Even on his first album, which he cut when he was just 26, Ryan Bingham's voice sounded as though it'd been rode hard and put up wet, which suits his rough livin' cowboy aesthetic just fine. The 41-year-old musician-turned-actor is now playing the living manifestation of that voice on the hit show, Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner.
Bingham plays Walker, an ex-con turned ranch hand on the Paramount show Yellowstone's Dutton Ranch, where he often puts his musical chops to use by serenading the bunkhouse. He got the part after talking to show creator Taylor Sheridan, who thought his background would be good in the show. Sheridan had previously been inspired by Bingham's voice and music, he told the LA Times.
"I met the writer, Taylor Sheridan, when he was working on the project. He initially contacted me about working on the project and maybe just writing some songs for the show. Once we met and started hanging out, he found out I grew up riding horses — my family ranched out in New Mexico — so I grew up doing a lot of that kind of cowboy stuff," Bingham told Wide Open Country in 2019.
Bingham, who was born in New Mexico, grew up in Texas and is now based in Los Angeles. To date, in addition to his acting career, he's cut six studio albums and one live album, been named the 2010 Americana Music Association Artist of the Year and won an Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe Award for his music.
Walker's character returns in the newest season of Yellowstone, but we'll have to watch and see just where the new season will take him. Bingham's music also featured heavily in the show so far, so we can expect more of it in this new season, too.
To get you ready for the rest of Yellowstone's Season 5, which began airing Nov.13, here are 15 of Bingham's best hard livin' songs, ranked.
15. "Nobody Knows my Trouble" (Fear and Saturday Night, 2015)
Photo by Frank Hoensch/Redferns
Bingham opens his fifth studio album, Fear and Saturday Night with this lilting, heart-wrenching song about second chances.
Listen to the song here.
14. "The Road I'm On" (Tomorrowland, 2012)
Photo by Stephen J. Cohen/Getty Images
A hefty slice of country music takes place on the road. On the road or not, this song, off Bingham's fourth studio album, Tomorrowland, will make you feel the rumble of tires and the miles slipping by.
Listen to the song here.
13. "Snow Falls in June" (Fear and Saturday Night, 2015)
Photo by Jim Spellman/Getty Images
Hope in the face of hopelessness might seem as unlikely as snow falling in June, but that's what this — and let's be honest many other - Ryan Bingham songs are all about.
Listen to the song here.
12. "Take it Easy Mama" (Mescalito, 2007)
Photo by Frank Hoensch/Redferns
With its rock 'n roll-inspired intro and driving beat, Bingham puts a spin on the classic country sub-genre of songs devoted to the temporary solace found in the company of another lost soul, off his first album, Mescalito.
Listen to the song here.
11. "Rollin' Highway Blues" (Roadhouse Sun, 2009)
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"Rollin' Highway Blues" is full of lines like "I don't have any more luck to lose," lyrics that feel as familiar as your favorite pair of worn-in boots because they fit that special brand of broken-hearted you only find in country songs so well.
Listen to the song here.
10. "Ever Wonder Why" (Mescalito, 2007)
Photo by Lionel FLUSIN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Bingham's billed as a country artist, but his range extends to tracks that sound more like the blues, or even rock 'n roll. In 'Ever Wonder Why" he sounds more like Bruce Springsteen than anyone else.
Listen to the song here.
9. "The Other Side" (Mescalito, 2007)
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Some of Bingham's most enduring and successful songs appeared on his very first album, Mescalito. Merging his signature gravelly growl with a little introspection, "The Other Side," establishes Bingham's ability to write knee-slappin' worthy tunes that also make you stop and examine life for a minute.
Listen to the song here.
8. "How Shall a Sparrow Fly" (Hostiles Soundtrack, 2017)
Photo by Lionel FLUSIN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
"How Shall a Sparrow Fly" was written for the movie, Hostiles, directed by Scott Cooper. Bingham appears in film briefly to perform this dark, brooding song as Sargent Malloy.
Listen to the song here.
7. "Ride Me Down Easy" (Live Forever, 2022)
Bingham nails this Billy Joe Shaver classic in a duet with country singer Nikki Lane for the new Shaver tribute album, Live Forever. Shaver, one of Texas' most revered singer-songwriters died in 2020 and producers brought together country artists including Willie Nelson, Margo Price, George Strait and Miranda Lambert to cover some of his best-known songs and honor his career.
Listen to the song here.
6. "I Don't Know" (Crazy Heart Soundtrack, 2010)
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What good's a country star without a sad love song about how hard life has been? Not much. This one appeared on the Crazy Heart soundtrack, in addition to Bingham's Oscar-winning "The Weary Kind."
Listen to the song here.
5. "The Poet" (Junky Star, 2010)
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Imagining himself a wandering poet, Bingham tells the story of a troubled troubadour in this track from Junky Star, Bingham's third studio album. The record hit No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Country Albums charts.
Listen to the song here.
4. "America" (American Love Song, 2019)
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images
Bingham's most recent album, 2019's American Love Song, is noticeably more political than his previous albums. He concludes the album with this contemplation on the state of the nation, asking his listeners to stop and think, "America, America where have you gone? / Can't you see what's goin' on / Can't you see what we've become?"
Listen to the song here.
3. "South Side of Heaven" (Mescalito, 2007)
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for LAFCA
Bingham tends to write long songs for long albums. "South Side of Heaven," Bingham's first track off his debut album, Mescalito, clocks in a little over six minutes long. Opening with a gentle guitar rhythm mimicking the chugging wheels of a freight train and whining harmonica, the song introduced the world to Bingham's wander ethos and remains a fan favorite.
Listen to the song here.
2. "Hallelujah" (Junky Star, 2010)
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Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan told the LA Times that this Bingham song played on repeat while he was writing his movie, Wind River. The haunting song also appears in a critical scene in Yellowstone, Taylor's current show.
Listen to the song here.
1. "The Weary Kind" (Crazy Heart Soundtrack, 2010)
Photo by Lester Cohen/WireImage
Bingham co-wrote this song with his producer, T Bone Burnett (who used to play guitar in Bob Dylan's band) for the movie Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Colin Farrell.
When it came out, "The Weary Kind" cleaned up on the award circuit, winning Acadamy Award for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. It also received awards from the Screen Actor's Guild, The Critic's Choice Awards, the Satellite Awards and the World Soundtrack Awards.
Listen to the song here.
Honorable Mentions: "Country Roads," "Hard Times," "Pontiac," "Day is Done," "Dylan's Hard Rain," "Tell my Mother I Miss Her So," "Dollar a Day," "Bread and Water," "Roadhouse Blues," "Wishing Well," "Beautiful and Kind," "Long Way From Georgia," and "Situation Station."
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