Review of The Saga of Windwagon Smith

. . . whether THE SAGA OF WINDWAGON SMITH is more a victim of plagiarism or a product of plagiarism itself. When the title character observes (about five minutes into his story) that "The prairies are just like the ocean, only drier," he seems to be dictating a rough draft lyric for America's "Horse with No Name," the USA's most beloved pop song of 1972. But have you ever seen any sort of acknowledgment (or even a simple tip of the cap) to WINDWAGON SMITH on a jewel case for America's Greatest Hits?! Conversely, WINDWAGON SMITH concludes as its Ancient Mariner is borne permanently aloft with his red-headed stowaway--Molly Crum--to live out their lives as "Ghost Riders in the Sky." The glaring problem here, of course, is that WINDWAGON SMITH's vocals are done by a group styling themselves as "The Sons of the Pioneers." This same singing squad covered Stan Jones' 1948 hit, "Ghost Riders in the Sky," during their busy season of 1961--the exact year that WINDWAGON SMITH breezed along! This implies that the Disney MegaCorp are a bunch of hypocrites, bribing the U.S. Congress to extend Steamboat Willie's copyright forever, but brazenly filching material from The Brothers Grimm, Mother Goose, Stan Jones, Warner Bros., and others because they've bought up all the good copyright lawyers and can get away with it!!