Fred is a Native Kansan, and now lives near Monte Vista, Colorado. He has participated in Rodeo, for many years, as a Team Roper. Over those years he also managed several Cattle Ranching Operations. One being a partnership in the Rocking 3M Cattle Company, with Michael Martin Murphey, where they raised registered Longhorn Cattle. He also was Ranch Manager of the Double D Ranch, outside of Taos, New Mexico, managing a registered Corriente Roping Cattle program, as a member of the North American Corriente Association. Fred has also been dedicated to his own brand, the Raising H, spending a lot of time on his ranch between Douglass, and Atlanta, Kansas. Most of his more recent efforts in Kansas, and now Colorado, have been in the Beef Cattle Industry!
Through countless hours in the saddle, raising cattle and horses, and managing the land, Fred has gained the knowledge needed to write and sing his original Cowboy Songs. He has been performing on stage since 1992. He has been a member of the Western Music Association, since 1996, and has
performed throughout the United States. Even doing two very memorable shows in Longview, Alberta, Canada. He has traveled with Michael Martin Murphey, on what they called their "Lone Cowboy Campfire Tour", which started in the summer of 2005. Fred still Books, and Opens, many shows for Murphey to this day!
Fred has been honored as, Performer of the Month, by the Book Barn, in Unionville, Missouri. His Song Lyrics for, "A Monte Vista Moon", and Bio., have been featured in the newest publication of the Colorado Farm Bureau, called "A Colorado Way of Life Magazine". Bureau members all over Colorado have gotten to learn about Fred, and the Songs he writes. The same Lyrics were also featured in a very exclusive Art Exhibition, at the Denver International Airport. Fred's song, "Code of the West", was featured in an article written by, The Rocky Mountain News, located in Denver. The song generated interest, when used to instate a new document (of the same name), for Alamosa County, Colorado. The same song, has been nominated by the Western Music Association in 2011, for "Original Song of the Year". Which he performed at the KiMo Theater, in Albuquerque, for the WMA Awards Show!
He now has five CD's available. "A Cowboy's Dream" recorded in 1996, and " Cowpoke Folk" recorded in 2006. These two albums contain all original material. The third CD, "Campfire Cowboy - Back to the Fire", was completed in 2009, and has five new originals, but also contains many of the cover songs that Fred has loved to sing for many years. Sixteen songs which include, traditional and contemporary Cowboy songs, a few Country tunes, and several Rodeo songs. His CD, recorded with Don Richmond, has gotten RAVE reviews, while being nominated for "Album of the Year 2010", by the WMA. It's called, "My Sacred Ground". Fred's latest album, "Watching Eagles Fly", completed in 2011, will prove to be the best yet. also produced by Don Richmond. It is getting lots of air play around the World, by Western DJ's. All in all, Fred hopes to continue singing about Agriculture, Ranching, and the Western Life he lives, as long as the Good Lord allows!
