"I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky"
Single by Slim Whitman
A-side"I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky"
"I'll Do as Much for You Someday"
ReleasedApril 1949
LabelRCA Victor
Songwriter(s)
Slim Whitman singles chronology
"I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" / "I'll Do as Much for You Someday"
(1949)		 "Please Paint a Rose on the Garden Wall" / "Tears Can Never Drown the Flame"
(1949)
Slim Whitman singles chronology
"Danny Boy" / "There's a Rainbow In Every Teardrop"
(1953)		 "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" / "There's a Rainbow in Ev'ry Teardrop"
(1953)		 "North Wind" / "Darlin' Don't Cry"
(1953)
Slim Whitman UK singles chronology
"The Whiffenpoof Song" / "Dear Mary"
(1956)		 "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" / "There's a Love Knot in My Lariat"
(1956)		 "I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" / "Careless Love"
(1957)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Billboardsatisfactory[1]

"I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" is a song written by Lee "Lasses" White and Jimmy Wakely.[2]

It is a Western-flavored[3][4][5] yodeling song.[6]

Slim Whitman recorded it as his debut single in April 1949 for RCA Victor.[7] It was released as a single, with "I'll Do as Much for You Someday" on the b-side[2]

Lyrical and musical analysis

Lyrically, is a romantic cowboy song.[8]

Timothy E. Wise in his book Yodeling and Meaning in American Music states that while Whitman didn't strictly fit the Western genre, "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" is one of those songs of his that had a "vague Western feel" to its theme. He also observes that it combines "elements of Western-style bravura yodeling and Western imagery" with religious elements: the song imagines heaven as a range in the sky where people ride. "Imagining heaven as range riding in the sky is not too dissimilar from imagining the West generally as a kind of paradise, as it is depicted in so many romantic Western songs," he adds.[6]

History

In 1948, Slim Whitman signed with RCA Victor.[9] It was his wife Jerry who suggested this song for his first recording session at the label[10] that took place somewhere in 1948[9] or 1949.[7] It was released as a single, with "I'll Do as Much for You Someday" on the flip side, in April 1949.[2]

Billboard in its April 30 issue reviewed the single and rated it as "satisfactory", choosing "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" as the better of the two sides. The comment on the song read: "Western yodellng and warbling with lively ork backing. Tune is not likely to appeal widely."[1]

The song was a moderate success[7] and became Whitman's theme song.[10][11] It is now considered one of his classics.[12]

After the singer hit it big on Imperial, RCA Victor hastily issued several singles with his old recordings for the label to cash off of his popularity.[13][14] The 1953 RCA Victor single "I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky" was even coupled with the same song as the then-latest Whitman's single for Imperial.[13]

Track listing

10-inch 78-r.p.m. record (RCA Victor 21-0018, 1949, United States)[2]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky"
 
2."I'll Do as Much for You Someday"
  • Ed G. Nelson
  • Ed Nelson Jr.
 
7-inch single (RCA Victor 47-5431, 1953, United States)[15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky"
 
2."There's a Rainbow in Ev'ry Teardrop"
  • Erwin King
  • Slim Whitman
 
10-inch 78-r.p.m. record (London HL-U.8350, 1956, UK)[16]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky"
 
2."There's a Love Knot in My Lariat"
 

References

  1. 1 2 "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. April 30, 1949 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Tracks on I'm Casting My Lasso Towards the Sky - Slim Whitman (April 1949)". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
  3. ↑ Carlin, R. (2014). Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary. Women's and Gender History. Taylor & Francis. p. 428. ISBN 978-1-135-36104-4. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  4. ↑ Richard Carlin (1995). The Big Book of Country Music: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Penguin. p. 491. ISBN 978-0-14-023509-8.
  5. ↑ American Folklore Society (1968). Memoirs of the American Folklore Society. American Folklore Society. p. 228. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  6. 1 2 Wise, T.E. (2016). Yodeling and Meaning in American Music. American Made Music Series. University Press of Mississippi. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-4968-0583-6. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  7. 1 2 3 Larkin, Colin (27 May 2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
  8. ↑ Malone, Bill C.; Laird, Tracey (4 June 2018). Country Music USA: 50th Anniversary Edition. University of Texas Press. ISBN 9781477315354.
  9. 1 2 Souza, Charlie; Wilkins, Keith (2 March 2020). Tampa Bay Music Roots. Arcadia. ISBN 9781439669211.
  10. 1 2 Gibble, Kenneth L. (1982). Mr. Songman: The Slim Whitman Story. Brethren Press. ISBN 9780871785879.
  11. ↑ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 29, 1953 – via Google Books.
  12. ↑ No Depression. No Depression. 2000. p. 101. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
  13. 1 2 Billboard. 29 August 1953.
  14. ↑ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. December 12, 1953 – via Google Books.
  15. ↑ "Slim Whitman – I'm Casting My Lasso Towards The Sky / There's A Rainbow In Ev'ry Teardrop (1953, Vinyl)". 1953 – via Discogs.
  16. ↑ "Slim Whitman - I'm Casting My Lasso Towards The Sky / There's A Love Knot In My Lariat". 1956 – via www.discogs.com.
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