The Dispatch
Stories Behind the Songs
Reviews, songwriting notes, and the history behind the ballads.
November 6, 2026
"Goin' Once": The Auctioneer Song That Earned a Rip-Rollicking Radio Airplay Review
Goin' Once is an auctioneer song about a boy who becomes the fastest mouth in cattle country. Radio Airplay calls it a rip-rollicking outlaw country romp.
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November 2, 2026
"Badonkadonk Bronc" Rides Off With a Grinning Radio Airplay Review
A Radio Airplay reviewer calls "Badonkadonk Bronc" a boot-stomping modern country comedy with a singalong hook and a final wink. Read the highlights and listen.
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October 14, 2026
The Fly Fishing Song That Kept Coming Back as a Hymn
This song started with a question I asked because I did not know the answer. What does match the hatch actually mean?
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October 7, 2026
Thirteen Things I Had to Fix in a Fly Fishing Song
Every river in this song is one I have actually stood in, most of them with my son and a guide who knows them better than we do. That is the whole point.
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October 2, 2026
Pearl Hart: The Last Stagecoach Robbery in Arizona
Who Pearl Hart was, the 1899 robbery where she gave the money back, the line that got her acquitted, and why nobody agrees how she died.
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September 28, 2026
Buffalo Bill Cody: The Family He Left on the Road
Buffalo Bill Cody's wife, his four children, the 1904 divorce, how he died, and the line in my own song the record does not support.
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September 26, 2026
Civil War songs: the ones they actually sang, and one that can have you in it
Ask ten people to hum a Civil War song and most of them will hum the same slow fiddle tune. It is a beautiful tune. It is also from 1982.
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September 25, 2026
What Hardcore Elk Hunter Gets Right About September
The only hunting song in a catalog of sixty-three ballads, and the only one where the man in it is still alive. Here is whether it gets the season right.
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September 24, 2026
Calamity Jane: The True Story Behind the Ballad
What the record proves about Martha Jane Canary: how she got the name, what she really did at Deadwood, how she died, and why she lies beside Wild Bill.
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September 16, 2026
"The Ballad of Belle Starr" Earns a Spirited Radio Airplay Review
A Radio Airplay reviewer calls Wild West Ballads' frontier ballad "The Ballad of Belle Starr" a lively, character-rich piece of outlaw Americana. Read the review.
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September 9, 2026
"Old Dogs & Old Trucks" Earns a Glowing Radio Airplay Review
A Radio Airplay reviewer calls Wild West Ballads' country single "Old Dogs & Old Trucks" a heartfelt, restrained tribute to an old dog and a rusted truck. Read the review.
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September 8, 2026
Anne Bonny: The True Story Behind "Fought Like a Man"
What the record actually proves about Anne Bonny: the 1720 trial, the one book behind the legend, and the blank page where her life ends.
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September 6, 2026
Outlaw Music Is a Headliner Sponsor of the 2026 Western Slope Cowboy Gathering
Outlaw Music is a Headliner Sponsor of the 11th Western Slope Cowboy Gathering, Nov 6 to 7, 2026, Grand Junction, and the story of co-founder Peggy Malone.
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September 5, 2026
"Hormones and Attitude" Earns a Standout Radio Airplay Review
A Radio Airplay reviewer praises Wild West Ballads' modern-country single "Hormones and Attitude," an honest portrait of a single mother. Read the full review.
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September 2, 2026
Country Music's Greatest Oxymorons: Behind "Happily Heartbroke, Pour Me One More Empty Glass"
A deadpan country parody built from stacked oxymorons. Honky-tonk shuffle in D minor, played completely straight. Featuring a glowing Radio Airplay review from Steven Azami.
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August 31, 2026
"Nag Nag Nag" Earns a Country-Rock Rave from Radio Airplay
A Radio Airplay reviewer calls Wild West Ballads' country-rock duet "Nag Nag Nag" bold and chantable, with a thoughtful core beneath the swagger. Read the review.
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