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TJ Casey

Courtesy of

Open Range Magazine

December 2009

Story by Jessica Smith
 

          "I have been known as 'Montana's Singing Cowboy' since I was very young...because I am a cowboy and have been all my life, and then the good Lord just happened to give me the talent to be able to sing and write and perform." Thus began the interview with T.J. Casey--cowboy poet, singer, songwriter, and teacher. Mr. Casey, who has played guitar since he was five, has not only written award winning poetry and songs, but also takes very seriously his role model status when it comes to the children he comes in contact with. He works hard to bring the 'Code of the West' to younger generations through various residency projects with schools. "I do like working with kids," he said, "I just got back from Madison, South Dakota...I was there for a full week in school and it was awesome!" During these classes, Casey uses cowboy poetry to inspire the natural talent and imagination of his students, while building their confidence through their own self-expression.


A person might think that the teaching would be all there is time for, but that person wouldn't know T.J. Casey very well. Having grown up on the family ranch, Casey is used to hard work and accomplishing things above and beyond what is expected of him shows through in the many awards he's received. From taking 1st in the National Songwriter Contest in 1984 to sharing the stage with Merle Haggard and the Everly Brothers in 1987 to sharing the stage with Dierks Bentley in 2004, T.J. Casey has amassed an impressive list of accomplishments and accolades right up to this year's "Best County-Western CD", which was awarded to his CD titled 'Pure "D" Cowboy' by the National Traditional County Music Association. While Casey is pleased with all of his accomplishments, there is one that stands out above the rest. "The one that [means] the most to me is the one that I just got this year (named above)...That means a whole lot to me--that means everything that I wrote on that album, it was picked because of my talents not because of...somebody else's talent somewheres, and that's the most important one to me now." "I am truly honored and humbled by that because...to be able to write all your life and then suddenly, 37 years of writing...here comes this award that you weren't even expecting...it's just pretty awesome!"


So exactly how did this life-long cowboy get his start in this business? "I started writing when I was fourteen," Casey began and then remembered something that made him smile before continuing, "Actually, I'm not exactly sure if this was the spark that caused me to write or not, but...I remember when we was thirteen and fourteen. Me and my other brother, we was giggling and laughing all night long and keeping everybody awake and about 3 or 4 times, Dad had said, "Shut up..." from the bedroom. You know how it is when you get to giggling with your friends, it's just so hard to quit...Well, it got to be 4 o'clock in the morning and we finally went to sleep." T.J. Casey continued the tale from there, "Well...at 5 o'clock Dad woke us up--we had Sunday off until we kept everybody awake giggling--and so he sent us to the hardest rock pile on the North end of the ranch and we had to take three posts out, put three railroad ties in those holes, and re-string the wire on them and when we got home that evening, we were worn because we'd stayed up all night--number one--got an hour of sleep and then we had to load up, go up there, and build that fence...well, we was so worn out I don't even think we wanted to eat supper, but we were in the bunkhouse and [I] laid down on the old bed...looked at him and I said, 'My back is sore, my eyes are red. I think it's time I went to bed' [and] that was the first lines of poetry I ever wrote!"

Whatever the reason behind his entry into the poetry, song-writing business, it's clear that T.J. Casey has found his calling. "I put my heart and soul into what I write...," he said. He is currently working on many projects including an acapela Gospel album, a new CD, and a children's book, and has his eyes on what, for him, is the ultimate achievement--a Grammy. "I am right now...working for a Grammy. I would really like to see a Grammy happen," he said, "It takes a lot of work to get the Grammy...a lot of song writing, a lot of pressure, a lot of compositions, and just a lot of different things that go in." Casey credits his wife with keeping him lined out. "She is my biggest supporter," he stated appreciatively, "She's my manager, she takes care of my website, she gets the contacts and...I make the calls...and we work together at everything. That's the way it is and it's awesome!"

Throughout all of his successes, T.J. Casey has continued with the 'Cowboy Way', remaining humble and kind and reachable to those around him. From writing and singing to teaching younger generations about Western heritage, he truly puts his heart and soul into his work. Hopefully, the young people he inspires will be able to someday fill these oh-so-important boots and keep the Cowboy culture alive--a process begun and lovingly cultivated by none other than T.J. Casey, Montana's Singing Cowoby.

T.J.'s contact information along with a rundown of the programs he offers and a complete list of awards he has won may be found on his website atwww.tjcasey.net .