"I'm Gonna Be a Cowboy"

"Ken is a master poet, a great entertainer and a real cowboy."
        -Yvonne Hollenbeck. 2005 AWA Best Female Poet, 2006 WMA Female Poet of the Year

"One of the most entertaining cowboy poets to come down the pike in a while."
        -Mike Baxter. 1995 World Champion Livestock Auctioneer

"Your audience hangs on every word because they often times have been in the situation that you are speaking of, and now with your poetry, can laugh about it, too."
        -Billy & Terry Jo Gibbons. Tri-State Cowboy Association

1. Loaded Pair of Coots
2. Vern’s Saddle Holds the Memories
3. A Cowboy’s Advice to the Foreman (on the risks of fencing)
4. I’m Gonna Be a Cowboy
5. Diversification
6. The Branding Not Done (listen)
7. Grandpa
8. Grandpa’s Spurs (listen)
9. Bring Her Back to the Home Range
10. Good Company
11. Twelve Days of Ranching
12. So Here’s How I’ve Been Raised

"Dad we'll rope today"

Review by Marvin O'Dell of Around the Campfire, May 2006:

If you've never visited a ranch, or you don't think you'll get to visit one in the near future, then you need to pick up Dad, We'll Rope Today, Ken Cook's latest CD.  And by the time you're through listening to this string of cowboy poems, you'll feel like you've not only visited a ranch but spent the day working while you were there.  I mean, this CD almost tires you out -- in a good way.  It's a compendium on a day in the life of a cowboy.  More often than not, it's a humorous presentation of how NOT to cowboy.

Ken will have you laughing when you first start out on your visit to the ranch.  Then he'll sober you up with some poetry that makes no bones about his love and admiration for his calf-ropin' kids, the attitudes that get a cowboy through the day, and the disaster that a cowboy can suddenly meet during his day's work.

"Gone are the Days" is a wonderful tribute poem in which Ken expresses his appreciation for those who have gone before and those who taught him how to handle a rope.  If you've ever been a parent, you'll not be able to keep from smiling as you listen to the title cut.  Remember the first time you "gave in" and let your kids help?  And the theme of the proud parent continues as Ken presents "Bloodlines."

I think what I enjoy most about this CD, though, is the trip it takes me on.  I feel like I've spent the day riding with Ken by the time the last poem has played.  And I think that's what good cowboy poetry should be about.  Not just cowboys reciting poetry or poets writing poems about cowboys -- but cowboys sharing their life experiences with me in such a way that I can't wait to climb up on a horse and ride again.  Even if I've never sat a horse in my life!  Ken Cook's Dad, We'll Rope Today leaves you with exactly that feeling.

So put this CD on, lay back and close your eyes, and take in the noise and smells and excitement of a day at the ranch.  I promise Ken Cook will make sure you have a good time.

© 2006, Marvin O'Dell, host of Around the Campfire on Classic Heartland
Reprinted with permission

1. Kill this cow
2. Calving
3. Let the Hammer Down
4. Dad, we’ll rope today
5. A Ride for the Fiddler (listen)
6. Joy is a Choice
7. The Reckoning (listen)
8. Bugs’ Good Advice
9. The Renegade
10. Gone are the Days
11. Exercise
12. Bloodline

"The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Two"

"The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Two" (2007) is a compilation of contemporary recordings of some of today's best classic and contemporary cowboy poetry," including Ken Cook honoring "his late grandfather and the generations of cowboys in his family, with his poem, "Grandpa."

"The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three"

Ken's work is also featured in "The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three" (2008). "The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three (2008) is a compilation of vintage and contemporary recordings of some of yesterday's and today's best classic and contemporary cowboy poetry. A wide range of voices present tales that express this venerable art form, words that uncover "the heartbeat of the working West."

Thank you Margo Metegrano at CowboyPoetry.com for all that you do.