About Me
Royal Wade Kimes is a no nonsense, hard ridin’, singing cowboy. You get something here unexpected, "true to the last note country and western music." You actually get a guy qualified to wear the hat, buckle and boots he has on. Royal Wade Kimes has forgotten more about the music game in his forty + years than most these titty babies trying to act like they know what they’re doing. The knowing how to put a lyric with a melody and matching it to a golden vocal like Royal Wade Kimes is no accident. He writes about Gunfighters, Outlaws, Tender Love, Hard Times, The Closing Of The Range, Drovers and he makes it so real, he puts you right there with him. He is currently one of XM satellites best features on Channel 10. His album Strikin’ Matches is the best yet, there just isn’t a song on the record that could not be a single. RW seems to be a guy unafraid of running out of good songs. Fact is, he seems unafraid to tackle anything. ::Story Here:: Royal Wade goes to lunch with the legendary Danny Davis of the Nashville Brass, an 8 time CMA winner and God only knows how many other awards. Well, anyway Danny is getting up there in years but Royal Wade knew the great’s like Danny Davis were being overlooked in Nashville. So while he is at lunch he asked Danny Davis a question, "Danny would you do a song with me on my next record if I had the song?" Danny looked at Royal Wade long and hard and said. "I might, if you have the song." Well Royal Wade drives back to his ranch, sits down and writes the song right then. A song called "Danny Play" a song about a cowboy asking Danny to play his trumpet in the streets of Chicago, and maybe if the lady he is searching for can hear the trumpet she will come to him. When Royal Wade gets the song wrote he drives back to Nashville, hands Danny the song and says:: "What do you think about this?" Danny’s reply, "This is a song I will play, this is good, real good, you might have a hit here." Turns out he did. The two of them did the song, and XM channel 10 America said it was the most requested song on the play list for over three months. If you haven’t heard the song, your in for a treat. The CD is full of surprises for those who love real by dang good traditional Country with "cowboy attitude". It’s a two steppin son-of-a-gun and covets a rodeo ballad "Showdown" that stands toe to toe with Garth Brooks "Rodeo." Todd Crase of Extreme Bull riders heard Royal Wade in NE. and said he’s the guy we’ve been waiting on. When Chris Ledoux passed we all wondered who in the world could take his place, then here comes RWK.
Royal Wade and Todd agreed no one takes the place of Chris, but they both agreed that Chris would say.. "Open The Gate Boys, Let’s Dance."
No matter if your a bull rider, or just a cowboy, or a lady who loves cowboys, ya got to have somebody out there making music for you, someone to wave the flag out there telling you all isn’t lost. By isn’t lost, I mean telling you that there is someone who understands the cowboy, understands the reason to keep country and western alive. If it was left up to Nashville to keep real country alive we could take down our sign today and go home cause it would all be over. Guess we could dust off some old Hank Williams and remember when. But Royal Wade Kimes has rode in to save the day, and from what I use to hear on radio FM it needs savin. I quit listening sometime ago, had all the baby milk I could stand. I want my music strong enough to eat beef, tough, and edgy enough to take a shot of smooth bourbon straight out of the bottle.
When you think about it, RWK could not be any other way, he has a very interesting lineage coming from his roots in northwest Arkansas with bank robber relatives. Check that out too, Royal Wade Kimes is just plain interesting. He rode the range as a boy and many of his stories from old timers he rode with have evolved into some of the best songs of the old west I’ve heard since Marty Robbins.
RWK wears his hat both on and off the stage. I bring this up because Royal Wade was back stage of the Grand Old Opry with Reba and Charlie Battles, "Reba’s first husband" who just happen to be a world champion steer wrestler. Royal Wade noticed Charlie didn’t have his hat on and didn’t have one with him. He walks over to Charlie and said " Charlie, I see you ain’t wearing your hat, what’s the deal, didn’t want to get took for one of those concret cowboys?" Charlie laughed and said "That’s about it." Kimes just doesn’t give a hoot what they think, he said I was born to be who I am and wear what I wear.
Royal Wade has stepped up a notch or two in the hat quality however. He now wears a custom hat built by "Bronco Sue" out of New Mexico.
Kimes rides a 16 hand paint horse that looks like it means as much business as RW does. The horse will be on his new album I am told sometime first of 2008. I will be first in line to get mind.
One last thing, if you want to get a further insight to RWK, check out his novel, "Eminent Domain and Old Man Smith." You will see that everything said here and more is true of this guy.
Royal Wade Kimes holds a trail ride every year in Northwest Arkansas just North of Ft.Smith. I have ridden on this ride, it was my chance to get up close to the guy and see for myself what he is all about. I found him to be the most down to earth guy you would ever want to meet, but still there is something about him, that something that sets him apart from everybody else, that something your just born with. If you want to experience that, then sign up and ride, ride with Royal Wade Kimes across the Cole Younger trail, I did, I came away with a whole new feeling about life. To find out about the ride go to www.mountroyaltrailride.com
Check Royal Wade out at www.royalwadekimes.com or www.wondermentrecords.comDon McFarland/Cowboyin is my life/Music is my thing/Alias "Slow Duke"
