The Sons Of The Purple Sage

The Sons Of The Purple Sage was a Southern California western/cowboy act which had several line-ups with a convoluted murky history. The earliest version of the group came about when Buck Page, who had used the name "Riders Of The Purple Sage" for his own band a decade earlier while playing on the East Coast let Foy Willing use that name for his band (which he did till he passed away in 1978). Page gravitated towards Los Angeles to work in the TV and film industries, and renamed his group "The Sons Of The Purple Sage". It seems like the Sons band worked exclusively for budget-labels who used the band's name to record a number of albums, either because they won it through a business contract and played on the same, or because no one was able to enforce the ownership of the name. There were about a half-dozen albums on labels such as Golden Tone, Tops and Somerset, all released under the Sons Of The Purple Sage, with musicians such as Tex Fletcher and Bob Wheeler, as well cowgirl singer Linna Shane.. Bob Wheeler (leader), Lina Shane, Jean Valli, George Faith, Tony Clayton (Back cover info on S-119 'At Western Campfires ')