Bio

R. W. Hampton

From the time he saw National Geographic's photos of a working cowboy, R. W. Hampton knew a cowboy was what he wanted to do. The Texas-born singer/ being songwriter participated in rodeos throughout high school, and although he went to college, he was asked to leave after he rode a horse into one of the campus buildings.

Hampton wasn't disappointed - leaving college allowed him to do what he wanted to do in the first place, and soon he was working on ranches throughout the Southwest, New Mexico, Nevada, and Oregon.

Before too long, Hampton was putting his experiences as a cowboy into story and song and performing them when he wasn't out working on the ranch. Word of his talent spread and before long he was performing at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. He's also been in movies including The Gambler 3 and Desperado. He worked with Kenny Rogers in the television special, Kenny Rogers and the American Cowboy, and on the CBS Movie of the Week, Wild Horses, which starred the late Ben Johnson and Richard Farnsworth, and Buck Taylor. His look as an authentic cowboy led to modeling jobs and commercials. He's performed in venues as diverse as the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, Okla. and the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

In 1996, he was named Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of Western Artists (AWA). His album, Ridin' The Dreamland Range, was honored in 1997 as Album of the Year by the AWA.

He has turned one of his albums, The Last Cowboy, into a play that has been presented in Branson, Mo., Cimarron, N.M. and Monterey, Calif., among other stops.

"I'm an optimist. I don't see the cowboy dying," Hampton says. "The best thing about today's cowboy movement is that it is a family deal. Parents are trying to show their kids the old, respected values -- and the cowboy is helping them do it."

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Always In My Heart

One of the most fertile grounds for country music continues to be the western plains and the lifestyle of a cowboy. While many might ascribe such musings to a romantic attraction to the past, a number of rugged individuals, like R.W. Hampton, continue to raise horses and cattle on western ranches. Always in My Heart finds Hampton plumbing the images of the plains on 14 songs, covering the ups and downs of love, western style. He's a fine writer, offering jewels like "When She Cries, 'Don't Go'" and "Back Home to Lisa," and has a good eye for covers like "Adobe Walls" and Marty Robbins' "Bend in the River." Hampton's baritone resonates deeply and fills out each lyric with a note of sincerity. The simple country & western accompaniment, highlighted by Gary Carpenter's steel guitar and Chris Booher's fiddle, flawlessly underline the material. All of this works together to create fresh versions of Merle Haggard's "Shelly's Winter Love" and "What Does She See," a duet with Ian Tyson. One also wouldn't want to miss a lovely take on "Whispering Pines" or the tasteful guitar fills on "Blue Spanish Eyes." After listening to Always in My Heart one might be tempted to make residing on a ranch in New Mexico a prerequisite to recording a country album. R.W. Hampton captures the dusty flavor of the West on his debut for Real West, offering a piece of the real thing to city slickers. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide

1. When She Cries, "Don't Go"
2. Adobe Walls
3. Back Home To Lisa
4. Lily Dale
5. Cowboy and The Queen
6. Shelly Winters Love
7. It's You I'm Missing Most Of All
8. Bend In The River
9. When It Rains
10. For Only Loving You
11. Blue Spanish Eyes
12. What Does She See
13. Whispering Pines
14. Alberta Rose

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Then Sings My Soul
The Gospel Album

"It is with great joy that I present to you this album of songs of faith."
-RW Hampton-

1. The Place Where I Worship
2. Great Is Thy Faithfulness
3. The Shadow Of The Cross
4. I'd Rather Have Jesus
5. She's Just Moved On
6. Father Along
7. Watch Him
8. It Is No Secret
9. The Quest
10. Blessed Assurance
11. Jesus Hold My Hand
12. A Mother's Prayers
13. The Touch Of God's Hand
14. The Dream
15. Life's Railway To Haven
16. How Great Thou Art


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Born To Be A Cowboy

On R.W. Hampton's previous albums, most or all of the songs have been his own original work because, in his words, "I felt [the] fine old songs had been recorded by the best and done as well as they could be done." But, after being offered this chance to produce an album of the old classics, he modified his thinking and began to consider that perhaps he, being a working cowboy, could contribute something new to these beloved old standards.

Besides Hampton's fine singing, this album succeeds because it was produced by Texan Rich O'Brien, one of the finest musicians out there, and one of only a very few who understand how cowboy and western music should sound. And O'Brien has brought in other heavyweights to back Hampton up, those being Joel McKenzie, Mark Abbott, Greg Hardy, Tom Morrell, Rick Solomon, Bob Myers, Randy Elmore, Danny Levin, Janie Levene, Don Edwards, Donnie McDuff, and Carrolyn Moebius. You will play this one more than lots of others in your collection. ~ Cowboy Magazine - Summer 1996

1. Travelin' Light
2. Colorado Trail
3. Cowboy Jack
4. Danny Boy
5. Windy Bill
6. Border Affair
7. Utah Carroll
8. Cowboy's Lament
9. Born To Be A Cowboy
10. Diamond Joe
11. Lorena
12. Rounded Up In Glory
13. Zebra Dun
14. Shenandoah
15. Green Grow The Lilacs
16. Oh Bury Me Not On The Lone Prairie
17. I'm Going To Leave Old Texas Now

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2005

January 14 to 18 Denver Western Wear Market (WESA), Denver CO

January 16 Fellowship of Christian Cowboys Church Service at the Denver Stockshow and Rodeo

January 27 to 29 Western Folklife Center's National Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Elko, NV

January 30 to 31 Private Event & concert - tentative - Bend, OR

February 10 Cowboy Church Services, Enid OK

February 11 tentative - Enid OK

February 12 tentative - Boise City, OK

February 23 to 27 Saddle Up Celebration - Pigeon Forge, TN R.W. to perform the play The Last Cowboy

March 18 - 20 Cedar City Western Arts Festival - Cedar City, UT

April 29 - 30 Santa Clarita's Annual Cowboy Festival (RW is tentatively scheduled for the Hart Mansion Performance)

May 27 Private Event - Cooper's HS Graduation

June 14 Colorado Cattleman's Association - Steamboat Springs, CO tentative

June 17 Cal Farley's Boys Ranch Annual Youth Cowboy Poetry Gathering, Boys Ranch, TX

June 19 to 28 Private Event, Petersburg Alaska

July 21 to 24 Big Bear Valley Cowboy Poetry & Music Gathering - Big Bear, CA

September 8 to 9 Annual National Cowboy Symposium - Lubbock, TX

September 10 Guadalupe Valley Hospital Foundation Round-Up - Seguin, TX

September 30 San Antonio, TX - Tentative

October 7 to 9 Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium - Ruidoso, NM

October 14 Private Event - San Diego, CA

Contact RW:

Lisa Hampton
HAMPTON LAND & LYRICS
PO Box 150 Cimarron NM 87714
Phone: 505-483-0042
Fax: 505-483-0044
Orders: 1-800-392-0822
E-Mail:rw@springercoop.com