Riders In The Sky Biography

Riders in the Sky is a Western music and comedy group which began performing 1977. They have won two Grammy Awards and have done music for major motion pictures, including Toy Story 2's "Woody's Roundup" and Pixar's short film, "For the Birds". For most of this time, the group was a trio, Ranger Doug (Douglas B. Green), Woody Paul (Paul Woodrow Chrisman), and Too Slim (Fred LaBour). In recent years, the group has added Joey Miskulin on accordion. They bill themselves as Ranger Doug ("The Idol of American Youth"), Woody Paul ("King of the Cowboy Fiddlers"), Too Slim ("a Righteous Tater"/"The Man of a Thousand Hats"), and Joey ("the Cowpolka King").

The group is one of the hardest working musical acts in showbiz, and one of the most educated (Douglas "Ranger Doug" Green has a Masters degree in literature, Fred "Too Slim" Labour has a Masters degree in Wildlife Management, and Paul "Woody Paul" Chisman has a PhD in Nuclear Physics). In their first 25 years, they have performed in over 5200 live performances, almost 300 national television appearances, over 200 public radio shows, 700 Grand Ole Opry appearances, three television series (including a 1991-92 CBS Saturday morning show) and more than 30 albums.

Riders in the Sky perform authentic renditions of old classic cowboy and Western songs, as well as original works and various comedic skits and songs. Their combination of gentle parody and true respect for the genre, as well as their great skill as musicians and clever wit is a major reason for their popularity and endurance.

Riders In The Sky performed with America's Got Talent finalist Taylor Ware at the Grand Ole Opry when she was nine years old.