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In the world of cowboy poetry , where a premium is placed on
authenticity, T. J. Casey, Montana's Singing Cowboy, is the real McCoy. This Montana native was raised in the Pryor Mountains "on
the Montana/Wyoming border." "I've always liked this
country." He talks about the mountains, the canyons, the bluffs
and the trees like the true poet he is, and adds "I've always enjoyed
the people." Casey and his wife, Marcie, make their home in
Shepherd, Montana.
While not on the national circuit, T.J., a certified
Vet. Tech., spends much of his life in the saddle.
Casey was taught his first three guitar chords by his
mother when he ws only five. He tried them on Western songs - "Red River
Valley" and the like. At the age of about 14, he began writing
poetry and songs about the surrounding sagebrush and trees and
wind and snow. As he grew so did his
performing skills. He recalls his mid-teens found him "playing
behind the chutes at rodeos, at brandings, small honky-tonks,
anywhere they'd let me set up and play for tips or whatever."
More developed songs, a well-developed sense of wanderlust and
Lefty Frizzell's lead guitarist Abe Mulkey propelled him to Nashville at age 18.
His performances on the Louisiana Hayride are still
remembered by thousands for his rendition of "Cowboy's
Paradise," one of the best known contemporary western swing
songs of our time. TJ has shared the stage with the likes
of Ian Tyson, Merle Haggard, Dirks Bentley, and the Everly
Brothers to name a few.
He spent time
in Nashville from 1982-88 "beating the streets like every other
musician, trying to sell his songs; and in 2002 Casey recorded
Blue Montana Skies. By January 2003 the album had earned a spot
on the Roots Music Chart, an international record chart . By
March he had been nominated for 10 awards through the Academy of
Western Artists, and Blue Montana Skies was in the top five of
western swing albums. Currently, Casey's work is heard on 500
radio stations nationwide, 40 stations overseas and close to 20
stations in Canada.
While T.J.
Casey wears many hats, this performer's favorite is that
of cowboy. Casey explains
that he grew up cowboying,and he spent time on the rodeo
circuit. He credits country music legend Chris LeDoux with
putting him on his first bareback horse in 1976. "Not a
successful ride," he reminisces. But that type of influence led
him to start getting serious about the music business while he
was rodeoing. "Back of the chutes is actually where I got most
of my experience," he says. He and others would sit around
singing Marty Robbins songs and others they had written. Later,
while in Tucson, Ariz., a visitor might have seen Casey playing
his guitar while riding his old jenny mule backwards down the
street. "That's how I got people to come ride my stagecoach," he
says, adding that he also drove teams and shod horses for
Universal Studios while there. He is also a certified
welder and ironworker. Currently, he is a certified Vet. Tech
who has delivered
more calves and doctored more horses than he can remember.
TJ has been nominated in the last few years for many awards,
 including
being one of the Top 5 Finalists for Rising Star and Western
Swing Album of the Year and one of the Top 10 Finalists for
Western Song, Western Swing Male, and Western Music Male of the
Year. In September of 2005, TJ released, Pure "D"
Cowboy a very traditional acoustic album with Joseph
Fire Crow featured in "It's in My Blood".
Along with this release is a cowboy poetry book, "A Cowboy's
Thoughts in Rhyme".
In December of 2004 another song "In America" was
released Nationally as a music video on Horse Sense.
Since then TJ has been on national television several
times including a Christmas Special for the Troops at Ft
Riley before their deployment to Iraq filmed by Best of
America By Horseback.
His last CD, "Blue Montana Skies" features many of his
well known songs including "Trickling Water". This
song was chosen for a national publication, Discover a
Watershed-Rio Grande/Rio Bravo. Since then that
song has been on the Sunset Music Charts at #5 of the
Top 10 Western Swing Songs in the World in 2003 and
2004.
Now, any given day will find Casey writing his poetry
and songs, giving workshops and seminars on cowboy
poetry, working with local 4-H kids, and creating horseshoe
and cowboy rope art and furniture. He is currently involved with horses and cattle as a
ranch consultant to the historic T-Bone Ranch out
of Antonito, Colorado.
These days this Montana cowboy poet and
singer/songwriter can be spotted in a myriad of places,
from the recording studio to the classroom to the open
plains near the Pryor Mountains.
And then there are the performances, which
can include private shows, assemblies, fairs, festivals
and other occasions that put Casey behind the mike
FOR BOOKING INFORMATION, CD'S AND POETRY BOOKS, CONTACT:
Cowboy
Enterprises
P O Box 31676
Billings, MT 59101
406-245-0734
E-mail
info@tjcasey.net
http://www.tjcasey.net
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