A typical cattle drive lasted three to five months in the old west. A cowboy made around forty bucks for tedious and often dangerous work. One of the longest cattle drives ever was fraught with danger. Rustlers, corrupt townspeople, marauding Indians, and nasty weather plagued one big herd during its nearly eight year drive.
The cattle drive was helmed by Gil Favor who kept his cows and his cowboys under a firm hand as trail boss. Young cowboy Rowdy Yates was often delegated to help handle trouble along the way.
I am, of course, talking about the TV series Rawhide. Airing from 1959 to 1965 the series was the sixth longest running American western according to Wikipedia. The series made a star of young Clint Eastwood who portrayed Rowdy Yates. The series’ 217 episodes were all filmed in black and white.
The best part of the series was the theme song and obviously the reason I’m writing about Rawhide today.
Who can forget the great Blues Brothers cover:
3 comments:
Watch it on INSP channel along with Gunsmoke, Wagon Train and a lot of vintage westerns.
James Old Guy
Loved this series and watch how tall in the saddle Clint Eastwood sits. Then the other guy. Have always loved westerns and had read all the greats but bought one from BRM and was hooked all over again. It felt like I'm back in the old west.
I got hooked on westerns when my grandpa gave me a Louis L’Amour book when I was 12 or so.
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