor horse! LOL!!)
You can listen to some of Fletcher's music by going to his site at
www.fletcherjowers.com or you catch him by listening each
day at
www.live365.com/stations/charlesbrady?play
Until then I'll leave you with this from Fletcher Jowers…. " I'm riding
here tonight…underneath the prairie skies…The moon is
full the stars are shinning bright… I'm headed for that ring…where the
boss is King of Kings….one more river then we'll reach the other side"
I'll be hearing this in my sleep tonight just as sure as the world!!!
Bio:
Fletcher Jowers is a premier Cowboy Singer and Songwriter of pure Cowboy
music. His authentic Texas Cowboy approach to music has warmed the
hearts of his fans throughout the West.
He has been featured at Cowboy events such as The Western Heritage
Classic, The Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering, The Great Pikes Peak Cowboy
Poetry Gathering (there awarded the prestigious Dick Spencer Memorial
Award), The New Mexico Cowboy Poetry Gathering, The National Cowboy
Symposium, The Texas Cowboy Poetry Gathering, The Cowboy Hall Of Fame,
and The Academy Of Western Artists Awards Ceremony.
Fletcher has been nominated for Entertainer Of The Year, Male Vocalist
Of The Year, Song Of The Year as well as Album Of The Year.
He co-authored, along with Red Steagall, the great song "Sleepin' In My
Leggin's Tonight" which was on Red's Wrangler Award winning project
"Dear Momma, I'm A Cowboy". He also wrote "When The Roses Bloom Next
Spring", a cut on Red's project
"Love Of The West".
Fletcher was a principal actor/singer along with Charlie Daniels, Ian
Tyson, Becky Hobbs and Will Dudley on the short
film/musical video "Ol Cowboys And Dreamers" produced by Peter Lippman.
Fletcher has lived the life of a cowboy, working on several ranches
throughout the West.
Article Link:
http://www.thesoutherngospel.com/more.php?id=2503_0_21_0
Posted by:
Charles on Sep 12, 06 |
2:43 am
Dann Hansen hangingtree@mail.dk
As grown up Country Music
DJ, I has been listen to it all, but when Fletcher Jowers CD take off and
landed at my desk, I took it and placed it in my
player, without the great expectation, because all name their music as country
nowadays, but when the sound begun, it feels like a punch under the belt,
because the music was really pure Western music, so pure than cactus blooms and
real desert smells floated and fill the studio with pure nostalgia from a time,
when country music was country and nothing else. It's surely not necessary
to tell this CD makes my day, and Bob Nolan, Marty Robbins, Tex Ritter and Roy Rogers would be proud of a man like Fletcher Jowers as keep the pure
country music alive and authentic. "CHURCH AT THE WAGON" will take out on
the Western Plains, on a tour you ever never will
forget.
Happy trail
Fletcher.
Country Music DJ at Roskilde
Radio in Denmark
O. J. Sikes - www.ojsikes.bostonpete.com/ojsikes
An all-star band of musicians
(Bobby Boatright, Tommy Allsup, Mark Abbott and Donny Catron) joined noted
singer-songwriter Fletcher Jowers on a project called Church At The
Wagon.
It was years in the making, but worth the wait. 9 of the 10
songs are Fletcher's originals, the 10th being Marty Robbins" "Master's
Call". My favorites turned out to be a couple of upbeat tunes called
"Old Camp Meeting Ground" and "The New Range" but as I write this I'm
listening to "John Three Sixteen" and I've gotta add that one to my list,
too!
The CD is full of good cowboy inspirational material.
CHUCK "DUSTY DAWG" WILSON
PRODUCER/PRESENTER KCR97/CFM103.5
WONDERFUL TRADITIONAL COUNTRY CD...... BACKING...VOCALS AND
CHOICE OF MATERIAL ALL TOP CLASS.
Trudy Burke , Email: trudyburke@optusnet.com.au
I have had a good listen to it and really
like it a lot, it's so different and refreshing from all the other country
music that I received, almost on a daily basis. I will be sure to
give this some airplay on my program.
Hope everything is going great your end and the
album is doing well for you.
Thanks again, bye, take care and kind "country"
regards from Aussie land.
Excerpt from review
Jowers is "the real thing." He is an authentic Texan Cowboy singer
and songwriter and ex-cowboy whose pleasant, slightly vibrating voice
takes you back into a time when being a cowboy was an honorable and hard
profession. Secondly, the album swings in a truly Western way. Not
surprising, once you know that lead guitar playing and production lay in
the steady hands of Tommy Allsupp, once Buddy Holly's guitar player. Apart
from being a Cricket, Allsup has spent his life as a Texas Playboy and as
a producer for country giants like Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush, Hank
Thompson, Gene Watson, George Jones and many others.
Mark Holt, Email:
mailto:darkhorse@orofino-id.com?subject=Church
at the Wagon review
FLETCHER JOWERS - Church at the Wagon
No label or number Total Playing Time: 31:26
Song Listing: 1) Church at the Wagon 2) Your Never Alone 3) Old
Camp
Meeting Ground 4) A Brand New Life 5) The New Range 6) John Three
Sixteen 7)
Ol Snake 8) A Memory of Jim 9) God Gave Us The Horse 10)
Masters Call
There are voices that as soon as you hear them, they
transport you to another time.
Authentic, western, cowboy, ranch music are what
Fletcher Jowers sounds like. He has one of those voices that is comfortable,
like your favorite pair of worn, dusty boots. Fletcher reminds me of Sam Elliott
(Conager, Tombstone, "Beef it's what's for Dinner") and Ken Curtis (Sons of the
Pioneers, and later Festus on Gunsmoke). Their voices are as recognizable (and
as western) as their faces. You hear those kinds of voices and you just know
it's western! You say to yourself, "I can relax now and enjoy. This is going to
be a real western." "Church at the Wagon" is a cowboy gospel project.
Fletcher has presented his brand of cowboy music throughout the country for
several years.
He has received several awards for his writing and recording of
authentic cowboy music.
This album contains nine original songs, along
with Marty Robbins' "Masters Call." The project's title cut is a story about a
wagon cook, "Coosi," who buys an old Bible from a peddler just before leaving
out on the trail, bound for Abilene. He proclaims "We'll have church at the
wagon." My personal favorites are "Ol Snake," a story of a preacher making a
deal with some cowboys that he will ride "Ol Snake," the meanest ronc on the
place, in return for their church attendance. It all happens, and "Ol
Snake" becomes the top horse in the string. I also liked Fletcher's cover of
Marty Robbins' "Masters Call." Marty could just plain write a song!
Fletcher does a great job with it.
The gut string guitar work on this album is really, really well done. Tommy
Allsup is the lead guitar player, and Tommy's guitar work really transports the
feel of this CD "south of the Rio Grande." The mix and production on this CD is
way above average. Besides Fletcher Jowers, other musicians listed are Tommy
Allsup (lead guitar, rhythm guitar, harmony vocals), Bobby Boatright, (fiddle),
Donny Catron (rhythm guitar, harmony vocals), Mark Abbot (bass fiddle, harmony
vocals), Mark Petty (engineer). It was recorded at ASC Recording, Dallas, Texas.
Fletcher Jowers and the group of backup musicians on this album just set a tone
and feel for these songs, that make this album a nice, subtle, cowboy gospel
listen.
Jo Hargrave
http://www.keepinitcowboy.com/
This is one of the best works I've seen in a long time. I love going
in on Sunday mornings just so I can play a few more selections from your
CD. I don't have the words to express the admiration I feel for someone
who has communicated in such a beautiful way with our Lord and has allowed us to
share this communication with him. Thank you for sharing your
wonderful
talent with me and my listeners.
Jo Hargrave
COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE MAGAZINE - Hugh T.
Wilson
Fletcher Jowers is an ex-Texas cowboy who took to writing songs of the
Old West and for several years has been performing at many venues in the
States. His easy-to-listen-to style and vocals describe clearly what life
was like on the range.
All good songs need good musical accompaniment and Jowers certainly has
that here. Bobby Boatright plays gentle and plaintive fiddle throughout
while Tommy Allsup, who was Buddy Holly's guitarist at the time of Holly's
death, plays lead guitar and also produced the album. Donny Catron, lead
singer with the Tennessee Gentlemen, plays rhythm guitar while Mark Abbott
adds some pretty tight bass fiddle to complete things. The latter three
also produce nice harmonies to compliment Jowers' vocals.
The material is all of a gospel nature. The first nine songs are
self-penned but, to close the set, Jowers sings Marty Robbins' classic, The Master's Call, which deally suits the album's theme. All are
story songs and the title song, Church At The Wagon, has the
hallmarks of a classic. It relates the tale of a cook who, before leaving
on a trail drive to Abilene, buys an old bible from a peddler so that he
can have a prayer meeting at the wagon every Sunday.
The tales are hugely enjoyable. Ol Snake is the story of a
parson who makes a deal with cowboys that he will ride "the meanest
bronc here on this place" if they will attend church. John Three
Sixteen takes the quote of "For God so loved the world that He gave His
only son," and uses it to relate the sad tale of Little Jake, who
dies after his horse falls while chasing mavericks.
A Memory Of Jim
also reminisces about the loss of an old friend.
You're Never Alone is a self-explanatory statement that God is
always there for those who need help and, of course, there is a song about
the cowboy's best friend in God Gave Us The Horse.
Story songs, great lyrics and simple, tuneful melodies. A great CD for
those who like story songs of cowboy life similar to those performed by
Red Steagall, Don Edwards and Michael Martin Murphy.
Sounds Country by Pete Smith
Fletcher Jowers is very much in demand for all the top Western
gatherings.
His popularity stems, not only from his obvious talent as a
singer and songwriter, but from his authentic approach to Western music
and life.
And total authentic Fletcher is, for he is a real life Texas
cowboy.
Church At The Wagon (Pistol Hill Music) shows the spiritual side of the
cowboy beautifully portrayed in ten songs - nine originals - and a finale
of Marty Robbins The Master's Call.
These stories, for that is what they really are, explain the cowboys'
hopes and fears, sorrow and happiness, simply and effectively, with just a
quartet of musicians behind Jowers' extremely listenable voice.
Fletcher tells of the "Old Camp Meeting Ground"; tells of the loss of a
friend, "A Memory Of Jim"; dreams of a better life; "The New Range" and
reminds us that "God Gave Us The Horse."
An unusual album in this day and age but one which is both welcome and
needed.
Church At The Wagon
Fletcher Jowers by Hugh McLennan,
Canadian Cowboy
Country Magazine
Fletcher Jowers is the real thing. He’s ridden for a lot of
outfits in south Texas, and his years of cowboyin’ have inspired
some mighty listenable cowboy music. Whether he’s singing after
supper with just his guitar and the roundup crew for the audience,
or in a concert hall with paying customers, his music reaches the
heart.
My friend Darrell Arnold, publisher of Cowboy Magazine, calls
Fletcher’s voice a “sandy tenor”, and that describes it pretty well.
Church At The Wagon is a collection of songs mostly written by
Fletcher, and the cowboy’s reverence for the Creator and the
blessings of a cowboys life run through each and every song.
Some are based on scripture passages, others are kinda like new
testament parables, all of them are catchy and you’ll find yourself
easily singing along with them. The great Tommy Alsup did the
arrangements and plays lead and rhythm guitar and provides harmony
vocals. Bobby Boatright’s fine fiddle supports the harmony vocals of
Mark Abbot, who also supplies the stand-up bass.
by Iain Dobie
Fletcher Jowers
singer and songwriter of pure Cowboy music. Fletcher has
been nominated for Entertainer Of The Year, Male Vocalist Of The Year, Song
Of The Year as well as Album Of The Year. He co-authored, along with Red
Steagall, the great song "Sleepin' In My Leggin's Tonight" which was on
Red's Wrangler Award winning project "Dear Momma, I'm A Cowboy". He also
wrote "When The Roses Bloom Next Spring", a cut on Red's project "Love Of
The West". Fletcher has lived the life of a cowboy, working on ranches
throughout the West.
Nine out of the 10 tracks are written by Fletcher, all story songs with a
gospel theme in the true cowboy spirit similar to the likes of Michael
Martin Murphy, Don Edwards or Marty Robbins. The title track
Church at The Wagon tells about a cook who takes a bible on the
trail drive and holds church every Sunday at the wagon. You
Never Alone reminds you that God is always there if you need him
- A Memory Of Jim mourns the passing of an old
friend and Ol' Snake tells of the preacher who makes
a deal with the cowboys that if he rides Ol' Snake they'll turn up at his
church on Sunday.. of course he rides the horse.. the cd finishes off with
Marty Robbins' The Master's Call . Good stories well
sung and backed by the excellent Tommy Allsup on lead guitar and Bobby
Boatright on fiddle. Sit back, close your eyes and listen and you are
sitting round a campfire on the trail listening to the cowboys singing at
the end of a long day
True West Magazine - review by Sandy
Whiting
If you feel smothered in buildings and
revival tents, then come to the Church At The Wagon. Beside the crackling
campfire, "John Three Sixteen" bids listeners welcome to "The New Range"
when this earthly life reaches its end of the trail. Fletcher Jowers has
created his own sweet cowboy melodies accented with gospel "kicks." Each
song highlights a biblical scripture without being preachy. This CD would
be a nice addition to any collection.
Review by Pete Smith
Fletcher Jowers “Sing Me A Cowboy Song”
(Pistol Hill Music). I bet most readers of a certain age became
country music fans through the singing cowboys of the thirties
through fifties. And I will further bet that such fans still
have a yearning for those songs of the wide open spaces, cattle
drives and the cowboy’s relationship with his maker. If that is
the case you will certainly love Fletcher Jowers. Supported by
just guitar, mandolin (Rich O’Brien), fiddle (Bobby Boatright)
and bass fiddle (Mac Macrae) Fletcher faithfully recreates the
era of the golden west with a superb blend of originals and
traditional favorites. The originals feature “A Cowboy Lullaby”,
“When The Roses Bloom Next Spring” and “Trail Drive” whilst
those timeless favorites include “Shenandoah”, “Danny Boy” and
“Annie Laurie”.
Review by
Jeri Dobrowski
A person’s friends and associates speak volumes
without uttering a word. Take cowboy singer Fletcher Jowers, for example.
His "Sing Me a Cowboy Song" CD had me hooked from the first listen. When I
read the names of his song-writing buddies and back-up musicians, I was even
more impressed.Jowers shares musical
credits with the likes of Red Steagall, with whom he coauthored "Sleepin' in
My Leggin's Tonight," and Cowboy Magazine Editor Darrell Arnold. Richard
O’Brien, master producer of the recorded project, rode herd on "Sing Me a
Cowboy Song" and contributed banjo and guitar tracks. These are names that
bespeak quality and respect – which pours out through the speakers as Jowers
warbles.
A mix of 12 original and traditional cowboy
tunes, there’s enough of Jowers' material to keep the CD from being just
another collection of tired cowboy music. I especially like "A Cowboy
Lullaby," "Ol’ Diamond," "When the Roses Bloom Next Spring" and "Trail
Drive." Baxter Black and Robert Keen penned "Young Lovers’ Waltz." "Annie
Laurie," another fine waltz, wraps the collection. In fact, the CD is loaded
with waltzes. If there’s someone in your outfit who adores a waltz, this is
the perfect gift! Send $14.95 (postpaid) to Fletcher Jowers, 150 Alesha Rd.,
Red Oak, TX 75154. You may order online at
www.fletcherjowers.com.
Phone Jowers at 972-921-0825 or (888) 876-6038.
Check me out!
TOP OF PAGE
|