The Yodeling Cowboy

Nothing says "cowboy singing" like a vocalist rapidly switching from chest register to head register while holding an extended note. Huh? Well, it's also called yodeling, and Randy Erwin is a recognized master.

Cowboy yodeler Erwin travels the globe from his Springfield home, celebrating the tradition of cowboy folklore through singing and trick roping.

Music has always guided Erwin along, from his first days on his father's Texas rice farm where he sang loudly (and badly, he reckons) to his career as a yodeler. It didn't matter that Erwin was taking a circuitous route through classical, polka and country. Music kept him going – especially when the pittance he earned as a musician couldn't.

Along the way he recorded two albums and even made a cameo in True Stories, a movie by the Talking Heads' David Byrne.

Erwin just recently settled in Illinois, but he hasn't settled down and frequently performs at schools and festivals across the country.