When asked to sum up his father’s legacy in one word, Ned LeDoux, son of rodeo champion, country singer, and artist Chris LeDoux, has a simple answer: attitude.

“He had a determination,” he says. “He always fought through the hard times and came out on top.”

Five years after Chris LeDoux’s death, he is receiving a tribute he may never have expected: a musical entitled "One Ride" that pays homage to the cowboy lifestyle celebrated in his work. LeDoux passed away in March, 2005 at age 56 after a valiant battle with cancer.

“Chris LeDoux didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk,” says the show’s creator, Robert Royston. “He lived his life honorably, pursued dreams, and achieved goals while being a family man.” Royston, a choreographer whose credits include Taylor Swift’s Fearless tour, is also a world champion country dancer and a longtime Chris LeDoux fan.

“Having been to a number of rodeos, I fell in love with Chris LeDoux and his music,” Royston says. “One Ride conveys that inner champion. We only get one ride on this earth, and one chance to do it, and you can either do it right or do it wrong.”

The show opened to full houses at Queen’s Theater in the Park in New York City in late October 2010 and played for two weekends as part of a special series. A regional tour is planned for late 2011 with stops in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Several audience members dressed in jeans and boots rather than the skirts and suits one might expect from a New York theater crowd.

One Ride begins with Chris LeDoux’s band, Western Underground, playing the unmistakable opening chords of “8 Second Ride” with Ned LeDoux on drums and Lane Turner on lead vocals.

Over the course of 14 more songs, including “Honkytonk World,” “Cowboy Cadillac,” and “Look at You, Girl,” live music and dance numbers combine to tell the story of a fictionalized rodeo cowboy. The resulting experience is a hybrid between going to a concert and watching a musical.

“I’ve never done anything like this,” says Turner, who recently joined the band as lead singer. “This has been a really special thing for me.”

When recalling a chance meeting with Chris LeDoux in Nashville, Tenn., Turner reminisces, “He and I just sat and talked like two guys. It’s really this music I grew up with. I had an old Chris LeDoux cassette under my truck seat and I don’t even remember where I got it from.”

While thousands of fans admire Chris LeDoux as a world-champion bareback rider or a Grammy-nominated singer, his legacy to his family has little to do with fame.
“He had his achievements but to me, he’s always been dad,” Ned LeDoux says. “It’s a whole new adventure for Western Underground. I can’t wait to take this thing on the road and see what people think about it.”

Visit oneridethemusical.com for more information.