Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Illness lassos cowboy singer
From the Arizona Republic
Buffalo Rick Galeener rode tall in the saddle in Arizona for more than two decades.
A cowboy musician and entertainer, Buffalo Rick, with his gunslingers and saloon girls, brought the mythical Wild West to life for tourists and Valley city slickers.
In his motorized, stage coach limousine he made a good run at living up to his own moniker as Arizona's Unofficial Tourist Attraction.
Four years ago, the trail got rocky. Now, Buffalo Rick is 54, is leaning on a walker and the saloon girl he married.
His music and bullwhip have gone silent.
"Cancer has affected our lives, and we're no longer performing," Connie Galeener explained to a caller looking to hire a Western band, even though it has been years since Buffalo Rick strapped on his bass guitar and six-shooter.
Before the Buffalo Rick personae was born, Galeener joined the Navy right out of Camelback High School in 1968, putting on hold a blossoming music career. He served on an aircraft carrier in Vietnam's Gulf of Tonkin.
Just before his illness, Buffalo Rick teamed with some top Western swing musicians, dubbed the Old Cowhands & Friends, to record a tribute album to Wesley Tuttle, who played with the legendary Sons of the Pioneers.
Buffalo Rick, at this point, can only dream of playing and singing like that again.
He hopes that a doctor he is seeing outside the VA will be able to help him.
"I sure wish I could get back out and perform," he said. "I'm not ready to give up yet."
Read the article
Arizona Republic
Buffalo Rick Galeener rode tall in the saddle in Arizona for more than two decades.
A cowboy musician and entertainer, Buffalo Rick, with his gunslingers and saloon girls, brought the mythical Wild West to life for tourists and Valley city slickers.
In his motorized, stage coach limousine he made a good run at living up to his own moniker as Arizona's Unofficial Tourist Attraction.
Four years ago, the trail got rocky. Now, Buffalo Rick is 54, is leaning on a walker and the saloon girl he married.
His music and bullwhip have gone silent.
"Cancer has affected our lives, and we're no longer performing," Connie Galeener explained to a caller looking to hire a Western band, even though it has been years since Buffalo Rick strapped on his bass guitar and six-shooter.
Before the Buffalo Rick personae was born, Galeener joined the Navy right out of Camelback High School in 1968, putting on hold a blossoming music career. He served on an aircraft carrier in Vietnam's Gulf of Tonkin.
Just before his illness, Buffalo Rick teamed with some top Western swing musicians, dubbed the Old Cowhands & Friends, to record a tribute album to Wesley Tuttle, who played with the legendary Sons of the Pioneers.
Buffalo Rick, at this point, can only dream of playing and singing like that again.
He hopes that a doctor he is seeing outside the VA will be able to help him.
"I sure wish I could get back out and perform," he said. "I'm not ready to give up yet."
Read the article
Arizona Republic
# posted by Dave Sichak @ 8:47 AM 
