LUBBOCK, TX. (Top40 Charts/ R.W. HAMPTON Official Website) - Last Thursday,
September 10, at the 2009 American Cowboy Culture Awards in Lubbock, Texas, Cimarron
Sounds recording artist R.W. Hampton was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his significant contributions to the development of cowboy culture and the preservation of our western heritage. Since 1989, the American Cowboy Culture Awards gala to honor those who succeed in keeping the spirit of the West alive has been the inaugural event of the
National Cowboy Symposium and Celebration, which occurs annually in Lubbock the first weekend after Labor Day. Held at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center at 1501 Mac Davis Drive, the 2009 Awards banquet included a performance by Hampton.
Afterwards, when asked about receiving his prestigious award, Hampton remarked, 'I am both honored and humbled to receive the American Cowboy Culture Lifetime Achievement Award. It is deeply satisfying to know that I have been able to contribute to our Western culture and way of life. But as I told the folks upon my acceptance: 'Being as how I've lived out only half my years, I'll be back in about 2050 to receive my 2nd Lifetime Achievement Award!''
A ranching resident of Miami, New Mexico, Hampton can be counted among America's foremost cowboy entertainers, and these days his career progress is accelerating. In 2008, Hampton's 'Oklahoma... Where The West Remains' CD, recorded with the Enid Oklahoma Symphony Orchestra, was named the year's Outstanding Traditional Western Album by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum and Album of the Year by the Western Music Association. This past May, Hampton's current European single, 'We've Taken Bob Back To Tulsa', from 'Oklahoma... Where The West Remains', climbed to No 1 on the European Hotdisc Top 40 Country Chart for the week beginning May 28, 2009.
Hampton's wonderfully rich baritone voice has been captured on twelve CDs to date, including two cowboy gospel albums and one Christmas collaboration. But Hampton is more than just a gifted cowboy singer: he has a multi-faceted career, one that has seen him perform in a dozen Western movies, co-write and star in the one-man play, 'The Last Cowboy', narrate several national radio and TV spots, serve as the subject of a number of national print advertising campaigns and emcee several significant Western awards events. All this on top of being recognized twelve times by various Western associations for his artistry.
Hampton has a quality of genuineness about him that connects when he's on stage, in person, or just through the words of his songs. For Hampton has lived what he sings about on ranches all over the American west, and the world of early mornings, hard work, rough horses, maverick cattle and new ranges fits him. After twenty years in the entertainment business, Hampton is still pure cowboy, singing about what he knows and loves best.
More can be learned about R.W. Hampton at his website, www.rwhampton.com. 'Oklahoma...Where The West Remains' can be heard in its entirety at the music section of the website. For preapproved images, bios, music, reviews, articles and further information about R.W. Hampton or Cimarron Sounds, please visit the private epk (electronic press kit) section of Hampton's site at www.rwhampton.com/epk.html.
