riverboat square dance music

Song Search

MusicForCallers maintains a collective listing of square dance music which is currently available for purchase, compiled from data submitted by various music producers. You can search this listing...

• for a word or phrase appearing in the title of a song
• for all or part of a caller's name
• for all or part of the name of the song's original artist (where known) .

You can also get a complete listing of songs released in the past several months, as reported to us by the producers.

Javascript Disabled!

Welcome to esp.

Elmer Sheffield Productions was founded in 1980 by Elmer Sheffield Jr., to provide quality music to square dance callers. Some of the world's best callers have recorded on the ESP label. To date, over 450 titles have been produced, and new music is added every month.

Click on the link buttons above to explore the different parts of this website. If you have questions, please contact us.

Thanks for visiting! Please check back for new music regularly — we're always adding more!

Check Out Our Packages!

• ESP Classic Patter package 30 of ESP's patter classics for $85 — less than half price!
• 10-Song You-Pick-'Em package Pick any 10 ESP or JoPat titles for $40 — that's a $20 savings!

See the Packages page for details and ordering info

Great for the holiday season (or for any time), we have gift certificates . (Well, it's not an actual paper certificate, but you can give it to your favorite caller and let them redeem it for music!)

We now have the JoPat catalog online!

The JoPat library, which Elmer took over back in the '90s, has been unavailable since vinyl was phased out. Now we have it again! Check out our JoPat page .

New Releases from ESP

Go to the music page to listen or order, top downloads (as of 2024-04-05), singing calls, hoedowns/patter.

The Sting Productions Ambassador Club was set-up in 2010 — to allow the production of new Square Dance music, to be made available as part of Sting and Snow Records; this Web-Site provides details of all that we are doing to achieve this objective; for more detailed information about the “Story of Sting and Snow Records” - please scroll down to the bottom of this page.

New "Single" Releases

(within past 3 months).

• Do You Wanna Dance STING 22205 Vocal by Paul Bristow, Granville Spencer, Cherish Bristow released:2022-04-01 single:2024-04-01
• I Think We're Alone Now STING 22209 Vocal by Bronc Wise released:2022-04-01 single:2024-03-01
• Have I the Right STING 22207 Vocal by Paul Bristow released:2022-04-01 single:2024-02-01

News Headlines

• The $95 Ambassador Club is now open for membership. To join, click here !

What's On This Web-Site?

• Lists of all the music that you buy from Sting & Snow Records (including our entire back-catalogue) — see Sting and Snow Shop buttons, above
• The release dates for single releases, taken from music that has been produced by the Ambassador Club — see Future Music button, above
• Information about Sting Productions Ambassador Club: how to join, what it does (and how it works). Details of all the tunes produced, so far - and the tunes that it will provide in the future — see Ambassador Club button, above
• Details of the Callers (past and present) to be found on our music — see Callers button, above
• The chance to sign up to our monthly Newsletter and a list of all the old Newsletters available — see Newsletter button, above
• How to be a “ CALLER on SNOW ” - record a Vocal on a Singing Call — see Ambassador Club button (or - to go direct - use the “CALLER on SNOW” bar), above
• How to buy Bulk-Buy music bundles at special reduced prices — see Ambassador Club button (or - to go direct - use the “ Bulk Buy Deals ” bar) , above
• Send us your ideas, thoughts comments queries and suggestions — see Contact button, above

Top Downloads (as of 2024-04-05)

The story of sting and snow records.

In 1986, Stefan Sidholm and Ingvar Pettersson, two of the new breed of young Swedish callers, decided to "take a chance" on producing Square Dance music. They looked into what was needed and formed a company that they decided to name "Sting Productions". Very soon after the first two records, Stefan and Ingvar asked Bengt "Bula" Ericsson to assist with the production; they found a studio, at Kumla, in Sweden and asked more Callers to be a part of the operation; the regular staff were soon identified as Stefan, Ingvar, Robert Bjork, Al Stevens and Paul Bristow.

Snow Records was founded as a "sister label" to Sting, in 1988, to give other European-based callers - who possessed the necessary qualifications and skills - the opportunity to record.

We re-launched Snow in 2015 and it now exists as a “springboard” for Callers who would like to record (see the Caller-on-Snow Deal ), or as a means to allow us to release, at short notice, a “chart topping tune” - that needs an immediate release! (Every paid-up member of the Ambassador Club will receive any releases on Snow as a free bonus track, as part of their subscription for that year)

In 1989 Stefan and Ingvar started to record at a Studio in Nashville USA, using the talents of some of the best session musicians in the world. Soon after this they also added a Danish Studio to our productions. These extra resources, gave us the chance to offer a much wider range of musical styles.

By 2000 the company had released sixty nine records, all of which sold well - with many appearing in the “top sellers” and a fair number reaching the number one spot on the Hanhurst’s Best Seller listing; in the month of April, Stefan and Ingvar transferred ownership of Sting and Snow Records to Paul Bristow.

Since that “handover”, with Paul “at the helm”, new music has continued to be produced - both at the Studios that Stefan and Ingvar had located - and from several other excellent sources. These new recordings did well in the Best Sellers listings - featuring excellent vocals, provided by our Staff Callers together with a few Special Guests (comprising both well established top Callers - and newer Callers taking advantage of our offers to record) - were released (approximately) as two new tunes per month.

To meet the challenge of new technology, Paul carried out the mammoth task of making virtually all of the company's back catalogue available as MP3 files and in CD format (the few exceptions that you may find are a consequence of those original writers/publishers who would not licence their music for electronic distribution).

In 2010 we realised that we could no longer work within the standard methods of production, we could no longer afford to offer vinyl and we were unsure whether or not it would be possible to continue with music production, in any form...

However, after a lot of discussion and serious consideration - the idea of the Ambassador Club was born. (To find more detailed information about the Ambassador Club , click the button on the menu bar.) With the help and support of the Ambassador Club members, we are currently producing 24 tunes in each annual Edition - plus any tracks that are released on Snow (Ambassador Club members get these free) - and continue to produce a new Edition, each year!

We now rely entirely on the success of the Ambassador Club to allow the continued production of new music, so - if you are not a member already - please consider joining.

It is our aim to continue to provide the best that we can in quality music - for use by the callers - and for the enjoyment of the dancers in Square Dancing - the world's finest activity!

Javascript Disabled!

Square Dance Fun For Everyone!

Bob Elling has been calling for 3rd and 4th graders every week for 8 years. Over that time, he has developed choreography which is extremely simple and can be done easily by people with little or no square dancing experience. The CDs on this page include songs that have been recorded by some of the top callers in the country, all of which are appropriate for elementary school use or for use by people who have not square danced before. (School CDs are $15 each.)

Sample Video Animations

Bob Elling and Chuck Clay have collaborated on these videos which show simple animations of dancers going through the movements called in each song, synchronized with the music. This will make it easier for non-dancers (such as teachers) to teach the dances to other non dancers. The following are sample extracts from these videos.

YMCA called by Ken Bower

Here's a sample of the animated demo (by Chuck Clay) for the school version of YMCA, with vocal by Ken Bower of Rhythm... Posted by Riverboat Records on  Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Mickey Mouse Club called by Jerry Story

Bob has been working on simple square dance for elementary school children for some time now, and has produced a CD with... Posted by Riverboat Records on  Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Gummy Bear Song called by Elmer Sheffield

Posted by Riverboat Records on  Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Best Years Of Our Lives called by Elmer Sheffield

This is the 5th animation in the Square Dance Fun For Everyone CD that is meant as an aid to learn these dances. These are songs that were popular with 3rd and 4th graders that I taught weekly for 8 years. Posted by Riverboat Records on  Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Oh Johnny Oh called by Jerry Story

This is the 4th animation in the Square Dance Fun For Everyone CD that is meant as an aid to learn these dances. These are songs that were popular with 3rd and 4th graders that I taught weekly for 8 years. Posted by Riverboat Records on  Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Square Dance Music from Knee-Deep Melodies

Initial display is in order of release date. Click a column header to sort by that column. Click again to reverse the sort.

75 titles displayed

The Greatest Hits of Square Dance (with Calls)

January 1, 2006 19 Songs, 1 hour, 4 minutes ℗ 2006 Digital Music Group, Inc., Inc.

You Might Also Like

Brooks & Dunn

Select a country or region

Africa, middle east, and india.

• Côte d’Ivoire
• Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The
• Guinea-Bissau
• Niger (English)
• Congo, Republic of
• Saudi Arabia
• Sierra Leone
• South Africa
• Tanzania, United Republic Of
• Turkmenistan
• United Arab Emirates

Asia Pacific

• Indonesia (English)
• Lao People's Democratic Republic
• Malaysia (English)
• Micronesia, Federated States of
• New Zealand
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Solomon Islands
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• France (Français)
• Deutschland
• Luxembourg (English)
• Moldova, Republic Of
• North Macedonia
• Portugal (Português)
• Türkiye (English)
• United Kingdom

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina (Español)
• Bolivia (Español)
• Virgin Islands, British
• Cayman Islands
• Chile (Español)
• Colombia (Español)
• Costa Rica (Español)
• República Dominicana
• Ecuador (Español)
• El Salvador (Español)
• Guatemala (Español)
• Honduras (Español)
• Nicaragua (Español)
• Paraguay (Español)
• St. Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• St. Vincent and The Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos
• Uruguay (English)
• Venezuela (Español)

The United States and Canada

• Canada (English)
• Canada (Français)
• United States
• Estados Unidos (Español México)
• الولايات المتحدة
• États-Unis (Français France)
• Estados Unidos (Português Brasil)
• 美國 (繁體中文台灣)

New Single Releases (within last 3 months)

• Sweet Child Of Mine RYL 1034 ( 2024-02-03) Vocal by Travis Cook
• Happy Birthday (4 versions) RYL 1 ( 2024-01-25)
• You're In My Heart RYL 811 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Randy Dougherty
• He's Got The Whole World In His Hand RYL 807 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Randy Dougherty
• Tennessee River RYL 601 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine, Larry Letson
• That'll Be The Day RYL 540 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Larry Letson
• Pride and Joy RYL 527 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Larry Letson
• Bad Leroy Brown RYL 510 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Larry Letson
• Let's All Go Down To The River RYL 509 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Larry Letson
• When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder RYL 508 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Larry Letson
• Get Rhythm RYL 506 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Larry Letson
• Doghouse / Flea Flicker (Patter) RYL 403 ( 2024-01-24)
• Spirit In The Sky RYL 341 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine, Jerry Story
• You've Got Me Thinking Of You RYL 338 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Little Brown Church In The Vale RYL 314 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Brown Eyed Girl RYL 313 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• My Heart Skips A Beat RYL 311 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Blue Christmas RYL 310 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• I Saw The Light RYL 308 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• On And On RYL 307 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Oh Why Must We Ever Say Goodbye RYL 304 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Morning Sky RYL 303 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Dreamin' RYL 302 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Beautiful Brown Eyes RYL 301 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story, Tony Oxendine
• Long Train Running RYL 228 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• It's So Nice To Be With You RYL 220 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Listen To The Music RYL 218 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Sooner Or Later RYL 217 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• When Will I Be Loved RYL 215 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Longer RYL 213 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Rock And Roll Heaven RYL 212 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Under The Boardwalk RYL 211 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Mack The Knife RYL 210 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Dream On RYL 208 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Everything Is Wonderful RYL 207 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• I Believe In Music RYL 206 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• You Dont Have To Be Alone RYL 205 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Around The World With Bill Bailey RYL 204 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad RYL 203 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Everybody Loves A Lover RYL 202 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Tony Oxendine
• Be My Baby Tonight RYL 130 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• Calling Baton Rouge RYL 129 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• Temptation Eyes RYL 120 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• Honky Tonk Woman RYL 113 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• Just When I Needed You Most RYL 110 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• I Have To Say I Love You In A Song RYL 106 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• Lousiana Fais Do Do RYL 105 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• You're Still The One RYL 103 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story
• Somebody Like Me RYL 101 ( 2024-01-24) Vocal by Jerry Story

Top Downloads (as of 2024-04-05)

Welcome to royal records.

Take a look around and see what we have to offer! Browse our newest music in the Platinum package, or some of our previous pacakges available in the Gold section. Songs which have been released from the packages and can be purchased by themselves are listed under Single Songs. See our recording artists, or buy a caller a gift certificate for Royal music!

Royal Records was founded in 1986 by Jerry Story and Tony Oxendine and quickly became one of the major labels in the square dance industry. Since that time, Royal Records has consistently produced number one square dance records. Songs like "Beautiful Brown Eyes", "Tennessee River", and "Somebody Like Me" have become some of the largest selling records in recent square dance history. We are dedicated to bring you the finest square dance music available. We record at Hill Top Studio in Nashville, TN. Hill Top is a state of the art 32 track digital studio. Our engineer, Kevin McManus, is a four time SGMA Studio Engineer of the Year award recipient and a 1994 Emmy Award winner. All of our music is recorded using Nashville studio musicians. We also record at Circle Left Studios in Lebanon, TN. Micheal Salacuse is a world class musician and studio engineer. We bring you the best square dance music production money can buy! In 2004, to offset the steadily rising costs of vinyl production and steadily declining vinyl sales, Royal Records established its Platinum Membership Program. This enables callers to purchase a complete Royal session at one time, and affords them the exclusive use of these tunes for one year. The program became an immediate sellout and has continued to be a sellout since. Because of the success of the Platinum Program, in 2007, in conjunction with Palomino Records, Royal established the Gold Edition. With the Gold Edition, callers are allowed to purchase the year-old Platinum releases, and along with the Platinum Members are allowed the exclusivity of the use of this music. In order to maintain the quality of the music that our customers have come to expect, in 2008 Royal once again lead the way in square dance music distribution by turning over vinyl production to Palomino Records. Palomino had the option of pressing and releasing some or all of the year-old Gold and Platinum tunes, at its discretion. However, Royal continued to produce both the Platinum and Gold CD's.  Royal Records also publishs a quarterly newsletter (distributed to all Platinum Members) keeping them abreast of future releases. Cue sheets and complimentary digital downloads of any new "hot" tunes that Royal produces will be available for members on this site. For over three decades, Royal Records has been a leader in the square dance music industry. With the advent of the Platinum Program and the Gold Edition, we are poised to continue this leadership into the future. It is our hope that you enjoy using our music as much as we enjoy producing it. Tony Oxendine Jerry Story

Contact Royal Records

Royal Records, Inc. Home Office 2520 Sardis Road North Suite 100 Charlotte, NC 28227