Paul Bogart: Taking Country Music Back To Its Roots

When Paul Bogart sings about cowboys and rodeos, its not just some fictional account of a lifestyle he’s someone else live. No, Bogart is the real deal. He grew up on a small ranch in Oologah, Oklahoma, and was a collegiate and professional team roper.

But music was just as important to he and his two siblings who learned to harmonize as young children thanks to the influence of their mother who played piano at their church. His rural lifestyle is also why his music is a throwback to country’s golden era and legendary voices such as Hank Williams and Chet Atkins or more contemporary stars like George Jones and Merle Haggard.

“I think it is a part of my upbringing,” Bogart explains. “It’s a part of who I am…Maybe I’m just a little more traditional and an old soul.”

Amazingly, Bogart was content as a local hero who simultaneously dabbled in music and calf roping until Oklahoma’s most famous country star took notice in nearby Claremore. Garth Brooks happened to be eating breakfast in a diner one morning when he saw Bogart’s flier for an upcoming concert. He arranged for a meeting—one that Bogart nearly didn’t take thinking it was just a prank.

Eventually, Brooks’ friendship and advice led Bogart to head to Nashville where he has become a popular staple among the cowboy community and even had the chance to write with the country music legend.

“It seems like everybody in town has a Garth story,” Bogart says. “That guy is such a wild, incredible human being. He’s been very helpful and encouraging to me as well as lots of other people in town…What a guy. Holy smokes. Just a fabulous human.”

And like the icon who discovered him, Bogart hopes that his fans see him in the same kind of authenticity.

“I just feel like there’s a certain group of folks that know what I’m talking about and I’m singing their songs,” he says. “I’m singing their lifestyle. Hopefully when they hear my music they’ll know that, ‘That guy, he’s legit. He knows what we’re about.’”