The Original Flying W Wranglers

The Flying W Wranglers are the second oldest cowboy band in the U.S., but they have more to their credit than longevity. In 1952, the original Flying W Wranglers were Buck Teeter, Cy Scarborough, Babe Humphrey, Chuck Camp & Bob Minser. They were the musical group that performed nightly at the Flying W Chuckwagon in Colorado Springs, entertaining folks with their western trail songs, cowboy night herding lullabies and lively western tunes with the picturesque Garden of the Gods as a backdrop. Since 1952, over 40 musicians have participated in the group.

Flying W Ranch owner Russ Wolfe served as master of ceremonies. A showman as well as an emcee, Wolfe often impressed audiences by jumping into the air and touching both of his outstretched feet with his hands. Visitors from that era still remember those animated performances. But Russ Wolfe was not only a performer, and one of his organizational endeavors had an unanticipated result that benefited Western music and culture on a broad scale.

It happened in 1975 when the American Freedom Train was promoting the U.S. Bicentennial. The train was scheduled to come through Colorado Springs in October. Wolfe and the ranch’s Public Relations Director, Mike Edwards, decided to hold a Chuckwagon Festival to help support the Freedom Train when it arrived in Colorado Springs. The festival was an outstanding success and in 1976, a second annual festival was held at The Flying W Ranch. It was such a success that it was decided to rotate it every year through all of the Chuckwagons. The festival is now known as “The Chuckwagon Association of the West Jamboree� and is still held every year.

As a result of the initiative taken by the original Flying W Wranglers, the Flying W became the flagship for the Chuck Wagon supper outfits that sprang up all across the West, entertaining millions of tourists over the years with “live� Western music, both new and classic. Three of the original members began their own Chuck Wagon Supper operations: Cy Scarboro at the Bar-D in Durango, CO, Babe Humphrey at the Bar J in Jackson Hole, WY, and Chuck Camp at the Triple C in Tucson, AZ, where the Sons of the Pioneers wintered for many years.