Good Morning, Class of '64
The Gunfighter
Alistair Campbell
You will see him any day in Te Kuiti
or Cannons Creek,
immaculate in black
and triggered like a panther on the prowl.
Conscious of all eyes,
but indifferent to all except the heroine
watching from behind lace curtains,
doom walks the main street of a small town.
Is it fear or admiration that widens
those lovely eyes?
He knows her eyes are on him,
but gives no sign he knows –
he has a job to do.
The sun has reached high noon.
The shadows stand with flattened palms
against the walls of buildings,
or shrink back into doorways.
The heroine lets fall the curtain.
She has fallen –
drilled clean through the heart with love.
Now he stands alone
in the pool of his own shadow,
his wrists flexible as a dancing girl’s,
his palms hovering like butterflies
over the blazing butts of his six-guns.
The streets are cleared,
the township holds its breath –
for the gunfighter, the terrible gunfighter
is in town.
http://nzpoems.blogspot.com/2011/09/gunfighter-alistair-campbell.html
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| N.C. Wyeth - The Gunfight -http://www.darkstormcreative.com/2009/03/russs-art-blog-nc-wyeth-gunfight/ |
Alistair Campbell
You will see him any day in Te Kuiti
or Cannons Creek,
immaculate in black
and triggered like a panther on the prowl.
Conscious of all eyes,
but indifferent to all except the heroine
watching from behind lace curtains,
doom walks the main street of a small town.
Is it fear or admiration that widens
those lovely eyes?
He knows her eyes are on him,
but gives no sign he knows –
he has a job to do.
The sun has reached high noon.
The shadows stand with flattened palms
against the walls of buildings,
or shrink back into doorways.
The heroine lets fall the curtain.
She has fallen –
drilled clean through the heart with love.
Now he stands alone
in the pool of his own shadow,
his wrists flexible as a dancing girl’s,
his palms hovering like butterflies
over the blazing butts of his six-guns.
The streets are cleared,
the township holds its breath –
for the gunfighter, the terrible gunfighter
is in town.
http://nzpoems.blogspot.com/2011/09/gunfighter-alistair-campbell.html
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| Gunfight at the OK Corral - Unknown - http://pdxretro.com/2013/11/gunfighter-died-on-this-day-in-1887/ |
One Hit Wonders of 1964
For other one hit wonders go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_1960s_one-hit_wonders_in_the_United_States
American Gunslingers or Gunfighters
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| Cowboys - Unknown |
American Gunslingers or Gunfighters
This is a
list of Old West gunfighters, referring to
outlaws or lawmen, of the American frontier who
gained fame or notoriety during the
American Wild West or Old West.
The term gunslinger is a modern, 20th century
invention referring to men in the American Old West
who had gained a reputation as being dangerous
with a gun. A gunfighter may or may not be an
outlaw or a lawman.
outlaws or lawmen, of the American frontier who
gained fame or notoriety during the
American Wild West or Old West.
The term gunslinger is a modern, 20th century
invention referring to men in the American Old West
who had gained a reputation as being dangerous
with a gun. A gunfighter may or may not be an
outlaw or a lawman.
Some outlaws like Johnny Ringo
were deputized at one time or another.
were deputized at one time or another.
Ringo
One of the first instances recorded of a
country song hitting the top of the pop
One of the first instances recorded of a
country song hitting the top of the pop
charts before charting country.
It was #1 on the U.S. Billboard as well as
the same spot on the "Easy Listening" chart,
where it stayed for six weeks.
It also peaked at number twenty-one
It also peaked at number twenty-one
on the Hot Country Singles chart.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_%28song%29
Lorne Greene - 1964
Lorne Greene - 1964
My mother always said that I
would die with my shoes on.
"Big Steve” Long
last words after having asked
to have his shoes removed
before he was hanged.
would die with my shoes on.
"Big Steve” Long
last words after having asked
to have his shoes removed
before he was hanged.
We'll Sing in the Sunshine
Gale Garnet was born in New Zealand and
moved to Canada when she was eleven.
Number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
Number one on the Billboard Easy Listening
chart
Number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
Number one on the Billboard Easy Listening
chart
#1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary
singles chart for seven weeks
Number 42 on the country chart
Number one Cash Box Top 100
Won a 1965 Grammy for Best Folk Recording
Number 42 on the country chart
Number one Cash Box Top 100
Won a 1965 Grammy for Best Folk Recording
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gale_Garnett
Gale Garnet -1964
Gale Garnet -1964
For my handling of the
situation at Tombstone,
I have no regrets.
Were it to be done again,
I would do it exactly as I did
it at the time.
Wyatt Earp
(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet
Reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart
#9 on the Cash Box magazine chart
Reached #3 on the Cashbox rhythm and blues chart.
The Reflections - 1964
We are rough men and
used to rough ways.
Bob Younger
to a newspaper reporter following
the 1876 Northfield, Minnesota raid.
used to rough ways.
Bob Younger
to a newspaper reporter following
the 1876 Northfield, Minnesota raid.
White on White
A South African pop singer known
as "Britain's Johnny Mathis".
Danny Williams - 1964
Don't shoot me.
I don't want to fight.
Billy Clanton
just before the Gunfight
at the O.K. Corral.
High-Heel Sneakers
The song has been recorded by over 1000 artists.
Number one on the Cash Box R&B Locations chart
Number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Heel_Sneakers
Tommy Tucker - 1964
I love it. It is wild with adventure.
Henry Starr
describing the bandit life
in the Old West shortly before
he was shot to death in a
gunfight in Arkansas.
California Sun
"California Sun" was one of the last pure
"California Sun" was one of the last pure
American rock-and-roll songs on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart before the "British Invasion"
Reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Sun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rivieras
The Rivieras - 1964
Reached #5 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Sun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rivieras
The Rivieras - 1964
An interesting story about
"California Sun"
with a little surprise at the end
if you have time to click and read:
Take a guess where
"California Sun" is from
OLD WEST LEGENDS
Gunfighters of the Old West
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-gunfighters.html
Many men listed as gunfighters fought in the
range wars and feuds of the Old West, which were
more common than the "stand-off" gunfight.
During these violent days, most of the shootings
occurred in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Poor John, he has been hunted
I see a good many enemies around,
Gunfighter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfighter
In his introduction to The Shootist,
Bob Greene
"California Sun" might as well be
the official song of California.
And the Rivieras? Who sang it?
South Bend, Ind.
I wasn't the leader of any gang.
I was for Billy all the time.
Billy the Kid
to a Las Vegas, New Mexico reporter
after his capture at Stinking Springs.
South Bend, Ind.
Yep. Few people ever knew it, but the Rivieras were Indiana kids -- five
high school boys who had never been to California, who never performed
there even after the song came out, who were the ultimate small-town
one-hit wonders. Out there havin' fun in the warm California sun? The
summer the Rivieras recorded "California Sun," they were playing teen
dances for 75 cents a ticket in LaPorte, Ind., just down the road from
their homes.
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| Andy Thomas - Saloon Shootout |
I wasn't the leader of any gang.
I was for Billy all the time.
Billy the Kid
to a Las Vegas, New Mexico reporter
after his capture at Stinking Springs.
Gunslingers the Gunfighters of the
American Old West - Documentary
OLD WEST LEGENDS
Gunfighters of the Old West
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-gunfighters.html
Many men listed as gunfighters fought in the
range wars and feuds of the Old West, which were
more common than the "stand-off" gunfight.
During these violent days, most of the shootings
occurred in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
California, Missouri, and Colorado.
Poor John, he has been hunted
down and shot like a wild beast
and never was
a boy more innocent.
Cole Younger
talking about his late brother,
who had been wanted for
the
murder of a deputy sheriff,
whom he killed in a jailbreak.
Complete List of Old West Gunfighters
I see a good many enemies around,
and mighty few friends.
Bill Longley
last words before he
was hanged in 1878.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunfighter
In his introduction to The Shootist,
author Glendon Swarthout says that "gunslinger"
and "gunfighter" are modern terms and that the
more authentic terms for the period would
have been "gunman", "pistoleer", "shootist" or
"bad man" (sometimes written as "badman").
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| Thom Ross, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral - http://www.gunnarnordstrom.com/dynamic/artwork_display.asp?ArtworkID=12 |
The Gunfighter
Wayne Brown
Old clock ticks toward the noon
Gunfighter in the street awaits
He’s come to call my hand
He’s come to meet his fate
Shootout! High Noon!
Spin the cylinder of my old pistol
Load six bullets in the round
Cock it once; check the action
Strap the holster, tie it down
Shootout! High Noon!
Right hand steady as a rock
Many pistols felt its palm
Flex my fingers, work my wrist
Stay focused, maintain my calm
Shootout! High Noon!
Stand up straight and set my hat
Oh how the time is flying
Don’t want to keep a man waiting
Who’s come up here for dieing
Shootout! High Noon!
Boot spurs jingling with each step
As I walk into the street
The town clock is nearing high noon
The time that we will meet
Shootout! High Noon!
The moment is here, time is nigh
Once again I face the death
My challenger wants to kill me
Watch me take my last breath
Shootout! High Noon!
His hand begins a short journey
He is making the first move
Blazing pistol, hot lead flying
His speed he wants to prove
Shootout! High Noon!
His hand is fast; his gun is pulled
His quick shot soars off lame
I watch him crumble in the street
Death from my deadly aim
Shootout! High Noon
He’s just one; there will be more
Their coming I no longer dread
Their corpses fill graves on boot hill
Another fast gun-hand dead
Shootout! High Noon!
http://waynebrown.hubpages.com/hub/GUNFIGHTER
+Gunfight,+1916,.jpg) |
| Newell Convers Wyeth (1882-1945) Gunfight, 1916 - http://www.medicinemangallery.com/bio/bio.lasso?url=Creating-the-West-in-Art |
An unknown Quaker to an intruder:
I would'st not harm thee brother,
but thou standest where
I am about to shoot.
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The End of Soapy Smith - Skagway, Alaska by Andy Thomas - http://www.soapysmith.net/id46.html
|
There is only one road away from trouble,
and this is along the straight
and narrow road.
Otto Wood
in his book,
Otto Wood
in his book,
The Life of Otto Wood,
written in prison in 1926.
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The Gunfight - Roger Payne - http://www.illustrationartgallery.com/acatalog/info_PayneClaw2.html
|
People thought me bad before,
but if ever I should get free,
I'll let them know what bad means.
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid
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