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| Photo courtesy of the Sons of the Pioneers Museum, Branson, Mo |
The Sons of the Pioneers are undoubtedly the finest Western singing group ever formed. In fact, they founded true Western music.
Roy Rogers established the group, and it was his dreams that got it off the ground in the early 1930s. Bob Nolan, with his lyrical songs of Western beauty, and Tim Spencer, with his upbeat tunes, provided the music that gave the Sons of the Pioneers their golden reputation.
And Lloyd Perryman was the man who, for over forty years of his life, held the group together, provided a soaring, mellow tenor voice, and arranged songs and revealed harmonies in a unique and pleasing way.
Lloyd was a peacemaker, a diplomat, and that came in handy with the Pioneers, because even though they got along very well considering all the time they spent together, difficulties still arose. Lloyd always focused on the music and sounding their absolute best.
He was born on January 29, 1917, in Ruth, Arkansas, and was one of nine children born to Samuel and Sally Perryman. Lloyd began playing the guitar when he was nine, and by the time he was fifteen, he was on his own making a living (more or less) by singing in California. At nineteen, he joined the Sons of the Pioneers, and he sang with them his entire life, aside from his years spent in the Air Force during WWII, and a few short breaks throughout the years.
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| Lloyd, Roy Rogers, Doye O'Dell Under California Stars (1948) |
He stayed with the group as other members came and went—many of the new members learned how to sing their harmony parts from Lloyd. Western music rose in popularity in the 1940s, and fell in the mid-1950s; the Sons of the Pioneers remained through it all.
In the late 1970s, the Sons of the Pioneers and Western music—and all of Lloyd's friends—took a terrible blow. On May 31, 1977, Lloyd Perryman died at the age of 61, following complications of a heart attack.
He left his wife of thirty-nine years, Violet "Buddie" Perryman, a son, Wayne Perryman, and many, many friends.
Although Lloyd's contribution to the Sons of the Pioneers' fame is not necessarily as obvious as Bob Nolan's or Roy Roger's, it is equally as important. Without Lloyd's musical talent, taste, and sensitivity, the Sons of the Pioneers would have never gained the fame they have.
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Lloyd wore this shirt on several TV appearances with the Sons of the Pioneers: The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), Purina's Grand Ole Opry (1956), and The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson (1976). the shirt was made by Nathan Turk around 1954, and is now in the Sons of the Pioneers Museum collection in Branson, MO. The screenshot below is from the Purina's Grand Ole Opry show, and Lloyd is wearing the shirt.
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Lloyd Wilson Perryman
January 29, 1917 - May 31, 1977