Red Steagall’s career has been diverse, from writing western swing and cowboy songs to creating his own radio and TV shows. His music, poetry, and programs have been recognized and loved by everyone from working cowboys to U.S. Presidents, and he has inspired generations of artists. Throughout his work, Steagall has remained committed to the preservation and future of Western culture. Recently, he agreed to donate his extensive archive of creative material to Texas Tech University and to help build the Red Steagall Institute for Traditional Western Arts. The Institute will be located at the University’s Lubbock campus, adjacent to the National Western Heritage Center, and will focus on educating and building up Western artisans through interactive learning.
Always a Cowboy
Steagall was born in Gainesville, Texas, and spent his childhood in the Panhandle. Cowboys and music were a part of his life early on, and he dreamt of working in agriculture. “I always wanted to be a cowboy,” Steagall shared.
He played high school football and also rode bulls at local rodeos. Bull riding was fun, but he knew it wasn’t a good long-term plan. “I never won a dime,” he laughed.
Steagall dreamed of being a veterinarian and working cowboy until he was stricken with Polio at 15. Fortunately, the Salk vaccine was available to halt the virus four months after he became ill, but it had irreversibly damaged the deltoid muscle in his shoulder.
No longer able to meet the physical demands of rodeo and ranching, Steagall turned to his other interest — music. His mother gifted him a second-hand mandolin and music lessons, changing the course of his life.
Playing music helped him regain dexterity and strength, and he soon began writing songs. Following high school, Steagall was still planning to have a career in agriculture, attending college at what is now West Texas A&M to study animal science and agronomy. Following college, he took a job as an agricultural chemist. His role required extensive travel throughout the West, and he took his guitar along, playing at cafes and coffee shops on the weekends. He also formed a band, playing many rodeos and dances.
A call from a friend again changed the direction of Steagall’s career, taking him to California to work in the music business. During his eight years as an executive in Hollywood, Steagall started making his mark as a songwriter and performer. He was in the room for a long list of chart-topping recording sessions and many of his songs became popular on the radio.
Steagall’s life was changed forever when a song he wrote with Don Lanier was released in 1967. Lanier was sharing a simple melody he had stuck in his head with Steagall, saying that he couldn’t figure out the right words to go with it. When Lanier’s phone rang, he said, “Here we go again…”, and both he and Steagall lit up, knowing they had just landed on the hook for the song.
They sat down, and the rest of the song came together in short order. Steagall described himself as being “bulletproof” and wasn’t afraid to pitch his songs to the top musicians of the time. He took it to Buck Owens’ record label, but Owens demanded full publishing on the song, which Steagall couldn’t agree to. After another label executive told Steagall they would need full publishing, he said he would take it to Ray Charles. This likely seemed like an unrealistic, idle threat to the label executive, but Steagall was serious, and after Charles heard the song, he wanted to sing it. They agreed on publishing, and before Steagall and Lanier knew it, they had a number-one hit on the radio.
Here We Go Again has been recorded by a long list of notable singers, from Nancy Sinatra to Glen Campbell. Norah Jones sang the song with Ray Charles on his last album, Genius Loves Company. The album won eight Grammy awards and has currently sold over five and a half million copies.
Getting Back to His Roots
After living in Hollywood and then Nashville, Tennessee, Steagall moved home to the Lone Star State in 1977. He married his wife, Gail, who played a critical role in his career, soon after.
Steagall continued writing and releasing country western music, but after playing dance halls and honky tonks across the country for years, frequently spending over 200 days a year on the road, he felt called to rethink his career.
Fortunately for Steagall, an opportunity to shift came his way. He had been sifting through the songs he wrote, feeling more drawn to stories and ballads than classic honky-tonk songs. Coincidently, the first National Cowboy Poetry Gathering was held in 1985, which he attended with his brother. Steagall returned home with a newfound inspiration to follow the thread of cowboy stories and poetry.
This chapter of Steagall’s career also included an expansion beyond the radio, live performance, and CDs. “I had a friend in the car business, and he asked me if I could come speak to the Rotary Club in Fort Worth,” Steagall shared. “After that, his ad agency called and asked if I would do a cowboy poetry session every morning on WBAP radio in Fort Worth.”
The original idea was to share a minute and a half of poetry, but Steagall shared that 30 minutes of programming would be better. “I went into my studio and I cut a demo of what I thought the show should sound like,” he recalled.
Steagall shared the demo with the ad agency and other friends in the radio business, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Many listeners of this first demo shared that an hour of content would be even better. This started Cowboy Corner, which is now syndicated on 150 stations in 34 states. The program was born out of Steagall’s passion for western stories and includes music, interviews, and stories of the American cowboy.
In 2010, Steagall expanded his storytelling to TV, airing the first episode of In The Bunkhouse with Red Steagall on RFD-TV. Steagall now hosts Somewhere West of Wallstreet for the network.
Throughout these programs, Steagall has focused on sharing real cowboy stories, often interviewing people the public likely would never know about otherwise. Steagall has traveled throughout the West to historic ranches, like the 6666’s Ranch, King Ranch, and many others.
The extensive archive Steagall has amassed now serves as a look back in time and includes interviews with legendary Western figures like Roy Rogers, Reba McEntire, and Buster Welch.
The common thread throughout these stories is the value of western culture and an agrarian lifestyle. “I’m really attached to the western way of life,” Steagall shared. “The western way of life actually came from an agrarian society, at a time when we depended on each other for survival.”
Steagall believes that sharing the values of western life benefits society as a whole. “We’re respectful of our neighbors, and we have a certain code of ethics, and we live by them. We honor tradition and heritage. We look to the future with an open mind and a wide, open eye. We have a set of values that make us a harmonious society. I treasure that and I want to preserve it,” Steagall explained.
Western culture and the agrarian lifestyle have changed dramatically since Steagall started his career, and he wants to make sure the story lives on for future generations. “I’m afraid that if we don’t preserve it, in the next 50 years, nobody will know who we were, what we said, what we did, or anything about the values that we live by. I’m proud of who we are and I want the rest of the world to know,” he reflected.
Steagall also founded the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering and Western Swing Festival, held every October in Fort Worth, Texas, for the past 30 years. The event celebrates the music Steagall first fell in love with in West Texas.
The Next Chapter
Steagall’s music, poetry, and storytelling have had an indelible impact on the preservation of western culture. He is now expanding on these efforts through the Red Steagall Institute for Traditional Western Arts. The center will be located at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas, and include an amphitheater, bit and spur shop, saddle and boot shop, outdoor sculpture court, archive, recording studio, garden featuring West Texas flora, and more.
While the center will include an archive, the primary focus is on the future, and providing a space for artisans to learn, work, and commune. Steagall wants to connect western artisans throughout the country with masters in their craft, giving them the opportunity to learn and grow. “I know how important it is to work with someone who really is a professional. It can help you find other things about your talent and help you take the next step. There are so many people who are very talented, but give up because they don’t have a platform,” Steagall shared.
The center will also benefit the public, allowing people to explore western culture, watch artisans at work, and learn about the history of the West. “I also want to provide a research library, and over time, it will be the most complete research library in the world about ranching and the ranching industry,” he added.
The National Ranching Heritage Center is an ideal neighbor for the Institute, already including western art, exhibits on oil and ranching, western history archives, a series of homes walking visitors through hundreds of years of life in the West, and much more.
The Institute is currently being fine-tuned and funded, with plans to break ground in the spring of 2025. Steagall is proud to have his name and brand attached to the project and believes it will be important in preserving western culture. “I believe with all my heart that the traditional arts can keep our lifestyle alive,” he concluded.
-Article by Lilly Platts