Lloyd Perryman

They called Lloyd Perryman “Mr. Pioneer.” At the time of his death in 1977, he had been with the Sons of the Pioneers for 41 years, longer than any other member. He joined the Sons of the Pioneers in September of 1936, filling in for Tim Spencer for two years. He became the leader of the Pioneers in 1949, with the departure of Spencer and Bob Nolan.

According to biographer Ken Griffis, Lloyd Perryman “was never satisfied with a shortcut,” and he always expected the Pioneers to perform to the best of their ability. He taught the trio a lot about breath control, and he taught each new member their part in the trio; he knew every note of every part of every song in the Sons of the Pioneers’ repertoire. Rusty Richards used to tell how, when he joined the Pioneers as the group’s tenor, Lloyd made a tape of only the tenor’s part of all of the songs the Pioneers were going to sing at their next show. Rusty was to listen to it and learn his part in time for the only rehearsal they could have before their first gig together. Hearing only the tenor part of each song sounded very strange without the melody, but all three parts fit perfectly when Rusty, Dale Warren and Lloyd got together for that rehearsal, and the concert went off without a hitch.

Songwriter Stan Jones also benefited from Lloyd’s skills as an arranger. Lloyd helped polish many of Stan’s compositions to the point that they were ready to be recorded and to take their place among the great compositions of the Western music genre.

If it wasn't for Lloyd Perryman and his exceptional talent for coming up with such unique vocal arrangements, the Sons of the Pioneers might not have had the impact they did on other Western groups and on the Western music genre. The Pioneers’ vocal sound before Lloyd joined the group was mostly basic three-part harmony. Today, listeners can compare the first recorded (pre-Perryman) version of " Tumbling Tumbleweeds," both in tempo and voice stacking, to versions recorded after Perryman joined the Sons of the Pioneers in 1936. Lloyd was the one who really brought the inspiring vocal sound and Pioneers harmony to the group that is so familiar to all of us.

The Sons of the Pioneers’ record contract with RCA Victor, initiated in 1945, came to an end in 1969.The music world seemed to think that there was no longer a place for Western music after that, but Lloyd didn’t agree. He kept the group together and they continued to tour, performing for enthusiastic audiences at state fairs, etc. around the country. Perryman ensured that they also made radio and TV appearances; he saw the group receive a Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame (1971); they were honored by a reunion tribute to the Pioneers in 1972, and a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood in 1976. The year before he died, Lloyd took the Pioneers back into the recording studio to make what would be Lloyd’s last recordings. Today, over 30 years later, the group is still going strong; the longest running singing group in history, thanks in no small part to Lloyd Perryman.

~O.J. Sikes