Riders of the Purple Sage (band)

Riders of the Purple Sage was a name used by three separate western bands in the United States.

The original Riders of the Purple Sage was formed in 1936 by singer and guitarist Buck Page. The group spent three years as the staff band for radio station KDKA in Pittsburgh, performing five hour-long shows each week. In 1938 the band went to New York City and performed on radio station WOR and at a nightclub called the Village Barn.

The original Riders of the Purple Sage disbanded in World War II as members fulfilled their military commitments. In California, however, singer Foy Willing organized a second band known as Riders of the Purple Sage. Willing's band performed in several movies during the 1940s and had a string of hit recordings. It disbanded in 1952.

Page's original Riders of the Purple Sage is often incorrectly credited with the film appearances and recordings by Willing's band, according to Gary Bright of RPS Records, Page's recording label.

In the early 1960s Page, who relocated in California after World War II, organized a third Riders of the Purple Sage band. This band released three CDs and toured the cowboy festival circuit until circa 2003.

All three bands derived the name from the title of a Zane Grey novel.

External links

*imdb name|id=0756073|name=Riders of the Purple Sage

* [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-page2sep02,1,3093180.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california McLellan, Dennis. (2006, September 2). "Buck Page, 84; Singer Founded the Original Riders of the Purple Sage". The Los Angeles Times]