"GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY: A COWBOY LEGEND" (1948)

A Facebook acquaintance posted the song "Ghost Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" (1948) written by Stan Jones but sung by Johnny Cash, a well-known voice called on to sing legends and ballads.  Stan Jones, by the way, was quite a prolific songwriter in for Hollywood movies and western television series.  Wikipedia explains that he

wrote almost entirely Western music. He composed songs for several Western movies by Ford and others producers, including The Searchers and Rio Grande. He also played small parts in several westerns.

In 1955 Jones began writing for Disney Studios. He was co-writer of the theme song for the television series Cheyenne, and Jones wrote again for John Ford's Civil War film The Horse Soldiers, in which he made an uncredited appearance as Ulysses S. Grant in the opening scene. The theme song "I Left My Love" was featured throughout the film. The following year, he returned to working for Disney Studios.

But Cash's version of the song is not my favorite.  Though I will say that this version by Cash, when he was younger and his voice more vigorous, is better.   

No, that prize goes to two contending stars: Kay Starr and Marty Robins.  I even liked Peggy Lee's version of the song better than Cash's older voice.  

Check out this version of Marty Robbins'.  You might like the western images a little better.  Maybe not. The lyrics are embedded in the show notes on this video.  I did not know that the song was first sung by Burl Ives, but it makes sense given all of the recordings of this song by him on the internet. 

Marty Robbins is famous for his song, "El Paso." 

Here is Kay Starr's version.  She's got a powerful voice, and for this song, she needs one.  

Like I said, I even liked Peggy Lee's version better than Johnny Cash, and believe me, I know how sacrilegious that sounds but Cash's voice just doesn't capture the ominous tone that that song should convey.  Vaughn Monroe sang it to great acclaim in 1949.   

Vaughn Monroe sang it to great acclaim in 1949.  Still, my favorites so far are Marty Robbins and Kay Starr.

Then, of course, there is the 1961 instrumental version by the Scorpions.

 

This is certainly a howling version by the Die Playboys. 

From Music & Musings, we get renditions of the song from Gene Autry, Debrah Harry, and the Ventures.  He makes great points, too, about the song and its origins.  

Stan Jones, western actor and songwriter, wrote “Ghost Riders In The Sky” in 1948.  The song is based on the tune of “Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya”, a traditional English [first published in London in 1867] melody that also begat “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again”. Since then it has been performed by many of the great acts in the music world. I have over 50 versions of the song in my iTunes collection from the country greats like Johnny Cash, Gene Autry, Slim Whitman, Willie Nelson, and The Highwaymen, the great guitar players like Duane Eddy, Chet Atkins, Roy, Clark and Glen Campbell, the sublime like Burl Ives, Debby Harry, and Marty Robbins, to the ridiculous (Spike Lee, The Trashmen & Na Sha Sha).  

So the song derives from the 1863 Civil War song, “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again.”