(CBS Primetime, 1950 - 1956; Syndicated) [The western adventures of a man known more for his singing than for shooting up bad guys. Gene was an established radio singing cowboy and 1930's B-picture film star by the time TV ambled onto the scene; He had been born in Tioga, Texas in 1907, grew up in Oklahoma, and began singing on radio in the 1920's as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy." His theme song was written for a 1939 Republic B-picture in which Gene played a western congressman. In the film, he exposes a politician on the take, who is trying to thwart passage of a flood control bill -- not your usual cowboy "shoot 'em up." He had a pioneering TV western show in the mold of Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers which lasted five years on the network, and was released in syndication after that. His horse was named "Champion" (actually Champion III), and he created a separate spin-off TV series "The Adventures of Champion" -- one of the only TV series to give the title role to a non-human character...(of course Gene also appeared in that show too.) His comic sidekick on his TV series was a character called Pat Buttram, played by...Pat Buttram, which seemed to make sense since Gene Autry always played Gene Autry too. In real life, Gene Autry was a very astute L.A. businessman whose Flying A Productions also produced other early western series ("Annie Oakley" and "Adventures of Champion"); His investments eventually included radio and TV stations and allowed him to retire in comfort; He passed away at his home in Studio City (near Los Angeles) from lymphoma in 1998 -- three days after his 91st birthday.]
[aka: "Back In The Saddle"; aka: "I'm Back In The Saddle Again"] Composers: Gene Autry (ASCAP), and Ray Whitley (ASCAP) 1978 Publisher: Western Music Pub. Co. (ASCAP) 2001 Publisher: Gene Autry's Western Music Publishing Co. (ASCAP), of Studio City, CA; and Katielu Music (ASCAP) c/o Cohen & Cohen of Los Angeles, CA Composition Date: 1939 Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings: