THE LAST COWBOY
It’s 1979, the month of March, and the sun is setting on another east Texas rodeo. Bareback rider Dennis Owens mounts the final steed of the event, only to find himself on the ground, half a second shy of scoring. Owens’s thick skin gave way to the hard earth, and the sun set on his seven year rodeo career.
“Looking back, I suppose life resembles that ride. You hold on for dear life, try to endure the ups and downs, then hit the ground and wonder why you ever got on that horse to begin with,” Dennis reveals. “My thick head was bound and determined to be a rodeo man, and nothing was going to change my mind.” This temperament led to heartache and hardship through much of the troubadour’s life.
KING OF THE BARSTOOL
As a young man, Dennis quickly learned that rodeo and family life don’t mix. “I spent a lot of time on the road and in the old Texas dance halls and ballrooms. When folks would ask about me, friends would say I was on a walkabout and would show in a year or two,” recalls Owens. “Turns out, that’s a good way to lose your first wife.”
Owens heard the Marine Corps had a rodeo team, so he enlisted for four years. Soon, he met his second wife, with whom he had a beautiful daughter. But, once again, the call of a blustery youth overwhelmed the domesticated life, and Dennis found himself sitting alone at the end of a bar.
CALLING ME BACK HOME
Dennis’s appetite for rodeo life had but one rival: his passion for country music. An occasional singer and guitar slinger, Owens began writing about his life experiences, eventually starting his own band. He began making a studio album in the late 1990s, but the band broke up before it was finished. He felt music had bucked him like a stubborn bronc, so he gave up on his second dream.
Nearly twenty years later, Dennis answered a simple phone call. It had been 30 years since he had heard the voice of his daughter, but there it was. What was once a faded memory resurfaced into a renewed relationship. They talked about the roads they had each travelled, and when music came up, she encouraged Dennis to finish that long lost album.
“For a long time, I thought I had lost my daughter and my music. But by reconnecting with both, I’ve found a renewed sense of joy in my life. I’ve been given a second chance, and I finally feel at home with where this ride has taken me.”
GOT A LOT OF LIVING LEFT TO DO
To complete his album, The Last Cowboy, Owens reached out to Grammy-nominated producer Wes Sharon at 115 Recording in Norman, OK. Sharon enlisted the talents of noted musicians, such as Turnpike Troubadours’ Gabriel Pearson on drums and Hank Early on pedal steel. The highly celebrated Byron Berline (Flying Burrito Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Rolling Stones) plays fiddle, Daniel Walker (Ann Wilson of Heart, John Fullbright) plays keyboards, and guitars are added by Alan Orebaugh (No Justice, Stoney LaRue) and Isaac Stalling (Jared Deck, Sun Valley Station). Background vocals on the album are provided by Jared Deck, Chanda Graham, and Myra Beasley.
“I used to think I was one of the last cowboys, the last of a dying breed. Country life ain’t what it used to be, and neither is modern country music. These songs tell my story, and I hope they take people back to those old ranch roads and dance halls. Just like riding bareback, there’s ups, there’s downs, and sometimes, you get thrown. But, when the dust clears, I’ve got two good reasons to get back up: my daughter and my songs.”
DENNIS ALAN – THE LAST COWBOY – View on iTunes
- The Last Cowboy
- Calling Me Back Home
- They Live On
- King of The Bar Stool
- Was I To Blame
- Simple Way of Life
- Got a Lot of Living Left to Do
- Faded Memories
- Where I’m Bound
- You Were My Baby
- London Homesick Blues (written by Gary P. Nunn)