Despite dressing like one of the black hat wearing villains on the wrong side of the law in Roy Rogers' films, Clint Black took part in the Western hero's final charting single, 1991's "Hold on Partner."
After Rogers' duet version of "Happy Trails" for Randy Travis' 1990 album Heroes & Friends turned out beautifully, Nashville producer Richard Landis convinced Rogers to cut his own album of multi-generational team-ups. Rogers returned to his yodeling ways at age 79 for the highest charting album of his career, 1991's Tribute (RCA Records).
A who's-who of special guests helped Rogers roll back the clock to his time as a member of the Sons of the Pioneers. Standout tracks include "When Payday Rolls Around" featuring Ricky Van Shelton, "Little Joe, The Wrangler" with Emmylou Harris, "Don't Fence Me In" with Lorrie Morgan and The Oak Ridge Boys and a version of Bob Nolan standard "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" cut with K.T. Oslin and Restless Heart.
Additional guests from the world of country music include Willie Nelson as well as Rogers' wife Dale Evans and their son Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr.
As for the King of the Cowboys' team-up with the king of the hat-acts, Rogers and Black didn't record a singing cowboy standard from Rogers and Gene Autry's reigns in Hollywood. Instead, "Hold on Partner" was a recent tune by punk and rockabilly songwriters Larson and Bobby Paine.
Read More: How Singing Cowboy Gene Autry Changed Country Music
Rogers' only music video proves a couple of things: The harmless fun of B-movie Westerns aged gracefully, and Black could pass as Rogers' son.
The song and video's success earned Rogers and Black a Grammy nomination (Best Country Vocal Collaboration) and an invite to perform the song during the 34th annual Grammy Awards broadcast.
This article was originally published in January of 2020.
"Hold On Partner" Lyrics
Well you've been trying to get ahead,
but you're losing ground
and you've been talkin' 'bout leavin' town
so hold on partner
good things are comin' to you
Well you said it yourself
you got a lot on the ball
and you'll bounce back
each time you fall
Now hold on partner
good things are comin' to you
Well it looks like you've been born to lose
and sometimes it feels that way
Aww, but don't give up
tomorrow just might be your lucky day
So many people and things
can get you down
but it only takes one man to turn it around
if you hold on partner
good things are coming to you
It's an up and down world
and you can't change it
might get a chance to
rearrange it,
if you hold on partner
good things are coming to you
Well it looks like you've been born to lose
and sometimes it feels that way
Aww, but don't give up
tomorrow just might be your lucky day
Well it's one big race
and we're all in it
you're falling behind
but ya still could win it
If you hold on partner
good things are coming to you
If you hold on partner
good things are coming to you
Hold on
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