For years now a great debate has raged. A debate that has spanned months, decades and even millennia... and that's just among the people that I know. A debate that, if ever truly brought to some sense of finality may actually rupture the entire sense of space and time that we take for granted...

I am of course talking about who is and who isn't grizzled.

You may scoff at this idea, but keep in mind the ramifications of designating someone as grizzled, while ruling out another's grizzledness. Accurately defining what it means to be grizzled can shape entire societies, define masculinity and femininity and bring entire cultures to their knees. There are a select few of us that have made the study of grizzledness in modern society a way of life, a passion if you will. A passion that rages like an unquenchable thirst, often overtaking conversation and even occasionally pitting brother against brother.

I come to you tonight not to bring closure to the issue, as my experience in this field of study has proven that neither my generation, nor my children's generation will ever settle this question. I come to you tonight to pose a question about one man... one man and his grizzledness.

Is Chris Ledoux grizzled?

At first this may seem like an open-and-shut case. At this point you've probably formed an opinion as to whether or not you feel that Mr. Ledoux deserves the title of "grizzled" or whether he should be delegated to one of the lesser categories (i.e. manly, tough, badass or even roughneck). However, there are points to be made that may change your mind either way.

First of all, it should be pointed out that Chris was born in Mississippi and raised in Texas. Now, my personal opinions on those states aside, that's an excellent pedigree of grizzledness. At the age of 18 he moved to Wyoming and joined the rodeo... once again, Wyoming isn't high on my list of "best places on Earth," but keep in mind that most grizzled places aren't.

While on the rodeo circuit he became the National Bareback Bronc Riding Champion. I don't know a damn thing about rodeo, but even with my limited education I can assume that "bareback bronc riding" means what I think it does, and "champion" probably means that he was better than everyone else at doing so. So, at this point it becomes rather tough to argue against Chris' grizzled status. Let's face it, he could have gone home every night, pulled on some sexy stockings and pranced around the living room singing showtunes and he's still more grizzled that I am... or pretty much anyone I know.

He then proceeded to embody the idea of the American Cowboy by writing and singing his own songs about the life of bronc ridin' and general cowboyin'. He self-produced twenty-two albums before finally making his major label debut in 1991 on Capitol Records. I tend to give poor, self-promoted musicians an extra grizzled point, even though that often brings their grizzled score to ONE. However, making 22 albums on your own tends to put you in a league of your own.

... besides, the guy looks like this

Plus five grizzled points for looking like the illegitimate child of Ted Nugent and The Marlboro Man.

So, you may now be thinking, "Cory, with all of these details, how could he possibly not make the cut?" Well, had he cut things off right then and there he most certainly would have been on the fast-track to grizzled status. But fame seemed to steal away a bit of the western mystique that Chris had managed to build over so many years.

First of all, we should point out that his big break came from Garth Brooks. I'm not here to cast stones at Mr. Brooks or his music, but I'm quite certain that there's no serious student of grizzled studies that would consider Garth to be grizzled... even for a second... and even for a laugh. In case you're currently thinking of making some hackneyed argument as to how Garth Brooks may actually be grizzled, let me remind you of Chris Gaines. End of discussion.

But, Garth aside, there's the fact that Ledoux began to actually adapt to mainstream country music after attaining a bit of success. He started wearing the horrendous fashions of early 90's country music, he brought the pyro out on stage, he started putting together poppy, radio friendly songs and perhaps worst of all, he started prancing around on stage with Garth Brooks.

For every "This Cowboy's Hat" there were two "Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy" type songs. If you're not familiar with those particular jams, just imagine Bob Dylan recording a Britney Spears song, but without a trace of irony. Now, this isn't to compare Ledoux to Bob Dylan, hell... I don't even particularly like Chris Ledoux, but once again pleading ignorance I can only assume that he's the Bob Dylan of authentic cowboy music.

He turned into a caricature of himself. A homogenized, media-friendly cowboy without a trace of old west rebellion. For those of us that didn't grow up listening to old-school Chris Ledoux, we're just left to wonder what the hell the fuss was all about. And all of the cowboy legacy aside, would any truly grizzled man ever pose for pictures with decidedly UN-GRIZZLED people like this...

Or God forbid, THIS...

So, I close this question with a question. Can a man's past, no matter how grizzled, be completely erased by the actions of the last years of his life? Chris Ledoux died at the age of 56 of complications relating to a long battle with cancer (immediate grizzled points), leaving behind a very mixed legacy. When you consider the hierarchy of men that are truly and undoubtedly grizzled, men like David Allan Coe, George Washington AND Thomas Jefferson, George Patton and of course Roy Johnson, can a man that spent the latter part of his life prancing around in front of pyrotechnics and crooning with Garth Brooks make the cut?

It's a tougher call than you think, and one that could essentially have a profound effect on the future of grizzledness as we know it. Weigh your answers carefully.