CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - Chris LeDoux, a world champion bareback rider who parlayed songs about cowboys he knew on the rodeo circuit into a successful recording career, died Wednesday from complications of liver cancer, according to his record company.

LeDoux was 56.

LeDoux, who also was a sculptor, died Wednesday morning in Casper, according to Judy McDonough, spokeswoman for Capitol Nashville, LeDoux's recording company.

He had checked into Wyoming Medical Center earlier this week following complications from cancer of the bile duct and was with family and friends at the time of his death.

"All of us at Capitol Records and EMI Music are saddened at the passing of Chris," said Capitol Nashville President and CEO Mike Dungan.

"In a world of egos and soundalikes, he was a unique artist and a wonderful man. We have always been proud to represent his music, and honored to call him our friend. Our thoughts go out to his wife Peggy and the LeDoux family."

LeDoux, known little outside the rodeo circle until country superstar Garth Brooks paid tribute to him in a song, described his music as a combination of "Western soul, sagebrush blues, cowboy folk and rodeo rock 'n' roll."

He and Brooks teamed up for the Top 10 hit, "Whatcha Gonna Do With a Cowboy," in 1992.

In November, LeDoux canceled several tour dates, including an appearance at the National Finals Rodeo, while undergoing treatment for cancer of the bile duct. He had undergone a liver transplant in 2000 after a lengthy illness.

LeDoux was born Oct. 2, 1948, in Biloxi, Miss., and raised in Austin, Texas.

His grandfather encouraged LeDoux to ride horses on his Wyoming farm, and LeDoux, who graduated from high school in Cheyenne twice won the state's high school bareback title.

In 1976, he became the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's world bareback champion.

LeDoux had been playing guitar and harmonica and writing songs since his teens, and he used his musical skills to help pay for his rodeo entry fees.

Since 1971, he had been recording songs about cowboys, the ups and downs of the rodeo circuit and his adopted home of Wyoming. He had lived on a ranch near Kaycee, about 60 miles north of Casper.

By 1989, LeDoux had released 22 albums. They were mostly cassettes produced by his parents, which he sold at concerts and rodeos. He had a loyal, if limited, fan base.

That year, Brooks had a hit with "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)," which included the line: "A worn-out tape of Chris LeDoux, lonely women and bad booze/seem to be the only friends I've left at all."

The song came at a time when LeDoux's career was sputtering with an independent label and no marketing.

"And here he comes along and mentions the worn-out tapes in his song," LeDoux said of Brooks in an interview with The Associated Press in 2001. "To me, Garth, he's kind of like my guardian angel. It's like every time I need some help, he's there."

LeDoux eventually signed with Brooks' record label, Capitol.

In 2003, he released the album "Horsepower" and celebrated career sales of more than 5 million albums.