The Ryan Bingham Song Taylor Sheridan Listened To On Repeat Before Yellowstone

If you've been tracking entertainment news even casually over the past few years, the name Taylor Sheridan is one you've likely heard a lot. That's largely due to the breakout success of Sheridan's neo-Western drama "Yellowstone," which debuted on Paramount Network in 2018, and has since become one of the biggest shows on cable. "Yellowstone" is arguably one of the more authentic depictions of the modern cowboy life the small screen has ever seen, as Sheridan and the series' esteemed cast and crew clearly go to painstaking lengths to ensure the day-to-day action viewers see unfolding on the Yellowstone Dutton Ranch is as accurate as possible. And yes, many among that cast and crew have brought real-life ranching experience to mix. 

That includes Ryan Bingham, who portrays the fan-favorite crooning cowboy Walker on "Yellowstone." Bingham is, of course, best-known as an award-winning musician outside of his "Yellowstone" gig. It seems Sheridan was a big fan of Bingham's work prior to casting him on the hit series, even obsessively listening to one of his songs while he worked on another project. 

Here's which Ryan Bingham song Sheridan kept on repeat before casting him on "Yellowstone."

The Ryan Bingham song Sheridan was obsessing over prior to the pair's "Yellowstone" collaboration is the tender-hearted murder ballad "Hallelujah." Like much of Bingham's lauded musical oeuvre, "Hallelujah" is an acutely-observed slice of maudlin Americana about hard-lived lives catching up to wounded souls — one whose dramatic effect is effortlessly heightened by Bingham's singular voice, and soulful lyrics. According to Sheridan's comments to The Los Angeles Times, he had the song playing on repeat while he was working on his 2017 drama "Wind River," claiming, "I wrote [the movie] 'Wind River' listening to his song 'Hallelujah' on a loop."

If you've seen "Wind River," you know the song's themes of a murdered soul's release are particularly poignant. According to Wide Open Country, Sheridan remained such a fan of Bingham's work, he eventually reached out to Bingham to see if he'd write songs for "Yellowstone," only to end up creating a role for the musician after learning he'd also grown up riding horses and ranching. Per that Los Angeles Times piece, Sheridan claims Bingham's presence as both an actor and a musician on the show is the gift that keeps on giving, "To have him on 'Yellowstone' is a gift. He is the graveled voice of this generation's cowboys and poets." 

And with Ryan Bingham set to return for the upcoming fifth season of "Yellowstone," Walker will be crooning away on the Dutton Ranch for at least one more season.