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Bill Chiles, Cowboy Singer - Cowboy Poet
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Bill was raised in the small town of Rigby, Idaho where the Henry's
Fork and the South Fork of the Snake River converge. As a younster
he spent every spare moment on his Uncle's farm near town and their
cattle ranch along the Paradise Valley and Bone Road, next to the
Fort Hall reservation. During this time he was fortunate (or not)
to be a working part of the last of the big cattle round-ups and
drives from the valley to the highlands and back again in the Fall.
On these last drives Bill was first shown how to play 3 chords on
his Sears and Roebuck guitar and then told to just, "follow
the voices."
Many years later in 1994 he found out people still loved and wanted
to hear those old tunes and ballads. Since then he has sung at many
campfires, entertained at guest ranches throughout the West and
been featured at many a poetry gathering. He's had the honor to
perform with Red Steagal, Stephanie Davis, Wally McRae and played
with the Riders in the Sky, as well as being featured along with
top performers of Cowboy Poets of Idaho,Inc. and the Western Music
Association.
Bill was awarded the Cowboy Poets of Idaho's Golden Note
for 1999 and was CPI's Vice President of 2000-2002. He's also creator
and committee chairman for CPI's new Day Break Rider Award,
which is presented to youth members of the organization for dedication
and accomplishment for their work in cowboy poetry and music. Bill
also works for the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, WY investigating,
sorting, documenting, and recording Range Ballads and Trail Songs,
as he says "gotta' get it all down before it's gone."
He released his first recording titled, Worth the Wait.
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