It’s no secret that Lorne Greene found a lifetime of success through his role as Ben Cartwright on the 1959 series Bonanza. He was known by millions around the world, and helped solidify Bonanza as a Western that wasn’t to be messed with.
In addition to receiving a lot of love for his role as Ben Cartwright, Greene also found success through making music.
One best-selling RCA Victor single titled “Ringo” would’ve been a big hit on the Ponderosa, just as it was across the country.
“Ringo” was released in 1964 and was a major hit throughout the ’60s. Not only was Greene the face of the Western lifestyle, but he was the voice, too.
The song featured a unique blend of spoken word and sung choruses. “Ringo” recounted the life and death of an outlaw named Ringo, who despite his notorious reputation, depicted sympathy and empathy that many listeners, and cowboys, could connect w ith.
“How about that?” Greene said in a 1964 interview with The Morning Union. “I’m suddenly the Elvis Presley of the Stone Age.”
According to the interview, Greene had recently returned from a series of appearances in Australia, where he discovered what it was like to be an idol in front of a large screaming audience who came just to see him.
“You see a bunch of kids singing, and the audience screaming, but you can’t imagine what it is really like until it happens to you,” Greene said. “I now know why all those teenage idols use big electronic instruments. It’s the only way to hold back the crowd.”
Greene said the success of his hit-single was due to two things: 1. His role on Bonanza. 2. “The timing was correct.” He also said the song told a complete story from the first line to the final, which many fans connected with.
“It’s interesting to speculate on why it is really a success,” Greene said. “Greek tragedy has been successful all these years because people have dug it. This song has Greek tragedy about it: a man saves another man’s life and thereby dooms himself.”
Greene said his hope was to be able to do everything he’d like to do in his lifetime, and being the Elvis Presley of the Stone Age was a pretty nice start.