After 20 years of entertaining audiences with its unique brand of songs and storytelling inspired by the old West, the OK Chorale is set to ride off into the sunset.

According to group mainstay Yodel’n Al Fossenkemper, he never expected the group to become such a significant part of his life. Over the years, he’s been joined by members including Galen McClain, John Fynmore, Dan Davenport, Tom Kish, John Erikson, Ben Greg, Gaylord Miller and Ray Kahler. For the past decade, though, the Chorale has performed as a trio rounded out by Tumbleweed Tony Pistilli and Jingl’n Jud Schandel.

Back in the late 90s, Fossenkemper was the director of marketing for True West Magazine, a Western history magazine based out of Cave Creek.

“At the time, I was singing in a barbershop quartet and got to thinking it would be pretty cool to dress a quartet up as cowboys and sing four-part harmony of some of the old Western songs,” Fossenkemper said.

After finding some singing partners, the OK Chorale was made official. Fossenkemper said the quartet sang for about five years, rotating new members in when necessary.

“Essentially, we wanted to create a combination of history and music,” Fossenkemper explained. “We wouldn’t just stand and sing ‘Tumbling Tumbleweeds,’ we’d also tell a true story from the old West and bring the music in behind it.”

Fossenkemper said the group grew in popularity, doing a lot of shows around Arizona and California. The Chorale broke up for a couple of years but, when it came back together, it began heading in a slightly different direction.

“I got a call from Tony [Pistilli], who had moved to Fountain Hills,” Fossenkemper said. “He told me he sang tenor and was wondering if I needed one.”

The duo went out and found a new bass for the Chorale, Jud Schandel. As it turns out, both he and Tony played instruments, leading the group to eventually decide to stick with simply being a trio with instrumental accompaniment.

“We discovered that the cowboy music written in the 50s and 60s didn’t lend itself to four-part harmony,” Fossenkemper explained. “When you put a guitar with it, the chords weren’t correct.”

Their new sound helped them gain in popularity, eventually leading to finding an agent with the local outfit, National Performing Artists.

“They booked us into a lot of shows,” Fossenkemper said. “Over those 10 years, we did about 250 shows. Sometimes it was five a month, sometimes it was two; except in the summer, when nobody does anything.”

The group went on to play for events ranging from small private engagements to rooms seating thousands. They were regulars performing during Arizona Diamondbacks games and even cut a successful CD. Knowing the importance of musical education, the group also coordinated an effort a few years back to raise $60,000 to purchase instruments for the Fountain Hills High School music program; and that was on top of regular shows the trio performed with proceeds going to music education.

“I never got tired of singing those cowboy songs,” Fossenkemper said. “And I’m a history buff, so I really enjoyed all of the research to create the stories.”

Looking back, Fossenkemper said the most memorable performance was actually an impromptu event. The Chorale was set to sing in a hospital for a Valentine’s event but, when they arrived, the person they were supposed to be singing for was no longer there.

“We had a two-hour span, so I said ‘Let’s go over to Fountain View Village and see if we can just sing for some people there,;” Fossenkemper said.

The Chorale was sent to the memory ward.

“We started singing in front of five or six people and they suddenly sat up and you could see them mouthing the words,” Fossenkemper said. “Some of them, we were told, had not spoken in years. That was so unexpected.”

It was so impactful for the Chorale that, even though the group is retiring, Fossenkemper and Pistilli plan on visiting nursing homes to sing for residents living with memory issues.

Though the group has decided to pursue other goals in life, Fossenkemper said music will remain vitally important.

“Twenty years ago, I thought the group would last a couple of years,” he added. “Whenever we sing for any school groups, I tell them that we got into music when we were in grade school…Music is a gift that will never stop giving. It will enrich your life…Music makes the difference.”