RW Hampton: Tag Archive for "This Cowboy" -

Western Way: RW Hampton’s This Cowboy is a “Must Have”

Posted on: March 14th, 2015 by Steve Wilkison

RW HAMPTON
This Cowboy
Cimarron Sounds CS1409-2

In the brief liner notes to this 2014 release, RW Hampton explains that this new CD of 12 selections is the product of where he finds himself today. A second installment will be coming later in 2015, but there’s no need to wait; there’s plenty to enjoy on this one!

Recently, RW departed from his well-established repertoire of Western music to record some powerful patriotic and inspirational songs, in some instances released as “singles,” and for those who missed them or who are into downloads, they are included in this CD. But there’s much more here, a mix of RW’s own compositions and those of others. One of my favorites in this collection is a song he co-wrote with Hal Spencer, a Western inspirational song titled “Letting Go.”

Other new Hampton compositions include “Driftin’ Cowboy,” “Angel in Levis” & “Bass Reeves,” and I started programing them on my show even before I began to work on this review! But the CD also includes RW’s fine renditions of Mike Beck’s “Don’t Tell Me,” Marty’s “El Paso,” the rarely heard “Comanche” and his own arrangement of the wonderful Western standard, “I’d Like to be in Texas (for the Roundup in the Spring),” among others. This album is a “must have” for all RW Hampton fans, and if you’re not familiar with his music, this one’s a great introduction.

Western Horseman: RW Hampton’s This Cowboy As Personal As It Gets

Posted on: March 12th, 2015 by Steve Wilkison

RW Hampton / This Cowboy

Traditional western singer-songwriter R.W. Hampton sets out to prove the cowboy is alive and well in his latest CD release, This Cowboy. The first of a two-part project, the CD features 12 original and timeless tracks, plus a bonus poem titled “Freedom Never Sleeps.”

Hampton spent many years as a working cowboy and his connection to the lifestyle is aparent in the conviction with which he sings songs such as “Drifiting Cowboy,” “Comanche” and the classic tune “I’d Like to be in Texas.” In “Don’t Tell Me,” Hampton sings in his velvety baritone voice, “Don’t tell me that the West is dead and gone. My poor heart can’t stand to hear that sad ol’ song.”

Hampton’s patriotism and deep respect for military men and women is prominent in the tunes “Hell in a Helmet,” “Ragged Old Flat” and “My Country’s Not For Sale.”  This well-produced CD is as personal as it gets for Hampton.

THIS COWBOY Reaches #1 on the RMR True Country Chart!

Posted on: February 19th, 2015 by Steve Wilkison

Cimarron Sounds wants to congratulate R.W. Hampton and his release, This Cowboy, for hitting the #1 spot on the True Country Radio Chart this past week, up from 2 weeks at the #2 position.

**** UPDATE – THIS COWBOY REMAINS AT #1 FOR 2ND WEEK! (FEB 18 REPORT) ****

RMR (Roots Music Reporting) charts radio airplay and puts out a weekly online chart complied from over 100 reporting radio stations. Focusing predominately on non-Clear Channel owned stations, they provide the best charting for secondary country radio available in today’s American market. Roots Music also has seperate weekly and monthly charts for Bluegrass, Americana, Hot Country, Pop, Rock, Regea, Soul, Blues, Folk and more.

Congratulations R.W., your producers, players, song-writers and a huge thanks to all of the DJs willing to play Cowboy music!

This Cowboy Hits #2 On The RMR True Country Chart!

Posted on: February 5th, 2015 by Steve Wilkison

Cimarron Sounds wants to congratulate R.W. Hampton and his release, This Cowboy, for hitting the #2 Spot on the True Country Radio Chart this past week, up from #9 the week prior.

Previously This Cowboy was ranked at the #9 spot for the previous week and charted at #40 for Top Albums of 2014, with a release date of the last week in October!

Congratulations R.W., your producers, players, song-writers and a huge thanks to all of the DJs willing to play Cowboy music!

RW Hampton Releases Long-Anticipated This Cowboy!

Posted on: November 1st, 2014 by Steve Wilkison

Music lovers are discovering RW Hampton’s brand-spanking new This Cowboy, which was released nationally just last week!

Here are a couple of early comments:

“Perfect blend of Western with an edginess not found on previous albums. The man loves his Country, his cowboy way of life, his family, his God and our Veterans and it seeps into every song!”

“This Cowboy is an album sure to please anyone who likes an honest Western song polished just enough to make it shine.”

It’s clear why RW is being called “Today’s Voice of the American West” with this groundbreaking collection that includes hit singles “Hell in a Helmet,” “My Country’s Not For Sale” and his newest, “Jesus Take A Hold.”

If there was ever an album that showcased R.W.’s heart, this is it. A strong mixture of R.W.’s traditional cowboy lifestyle, his Western heritage, loving tributes to life-long friends, and straight from the heart musical stories for America and her Veterans.

This Cowboy, is the first of a set of 2 CDs from R.W. that include a few recognizable cover songs like “El Paso”, thrown into a mix of songs penned by Hampton with co-writes by his wife and others, along with a handful of wonderful new songs and spoken-word pieces from other contemporary writers. All original recordings, featuring some of the leading studio musicians in the business.

American Cowboy reviews This Cowboy

Posted on: August 1st, 2014 by Steve Wilkison

RW Hampton • This Cowboy • Cimarron Sounds

Among a selection of 13 originals and cover tracks present in R.W. Hampton’s upcoming album, This Cowboy, there are two interconnected pieces that capture the trials and tribulations of our nation.

“Hell in a Helmet” recounts the toll of war on a soldier’s psyche — something the Hampton family is familiar with. Hampton’s son is a weapons platoon sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines. He joined the military in 2005, served in combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and then returned stateside.

“I noticed how hard it was for him to come home,” says Hampton. “It was really stressful. I said ‘Man, it was better for you over there, wasn’t it Son?’ and he said ‘Yeah, Dad, it really was. You don’t just come back here and go from trying to figure out where the muzzle flash is coming from to watching TV.’

“I just hung out with my son and his buddies and listened to their stories. Here I was, sitting in the midst of real heroes who were 18 to 22 years old. I admired these guys so much that I found myself getting emotionally involved in their story and I think that allowed me to write the song. It’s not an easy song, but I just feel like their story needed to be told.”

The song, “My Country’s Not For Sale” came about after Hampton and his wife heard radio pundits fuming over the building of a mosque just 600 feet from Ground Zero. Rumors had it that $100 million for the project was being put up by Middle East backers. He recalls “I remember Lisa slammin’ the cabinet and stompin’ her foot and sayin’ ‘Dangit! This country is not for sale.’

“I got to thinking all the way back to the revolutionary days, to Gettysburg and everything after. I just thought of all those men and women who fell during these difference conflicts, and about their voices crying out from their graves, saying ‘Not for sale. We’re not for sale. We gave the last measure of devotion. It’s not for sale.’

“What is not for sale is anything being done to cheapen the blood that was shed to buy us our freedoms, whether it’s the corrupting influence of money and politics or the attack on freedom of speech.”

Other patriotic titles on the CD include “Ragged Old Flag,” “Comanche (the Brave Horse),” “Jesus Take a Hold,” and “Freedom Never Sleeps.” Other originals include “Bass Reeves,” a song about the little known but exciting tale of the first black Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi; “Angel in Levis,” the uplifting story of a 60-year love affair as an old cowboy says goodbye to his top-hand wife on her deathbed; and “Drifting Cowboy,” which takes a nostalgic look at the golden age of the old-time drover.

This Cowboy is an album sure to please anyone who likes an honest Western song polished just enough to make it shine.

— Charley Engel