THE MAN BEHIND THE MUSIC
There’s more to Moses Rangel than the music.
I’m a country music artist, but music is only part of my story.
I grew up in Richmond, Texas, just outside of Houston. I was surrounded by farming, ranching, and the everyday work that comes with that kind of life. I spent a lot of time outside, roaming wherever my curiosity took me. Sometimes those adventures turned into learning experiences.
When I got old enough to do real work, I did what needed to be done—bailing hay, mending fences, shoveling poop, feeding animals, and just about anything else that put my hands to work.
I learned that spending time on a tractor is a pretty good way to think.
I’m a jeans, T-shirt and long-sleeve-shirt kind of guy. As I grew into myself, a cowboy hat and boots were never something I had to put on to look the part. They were just part of who I became.
I grew up listening to lots of music, but traditional country music became my favorite. Marty Robbins, Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Johnny Rodriguez, Keith Whitley, and George Strait were among some of the artists who gave me a foundation and showed me what a great country song could be.
HOW MUSIC FOUND ME
In the early ’90s, I walked into a music store looking to buy a guitar.
Before I ever bought one, the clerk, Mrs. Sims, asked me if I could sing.
I don’t remember having some grand plan to become a country artist. I just obliged her request and sang Love Me Tender.
That moment would become the beginning of something I couldn’t have imagined at the time.
Mrs. Sims became a dear friend and a guiding light, filled with country sayings that made me think and laugh for days.
Her daughter, Mrs. Turner, would become an important part of my journey into country music.
She gave me my start.
Mrs. Turner was my vocal coach—a former coloratura soprano opera singer who taught me the fundamentals of controlling my pitch, breath, and voice.
What she taught me gave me a foundation, but eventually I had to figure out how to make it my own.
I found a way to blend what I learned from her with the country music I loved.
I wasn’t trying to sound like somebody else.
I was learning how to sound like me.
I remember Mrs. Turner telling me, “You just need to go out there and do it.”
I laughed and asked her, “Do what?”
She told me I needed to get out there and sing.
I had no idea what to do or how to even get started.
So Mrs. Turner took me under her wing.
She started booking me at local music jamborees and Opry-style shows. She entered me in contests and recitals and found just about any opportunity she could to get me out there singing.
She believed in me because I worked hard and wanted to get better.
She gave me opportunities, but she also taught me about singing, performing, and, in a lot of ways, about myself.
LEARNING TO DO IT
I remember my first show was at the Fort Bend Opry.
I was slotted to sing two songs—one in each half of the show.
I was nervous before I ever walked onto the stage, but nothing prepared me for what happened when the lights came on.
The light hit me right in the face, and suddenly I could see all those faces looking back at me.
My head started shaking.
So I did what seemed like the logical thing at the time—I put my head down and mumbled my way through the song.
It was awful.
But during the break, as I walked toward the front of the theater, people started coming up to me.
They told me, “Good job. You just need to calm down and keep practicing.”
Those people didn’t know me. They didn’t have to say anything.
But they did.
And somehow, that encouragement was enough to make me go back out there.
Needless to say, the second song wasn’t exactly great either.
But it was better.
And I kept going.
WHEN IT BECAME A CAREER
Eventually, music became more than something I enjoyed.
I joined a local band, which led to traveling and touring with other bands. The miles got longer, the stages changed, and I began learning what it really meant to make a living as a musician.
I also started recording.
My first single, “Seeing Another Woman,” had regional and overseas success.
In 1996, I released my first album, Texas Highway. The title song became my first number-one hit and spent fifteen weeks on the Nashville Tracker chart.
That record opened the door to many other opportunities.
There have been successes.
There have been disappointments.
There have been mistakes.
And there have been plenty of lessons.