Chris LeDoux was an American country music singer-songwriter, bronze sculptor and rodeo champion. During his career LeDoux recorded 36 albums, many of them self-released, which have sold well over six million units in the United States. He was awarded one platinum and two gold album certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America, and was nominated for a Grammy Award and the Academy of Country Music Pioneer Award. He won the Wyoming State Rodeo Championship bareback riding title twice during high school and earned a rodeo scholarship to Casper College in Wyoming. In 1970 he became a professional rodeo cowboy, competing on the national rodeo circuit. In 1976 he won the world bareback riding championship at the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City.