Stardust And Spurs: Exploring Santa Clarita’s Walk Of Western Stars – Waddie Mitchell

Saddle up for a trip through entertainment history with a weekly highlight from Santa Clarita’s Walk of Western Stars! This week, poetry artist Waddie Mitchell.

Waddie Mitchell was born Aug. 22, 1950, and from his earliest days on the Nevada ranches where his father worked, he was immersed in the cowboy way of entertaining, the art of spinnin’ tales in rhyme and meter that came to be called cowboy poetry. Cowboy poetry is a Western tradition that is as rich as the lifestyle that gave birth to it.

Within the poet’s stories, told in a timeless and familiar voice, are common bonds that are shared, moments both grand and commonplace, the humorous and the tragic, and the life-and-death struggles and triumphs that we each recognize.

Waddie presents his material with personal insights that most people recognize, yet the poet presents his material with personal insights and the lessons learned during his life as a buckaroo.

In his poem “Where To Go,” he describes a time when the artist had to choose between being a full-time cowboy managing a 36,000-acre ranch in Lee-Jiggs, Nevada and the art of poetry that he loved so much.

In 1984, Waddie helped organize the internationally recognized Elko Cowboy Poetry Gathering and gave his first public performance.

Although Waddie didn’t think anyone would be interested, the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering was set for a cold and snowy weekend in January.

However, this was one of the only times of the year that Waddie and his fellow cowboys were free from the ranch duties.

More than 2,000 people showed up to the gathering and it was then the poet was off and running.

Since then, Waddie has performed internationally for audiences in cities from Los Angeles to New York, Zurich to Melbourne and everywhere in between.

His television appearances range from several appearances on the Tonight Show, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, TNN, The History Channel], PBS and BBC.

Waddie has also been featured in People, Life, New New York Times, USA Today, Fortune, National Geographic, Wall Street Journal and the Official Program for Super Bowl XXX along with numerous other appearances, performances, articles and books.

In 1994, Waddie founded the Working Ranch Cowboys Association with a mission of creating scholarships and crisis funds for working cowboys and their families.

Waddie’s series of recordings for Warner Bros. Records and more recently for Western Jubilee Recording Company have received critical acclaim.

Waddie’s Western Jubilee Recordings are: Waddie Mitchell Live, featuring Don Edwards as well as world-class instrumentalists Rich O’Brien and Norman Blake was recorded live at the Western Jubilee Warehouse in Colorado Springs

In April 2001, the Oklahoma City Cowboy Hall of Fame / National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum presented Waddie with the coveted Wrangler Award for his participation in the Outstanding Traditional Western Album of the Year.

In 2005, Waddie was featured on TV, radio, print and in personal appearances as the Review Journal newspaper’s official spokesperson for its 100-Year Celebration and that of the city of Las Vegas, NV.

In December 2010 finds Waddie in yet another environment such as the Theater works, Colorado Springs professional theater company, presents Waddie Mitchell, A Cowboy Christmas Carol; 16 highly entertaining performances of Waddie’s de-arrangement of Charles Dicken’s Christmas classic.

In 2011 the accolades continued with Waddie receiving Arizona’s Festival of the West Cowboy Spirit Award and The National Storytelling Network Circle of Excellence Award as well as being inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame where he joined luminaries such as Will James and Mark Twain.

In 2012 Waddie received the prestigious Nevada Heritage Award and in 2013 he received the American Cowboy Culture Award at the 25th Annual Symposium in Lubbock, TX.

In April 2013, Mitchell again received the Wrangler Award from OK City’s National Cowboy Museum. This time for “Composition of the Year” by writing both words and music of “Trade Off” that was recorded by The Gillette Brothers of Crockett, TX.

In 2014, Nevada Tourism commissioned Waddie to write a poem in honor of the state’s 150th Birthday and his poem “Dame Nevada” resulted in multiple appearances throughout Nevada as the state’s official Sesquicentennial Poet for the yearlong celebration.

Also, in 2014 Western Jubilee released Sweat Equity, poetry both old and new and recorded live and in the studio. 2015 offers another milestone with the Western Jubilee published book One Hundred Poems composed and selected by Waddie and it is his most comprehensive book to date.

In November 2015, the artist received the Western Music Association Award of Excellence as One Hundred Poems and was voted the 2015 WMA Poetry Book of the Year.

In addition to performances and projects in 2016, Waddie produces Cohorts & Collaborators, according to officials.

Currently, Mitchell continues performing and hosting at festivals, private gatherings, rodeos, corporate events, concert halls and an extraordinarily wide variety of functions.

California’s Country Music Festival, Stagecoach, is located at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, and has presented Waddie for more years than any other artist.

The Reno Gazette-Journal published a list chosen by a panel of writers, historians and other notables, who selected the Top 20 Artists, Authors and Entertainers to Influence Nevada in the 20th Century.

Where is Waddie Mitchell’s Walk of Western Stars Plaque?

The poet’s plaque is located on the east side of Main Street between 8th and Market Street in Old Town Newhall.

Last week’s feature, Diamond Farnsworth .

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