Cowboy Songs III

Cowboy Songs III – Rhymes of the Renegades is the eighteenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his third album of cowboy songs. The album is devoted to cowboy folklore and true tales of the West and focuses on real-life outlaws, from Jesse James to Billy The Kid to Belle Starr. Murphey performs these songs "with a scholar's eye and a fan's heart."

Track listing

 * 1) "Big Iron" (with Marty Robbins) (Robbins) – 4:09
 * 2) "Rhymes of the Renegades" (Murphey) – 4:35
 * 3) "Riders in the Sky" (Jones) – 3:28
 * 4) "El Paso" (Robbins) – 4:52
 * 5) "Sonora's Death Row" (Farrell) – 4:30
 * 6) "Ballad of Billy the Kid" – 4:03
 * 7) "Billy Gray" (with Debbie Nims) (Blake) – 4:10
 * 8) "Roses and Thorns" (with Ryan Murphey) (Murphey) – 4:18
 * 9) "Strawberry Roan" (with Chris LeDoux) (Fletcher) – 3:44
 * 10) "The Wild West Is Gonna Get Wilder" (Murphey) – 4:28
 * 11) "The Ballad of Jesse James" – 4:18
 * 12) "Frank James' Farewell" (with Hal Ketchum) (Burr, Ketchum) – 3:41
 * 13) "Cole Younger" (with Hal Ketchum) (Traditional) – 3:57
 * 14) "Belle Star" (with Bill Miller) (Murphey) – 6:02
 * 15) "Queen of Heartaches" (Murphey, Rains) – 4:23
 * 16) "Sam Bass" (Traditional) – 4:51
 * 17) "Birmingham Jail" – 4:52

Credits
Music
 * Michael Martin Murphey – vocals, producer, liner notes
 * Marty Robbins – vocals
 * Debbie Nims – vocals
 * Hal Ketchum – vocals
 * Chris LeDoux – vocals
 * Bill Miller – vocals
 * Sam D. Bass – author
 * Pat Flynn – acoustic guitar
 * Chris Leuzinger – 6-string bass, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
 * Mark Casstevens – acoustic guitar, harmonica, jaw harp
 * John McEuen – banjo
 * David Coe – mandolin
 * Sonny Garrish – dobro, steel guitar
 * Alisa Jones Wall – hammer dulcimer
 * Joey Miskulin – accordion, piano, producer
 * Dennis Burnside – piano, synthesizer
 * David Hoffner – synthesizer
 * Rob Hajacos – fiddle
 * Sam Bush – fiddle, mandolin
 * Stuart Duncan – fiddle, mandolin
 * George Tidwell – trumpet
 * Ryan Murphey – background vocals
 * Dennis Wilson – background vocals
 * Roy M. "Junior" Husky – acoustic and electric bass
 * Craig Nelson – acoustic and electric bass
 * Roy Huskey, Jr. – acoustic and electric bass
 * Lonnie Wilson – drums, percussion
 * Tommy Wells – drums, percussion
 * Sam Bacco – Percussion

Production
 * Toby Seay – engineer
 * Gary Paczosa – engineer
 * Ed Simonton – engineer, assistant engineer
 * John Kunz – assistant, assistant engineer
 * Marshall Morgan – mixing
 * Denny Purcell – mastering
 * Patricia Miskulin – production coordination
 * Laura LiPuma – art direction
 * William Matthews – cover design
 * Prof. Thomas Dimsdale – liner notes
 * Garrett Rittenberry – design
 * David Michael Kennedy – photography
 * Willie Matthews – paintings