Cowboy Songs: The Crooked Trail to Holbrook

Slim Critchlow began his career in the 1930s as a Park Ranger at Zion National Park in southwest Utah. His interest in cowboy songs was sparked by hearing an old-time group singing on a Salt Lake City radio station in 1930. A self-taught guitarist and singer, Critchlow auditioned with the group and joined them on twice-weekly broadcasts. In 1936, he left Utah for work in California. In 1959, he began appearing in folk music festivals in the San Francisco Bay area. Wearing cowboy regalia, playing an 8-string guitar, and singing authentic cowboy songs, Slim was a natural. This collection of songs was recorded between 1959 and 1963 at several Bay-area festivals.