Chris LeDoux was a rodeo cowboy who sang and recorded songs in his spare time and sold his albums from the back of his truck. With his father, he started his own record label, American Cowboy Songs, in 1970. Under that label he released 22 albums between 1971 and 1990. After gaining recognition from the 1989 Garth Brooks song, "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)" he was signed to Liberty Records, where he released 4 studio albums in four years. He released 6 more albums including a live album under Capitol Records. Horsepower in 2003 was his last studio album before his death in 2005. Nine official compilation albums have been released between 1994 and 2008. 20 Greatest Hits has been certified platinum by the RIAA.
LeDoux has released a total of 33 singles, most of them from his major label albums. While most of his singles failed to chart or missed the top 40, his most famous song is the duet with Garth Brooks, "Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy" which charted at #7 on Billboards Hot Country Songs chart. The follow-up single, "Cadillac Ranch" reached #18.
Studio albums
1970s Title Details Songs of Rodeo Life Release date: 1971 Label: self-released Rodeo Songs "Old & New" Release date: 1973 Label: self-released Songs of Rodeo and Country Release date: 1974 Label: self-released Rodeo and Living Free Release date: 1975 Label: self-released Life as a Rodeo Man Release date: 1975 Label: self-released Songbook of the American West Release date: 1976 Label: self-released Sing Me a Song Mr. Rodeo Man Release date: 1977 Label: self-released Cowboys Ain't Easy to Love Release date: 1978 Label: self-released Paint Me Back Home in Wyoming Release date: 1978 Label: self-released Western Tunesmith Release date: 1979 Label: self-released
1980s Title Details Old Cowboy Heroes Release date: 1980 Label: self-released He Rides the Wild Horses Release date: 1981 Label: self-released Used to Want to Be a Cowboy Release date: 1982 Label: self-released Old Cowboy Classics Release date: 1983 Label: self-released Thirty Dollar Cowboy Release date: 1983 Label: self-released Melodies and Memories Release date: 1984 Label: self-released Wild and Wooly Release date: 1986 Label: self-released Chris LeDoux and the Saddle Boogie Band Release date: 1988 Label: self-released Powder River Release date: 1989 Label: self-released
1990s Title Details Peak chartpositions. Certifications(sales thresholds) US Country US Western Underground[A] Release date: July 22, 1991 Label: Liberty Records 36 — Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy Release date: July 20, 1992 Label: Liberty Records 9 65 RIAA: Gold Under This Old Hat Release date: July 5, 1993 Label: Liberty Records 21 131 Haywire Release date: September 6, 1994 Label: Liberty Records 17 128 Stampede Release date: March 19, 1996 Label: Capitol Nashville 33 — One Road Man Release date: July 14, 1998 Label: Capitol Nashville 24 180 "—" denotes releases that did not chart
2000s Title Details Peak chartpositions US Country US Cowboy Release date: August 1, 2000 Label: Capitol Nashville 17 134 After the Storm Release date: April 9, 2002 Label: Capitol Nashville 14 121 Horsepower Release date: July 22, 2003 Label: Capitol Nashville 24 162
Compilation albums Title Details Peak chartpositions Certifications US Country US Sounds of the Western Country Release date: 1980 Label: self-released — — Gold Buckle Dreams Release date: 1987 Label: self-released — — Radio and Rodeo Hits Release date: 1990 Label: self-released — — Best of Chris LeDoux Release date: March 8, 1994 Label: Liberty Records 51 — RIAA: Gold American Cowboy Release date: November 1, 1994 Label: Liberty Records — — Rodeo Rock and Roll Collection Release date: August 15, 1995 Label: Capitol Nashville — — 20 Greatest Hits Release date: June 8, 1999 Label: Capitol Nashville 17 145 RIAA: Platinum The Capitol Collection (1990-2000) Release date: June 4, 2002 Label: Capitol Nashville 63 — 20 Originals: The Early Years Release date: June 15, 2004 Label: Capitol Nashville 58 — Anthology, Volume 1 Release date: August 16, 2005 Label: Capitol Nashville 20 126 The Ultimate Collection Release date: October 3, 2006 Label: Capitol Nashville 33 — Classic Chris LeDoux Release date: April 29, 2008 Label: Capitol Nashville 26 175 Icon Release date: 2013 Label: Capitol Nashville — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Live albums Title Details Peak chartpositions US Country Live Release date: June 17, 1997 Label: Capitol Nashville 26
Singles
1970s and 1980s Year Single Peak positions Album US Country 1979 "Lean, Mean and Hungry" 99 Paint Me Back Home in Wyoming "Caballo Diablo" 98 Life as a Rodeo Man 1980 "Ten Seconds in the Saddle" 96 Western Tunesmith "Buckin' Machine" — Rodeo & Living Free 1982 "I Used to Want to Be a Cowboy" — Used to Want to Be a Cowboy 1984 "Even Cowboys Like a Little Rock and Roll" — Melodies and Memories 1987 "It Ain't the Years, It's the Miles" — Gold Buckle Dreams 1989 "Sons of the Pioneers" — Powder River "—" denotes releases that did not chart
1990s Year Single Peak chartpositionsCertifications Album US Country CAN Country 1990 "Wild and Wooly" —A — Radio & Rodeo Hits "Riding for a Fall" — — 1991 "This Cowboy's Hat" 63 — RIAA: Platinum Western Underground 1992 "Workin' Man's Dollar" 69 — "Riding for a Fall" 72 — "Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy" 7 5 Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy "Cadillac Ranch" 18 16 1993 "Look at You Girl" 52 56 "Under This Old Hat" 54 53 Under This Old Hat "Every Time I Roll the Dice" 61 68 1994 "For Your Love" 50 73 "Honky Tonk World" 71 — Haywire 1995 "Tougher Than the Rest" 67 — "Dallas Days and Fort Worth Nights" 68 — 1996 "Five Dollar Fine" — — Stampede "Gravitational Pull" 71 77 1997 "When I Say Forever" 65 — 1998 "Runaway Love" 62 — One Road Man "Bang a Drum" 68 — 1999 "Life Is a Highway" 64 — "Stampede" 66 — 20 Greatest Hits "—" denotes releases that did not chartNotes:A "Wild and Wooley" did not chart on Hot Country Songs, but peaked at No. 8 on Hot Country Radio Breakouts.
2000s Year Single Peak positions Album US Country 2000 "Silence on the Line" 65 Cowboy 2001 "He Rides the Wild Horses" — 2002 "Bareback Jack" — After the Storm "Cowboy Up" — 2004 "Horsepower" 56 Horsepower 2005 "The Ride" — "Airborne Cowboy" — Anthology, Vol. 1 "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Music videos Year Video Director 1991 "Riding for a Fall" Gary Eckert 1992 "Working Man's Dollar" Joanne Gardner "Cadillac Ranch" Michael Merriman 1993 "Look at You Girl" "Under This Old Hat" R. Brad Murano/Steven T. Miller "For Your Love" Michael Salomon 1994 "Honky Tonk World" "Tougher Than the Rest" Michael Merriman 1996 "Five Dollar Fine" (cameo by Garth Brooks) Michael Salomon 1997 "This Cowboy's Hat" Ken Carpenter 1998 "Bang a Drum" (with Jon Bon Jovi) Anthony M. Bongiovi 1999 "Life Is a Highway" Michael Salomon "Stampede" 2000 "Silence on the Line" 2001 "He Rides the Wild Horses" Various 2003 "Horsepower" Eric Welch
Notes
A ^''' Western Underground'' also peaked at number 22 on the U.S. Top Heatseekers chart.
References