Sumith Prasad
In the twelfth episode of Paramount Network’s Western series ‘Yellowstone’ season 5, the cowboys of the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch start loading cattle for their return journey to Montana from the Four Sixes (6666) Ranch. Ryan leads the team, which includes Walker, Teeter, and Jake. Even though he is known as an ex-convict, singer, and guitarist, Walker is a damn good cowboy when he is asked to work. He ensures that the cattle are loaded to the movers properly while Ryan and Teeter deal with the news of Colby’s death. Ryan Bingham, an Academy Award-winning singer-songwriter, plays the cowboy in the show. But how did a country rockstar become this good at cowboying?
Ryan Bingham Grew Up as a Cowboy and Rodeo Star
Ryan Bingham is a real-life cowboy who has immense experience in bull riding. Before he became a singer-songwriter, he spent his childhood and adolescence doing what Walker does in ‘Yellowstone.’ Bingham grew up on the ranch of his parents in Hobbs, New Mexico, which exposed him to the cowboy culture. However, his parents reportedly lost their ranch, which marked the beginning of a great odyssey. The family moved from one place to the other every one or two years, covering a large part of Texas and California. During this time, Bingham survived working as a roughneck in oil fields, which qualifies him to be a cast member of Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Landman.’
At the age of seventeen, Bingham decided to rewrite his fate. He parted ways with his family, joined the rodeo circuit of the Southwest, and started riding bulls. The ferocious animals even knocked his teeth out. Still, he survived in the bull-riding realm for a considerable while. “I started riding calves and steers when I was a little kid in the junior rodeos, and rode bulls till kind of up into my mid-twenties until I really started playing music,” the singer told Fort Worth Magazine. “Originally, it was riding bulls in the rodeo, coming up there and riding bulls and Billy Bob’s and going to all the junior rodeos there at the Stockyards,” he added.
Bingham’s bull-riding skills paved the way for his selection to Tarleton University’s rodeo team. He even became a singer during this time. While he was on the road for the rodeos, he used to carry a guitar and write songs about his adventures as a bull-rider, which eventually became the foundation of his career as an artist. Bingham performed songs in numerous bars after the rodeos concluded, which helped him gain the experience of playing music in front of a crowd.
Ryan Bingham Became a Cast Member of Yellowstone Because of His Cowboy Roots
Ryan Bingham’s history with ‘Yellowstone’ starts with co-creator Taylor Sheridan’s sophomore directorial work ‘Wind River.’ He wrote the movie listening to the singer’s “Hallelujah” repeatedly. After the filmmaker created ‘Yellowstone’ with John Linson, the former reached out to Bingham to include his songs in the series. That was when Taylor learned the artist had extensive cowboying and rodeo experience. “Originally, Taylor contacted me about writing some songs for the show. Then, when he discovered my family ranched and I used to ride bulls, he said, ‘Well, shoot. We gotta get you in the show. If you’re good, we’ll keep you on. If you suck, we’ll kill you off,’” Bingham told Cowboys & Indians.
Since this conversation, Bingham has been integral to the “Taylor Sheridan universe.” The filmmaker sees the singer as a “gift” and the “graveled voice of this generation’s cowboys and poets,” according to an interview given to the Los Angeles Times. The singer had been extremely happy about collaborating with Taylor since it gave him an opportunity to get back on horses. The filming of the series in Montana, away from the concrete forests in cities across the country, was another attraction of being part of the cast of ‘Yellowstone.’ As a lifelong cowboy, Bingham didn’t have to struggle to transform himself into Walker.
Read More: Did Cole Hauser (Rip) Learn Horse Riding for Yellowstone?
