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WILLINGHAM, FOY [FOY WILLING] (1915–1978). Foy Willing, western singer, was born Foy Willingham in Bosque County, Texas, in 1915. As a teenager, Willingham sang solos on radio^qv and performed with a local gospel chorus. From 1933 to 1935 he worked on radio in New York City and then returned to Texas to continue his musical career. In 1940 he moved to California. There, in 1943, he took over as leader of the Riders of the Purple Sage, a designation inspired by Zane Grey's romantic western novel of the same name. Other members at the time included Jimmie Dean and Al Sloey. Over the next nine years, the group included Scotty Harrell, Johnny Paul, Billy Leibert, Paul Sellers, Jerry Vaughn, Neely Plumb, and Freddy Travers.

The Riders of the Purple Sage soon became one of the most popular singing groups during the "Singing Cowboy" craze of the 1930s to1950s. During that era, dozens of groups, such as the Cowboy Ramblers and the Lone Star Cowboys, dressed in gaudy western attire and performed highly romanticized "cowboy" songs based on Hollywood's version of life on the open prairie. Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage performed on numerous radio shows. Willing appeared in some twenty-seven movies, including eleven with the Riders of the Purple Sage. The group recorded for various prominent labels, including Capitol, Decca, Columbia, and Majestic, and had several major hits, including "Cool Water" and "Ghost Riders in the Sky." Willing disbanded the group in 1952, although the members reassembled occasionally to perform. Willing continued to write and record songs and appear at western film festivals until his death in Nashville, on June 24, 1978.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Fred Dellar, Alan Cackett, Roy Thompson, eds., The Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music (London: Salamander Books, 1986). Bill C. Malone, Country Music U.S.A. (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1975). Bill O'Neal, Tex Ritter: America's Most Beloved Cowboy (Austin: Eakin Press, 1998).

Gary Hartman

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/WW/fwivd.html (accessed January 8, 2009).

(NOTE: "s.v." stands for sub verbo, "under the word.")

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Last Updated: January 11, 2008
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