Welcome fans to my website. Sorry I haven't been very consistent in updating my blogs, but this is a new year and lots of exciting things happening. I have been procrastinating way too long and am very eager to get my songs "out there". I am getting very close to releasing my album, "Storytellin', Songs of Charles Marion Russell, Montana and the West. This tribute album to Charlie, will hopefully be my signature to my musical career and bring a new generation of people to the art and stories of this amazing person. For those of you that do not know of CMR, he was born in 1845 and died in 1926. He painted thousands of scenes of cowboy life in Montana. He isn't as well known as Fredric Remington, but just as good.
I first became interested in Charlie, when a roommate of mine Robert Casner showed me an original that his father gave him, that was hanging in the living room. Caz began telling me about this cowboy artist. This was around 1986. I started a little research of my own and discovered the art of this wonderful guy. Years went by and I didn't think about Charlie's art.
I love art and especially paintings. My favorites at the time are Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Charles Wilson Peale, Fredric Edwin Church, George Catlin, Albert Bierstadt, Titian, El Greco, Margret Mee and many more. But now my knowledge of art has gotten deeper and more to the old west. I have been captivated by Charles Marion Russell, Georgia O'Keefe, Fredric Remington and the indian painters of the Southwest.
At my last job at SeaRiver Maritime, Inc. ( a division of ExxonMobil), my friend and boss Ron E Floyd who was born in Montana, sparked an interest in me and Charlie. I was already a huge fan of Lewis and Clark and the story of the Corp of Discovery. They passed through the very lands that Charlie explored in Montana. I knew what my purpose was.
I told my wife that I wanted to make a tribute album to my favorite artist Charlie. So, two years ago, we went to Montana and we went to see the land that Lewis discovered. We went to Three Forks and stood on the very ground that Lewis saw. I was mesmerized. We went to Great Falls and to the Charlie Russell Museum. I told the staff that I was making a tribute album and would one day contribute some of my sales to the museum. So we began reading all we could about Charlie. My creative juices started pouring out of me and I am near completion of this bold endeavor.
Storytellin' is my album of songs and narrations of Charlies stories. The narratives were done by me in my old west voice with special effects by my wife. This is a complete original project that no one has ever done before. Yes, people have written many songs and one act plays about Charlie, but no one has ever done a tribute album to Charlie. His story is so compelling and the modern world needs to be reminded of this gifted man. So with a little luck and the grace of God, I'll be able to accomplish this. This is my destiny and I will promote this album for the rest of my life. God bless you Charlie and Nancy, for giving me the inspiration and purpose for my website. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeee...... stay tuned.