Bob Nolan
1994 WMA Hall of Fame Member

Bob Nolan is being inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame as an individual western music songwriter. Although Bob Nolan was previously inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers, the contributions he made to the western music field as a songwriter qualify him for this individual recognition. Bob Nolan was born on April 1, 1908, in the southeastern province of New Brunswick, Canada. About the only form of music that Bob came in contact with was furnished by the missionaries who made twice-a-year trips into the back woods to hold their old-fashioned camp meetings. To obtain schooling, Bob lived in Boston Massachusetts, with his aunts at different times; and it was in Boston that Bob was exposed to American folk music in large doses. At the age of fourteen, Bob Nolan joined his father in Tucson. This sudden exposure to the new and different desert areas of southern Arizona made an impact on young Nolan. It was during this time that he became aware of the fantastic exotic beauty of the desert. Undoubtedly, these long hours spent in the desert were to be the inspiration for many of the Nolan classics.

Getting the rambling fever around the year 1927, Nolan caught the first freight train going east. Not satisfied, he caught the next train going west. Nolan traveled constantly, covering the length and breadth of the country many times. The haunting sound of the train whistle was to remain with him and would be the central theme of his first composition "Way Out There." "One More Ride" was written as its sequel a few years later. In the meantime, Bob's father had moved to California where Bob joined him in 1929. Nolan started singing at various concerts and it turned his thoughts to a career in music. With this in mind, he answered an ad in a Los Angeles newspaper to try out as a member of a western singing group. In 1933 he joined Roy Rogers and Tim Spencer as the Pioneer Trio, which eventually became the Sons of the Pioneers.

Two of Bob Nolan's classic songs, "Cool Water" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," were the theme songs of the Sons of the Pioneers, and "Cool Water" has been inducted into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. Other notable compositions by Bob Nolan include: "Blue Prairie" (written with Tim Spencer), "Chant of the Wanderer," "Down the Trail," "He Walks with the Wild and the Lonely," "Hold That Critter Down," "I Still Do," "Let's Pretend," "Moonlight on the Prairie" (written with Tim Spencer), "The Mystery of His Way," and "There's a Round-Up in the Sky."

Bob Nolan passed away on June 16, 1980. At his request, his ashes were scattered across the Nevada desert.

Biographical information courtesy of Ken Griffis' book Hear My Song.