I am a dedicated classic rock lover BUT, you have to give it to the pioneers of almost all the music genres.' I can listen to almost any kind of tunes ... except (c)rap music.

"(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" is a cowboy-styled country/western song written in 1948 by American songwriter, film and television actor Stan Jones.
The song tells a folk tale of a cowboy who has a vision of red-eyed, steel-hooved cattle thundering across the sky, being chased by the spirits of damned cowboys. One warns him that if he does not change his ways, he will be doomed to join them, forever "trying to catch the Devil's herd across these endless skies".

Neil LeVang - Ghost Riders In The Sky — Instrumental - 1961 - (The Lawrence Welk Show)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SfU56IDsb4

1961... Neil Levang was an American musician who was best known from television's The Lawrence Welk Show, playing guitar, violin and banjo. Levang joined the United States Coast Guard in 1951 which took him to Seattle, Washington. There he continued in the music scene playing with "Texas Jim Lewis and his Lonestar Cowboys". He also hosted his own radio show. In 1959, he was hired as a temporary guitar and banjo player on The Lawrence Welk Show when Buddy Merrill left to serve in the United States Army. Welk was so pleased with his ability that he hired Levang on a permanent basis when Buddy completed his tour of duty in 1961. Levang stayed with the Welk Band until its final show in 1982. That same year, at the Country Music Association Awards he was nominated for best artist on a specialty instrument, the mandolin. He was also an accomplished studio musician, playing on several records for artists such as Glen Campbell, Frank Zappa, Bobby Darin, Bobbi Gentry, David Clayton Thomas, Neal Hefti ("Batman Theme"), Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Neil Diamond and Noel Boggs. When Welk signed Merrill, he was looking for a guitarist to play music that would appeal to younger viewers, but he wasn’t really sure what that might be. LeVang was a smart replacement for Merrill. He was a great with a flatpick and he had a nice country feel to his playing. By now, this was the early 1960s, Welk had decided he didn’t want to have much to do with rock and roll but he still wanted to have a guitarist around. After Buddy returned from the army, he and Neil both stayed in the band.
Levang performed as a studio musician on many television shows including Little House on the Prairie, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Brady Bunch, The Monkees, Highway to Heaven, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, and a host of Hanna-Barbera cartoons. He was the featured guitarist with Naomi and Wynonna Judd on the 1985 and 1986 Academy of Country Music Association Awards television broadcast. He was the subject of an extensive career profile by historian Rich Kienzle in the December 2009 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine. Levang died in Canyon Country, California at the age of 83.

Stan Jones and The Death Valley Rangers - late 1948 (Stan Jones - 6.5.1914 - 12.13.1963)
Burl Ives, Vaughn Monroe, Bing Cosby, Peggy Lee, Ramrods, Lawrence Welk Orchestra with Neil LeVang, Johnny Cash, Frankie Lane, Marty Robbins, The Shadows - instrumental, Outlaws - omitted last verse, Blues Brothers Band for Blues Brothers 2000 Film, Spiderbait for Ghost Rider Film, and The Highwaymen all recorded versions of the song.

Ghost Riders in the Sky - Original - Stan Jones and The Death Valley Rangers (1948) *HD*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka90ERKLTJQ

Lyrics (Stan Jones):

An old cowpoke went riding out
One dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested
As he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd
Of red eyed cows he saw
Plowin' through the ragged skies
And up a cloudy draw
Yippie-yi-ay
Yippie-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
Their brands were still on fire
And their hooves were made of steel
Their horns were black and shiny
And their hot breath he could feel
A bolt of fear went through him
As they thundered through the sky
For he saw the riders coming hard
And he heard their mournful cry
Yippie-yi-ay
Yippie-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
Their faces gaunt
Their eyes were blurred
Their shirts all soaked with sweat
They’re riding hard to catch that herd
But they ain't caught 'em yet
'Cause they've got to ride forever
On that range up in the sky
On horses snorting fire
As they ride on, hear their cry
Yippie-yi-ay
Yippie-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
As the riders loped on by him
He heard one call his name
'If you wanna save your soul
From hell a-riding on our range
Then, cowboy, change your ways today
Or with us you will ride
Trying to catch the devil's herd
Across these endless skies
Yippie-yi-ay
Yippie-yi-o
Ghost riders in the sky
Ghost riders in the sky