Johnny Ketelsen

      Johnny Ketelsen and the “Tom Owens Cowboys” appeared at all the major venues in the Midwest through the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s.  The “Tom Owens Cowboys” band was based out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  The band was heard daily on WMT radio for twenty years.  The “Cowboys” hold a record that will never be broken:  They played over 6,500 live radio shows on WMT, the CBS affiliate in Eastern Iowa. This is the most live radio shows ever performed by one band in the history of broadcasting.

      The “Tom Owens Cowboys” would often play the Midwest ballroom circuit 90 nights in a row – Seven nights per week, while playing their radio show daily.  They appeared regularly at the famous Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.  The “Cowboys” weekly television show on WMT-TV was one of the pioneering TV shows in eastern Iowa.  The amazing number of performances … nearly 750 per year will never be equaled in the music industry.

      In 1955 Tom Owens passed away and the band continued under the name “Johnny Ketelsen and the ‘New’ Tom Owens Cowboys” and eventually evolved into the “Johnny Ketelsen Band.”    

      Johnny played guitar, banjo, upright bass, and was a featured singer in the band.  Johnny and the “Cowboys’” performed with all the Nashville stars of the time including Johnny Cash, Rex Allen, Brenda Lee, Webb Pierce, Gene Autry, and dozens of others.

      Johnny Ketelsen was inducted into the “Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame” in 2007.  Johnny and the band has held the attendance record in nearly every Midwestern ballroom at some time during the 40’s through the 60’s