(Syndicated by CBS Films, 1952 - 1956) [original title first 2 seasons: "Annie Oakley and Tagg"; Produced by Gene Autry's Flying 'A' productions]
[aka: "Deadwood Dick" (original B-picture Main Title); As contributor M. Koldys reports, Lee Zahler's name was given a "Music By" credit seen on a 1940 Columbia B-picture called "Deadwood Dick" which was serialized for theatrical release; An examination of this THEME supplied by contributor M. Koldys verified that the "Deadwood Dick" Main Title is indeed the same piece of music and even the same recording used as the Main Title Opening on an aircheck of "Annie Oakley" released on the 1973 LP (and 1999 CD re-issue) of "Classic TV Themes" from Breakable Records; (the MUTEL library track "Western Theme" was heard on the LP & CD, from the same aircheck used as the End Credits THEME for the series); Although no credit for "Deadwood Dick" was found in ASCAP 2002, other Columbia pictures scored by Lee Zahler were published by Irving Berlin Music, c/o Williamson Music of New York City, NY] Composer: Lee Zahler (ASCAP) 1978 Publishers: [listed without publisher in the 1978 ASCAP Index of Performed Compositions] 2002 Publishers: [listed without publisher in the 2002 ASCAP ACE Repertoire Database] Composition Date: circa 1940. Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings: CD: "TV Classic Themes: 25th Anniversary Edition" Breakable Records DPMC 105 (1999)
[aka: "Western Theme Reel 3" (MUTEL Music Service Title); aka: "Theme No. 215" (Capitol "Q" Series Title); This was the closing THEME remembered by many as the "Annie Oakley" THEME although its origins are a bit murky; The MUTEL (Music for Television) library of David Chudnow often hired B-picture composers to revise cues originally written for low budget films and change a few notes of the melody, re-arrange them for a 40-piece orchestra and re-record them in France under the baton of George Tzipine; It is not known if Joseph Mullendore was the sole composer of this piece or whether it was co-written with Herb Taylor, who was one of the MUTEL composers (who also composed the "Twenty Mule Train" THEME for "Death Valley Days), or by Herschel Burke Gilbert, or by someone else MUTEL used; It is also possible that this piece -- which closely resembled Rex Koury's "Old Trail" THEME for "Gunsmoke" -- was written as a "sound-a-like" of "Old Trail" expressly for the MUTEL library, or whether it was taken from a B-picture End Title originally written years earlier by Mullendore, Taylor or Gilbert; MUTEL also licensed this piece as one of the THEMEs for the series "Sky King" under the MUTEL title "Western Theme" with a fictitious name on cue sheets of "Joseph Solon" as verified by the CBS Music Director in the 1980s; Later the name "George Lee" was attached to the BMI credit for "Western Theme Reel 3"; these names apparently were used to collect royalties since no known U.S. radio/TV/film composers existed by those names; This was also the THEME for Cowboy G-Men produced and syndicated by a firm called Telemount-Mutual. The dramatic 8-bar orchestral introduction was used as a kind of "logo" for Gene Autry's Flying 'A' productions; they spliced the 8-bar intro onto the beginning of several other opening THEMEs several series produced by Flying 'A' -- including The Range Rider and Buffalo Bill Jr. But after the opening 8-bars, another THEME melody was heard on these shows. MUTEL sub-licensed their library to Capitol Special Products, a division of Capitol Records for uses on live local radio & TV which named this library the "Capitol 'Q' Series." From this source many local stations used the THEME to introduce local western movie shows; So this piece was one of the most famous (but anonymous) THEMEs heard on television during the 1950s The fictitious names George Lee and Joseph Solon were pseudonyms for collecting royalties used by David Chudnow's MUTEL Music Service; possibly for Herb Taylor or others; Joseph Mullendore was the name of a real composer who worked for MUTEL] Composers: Joseph ("Joe") Mullendore (ASCAP/BMI), George Lee (BMI) [pseudonym of unknown ghost writer for the MUTEL music service], and Joseph Solon (BMI) [pseudonym of unknown ghost writer for the MUTEL music service] 1978 Publishers: Byron Music Company (BMI) 1999 Publishers: Byron Music Company (BMI) of Beverly Hills, CA Copyright Date: Renewal Date: Recordings: From the MUTEL music library [original versions] 78rpm reference disks in the Capitol "Q" Series library Q-99: cut 1: Theme No. 215 - OPENING (Western-Full) Q-99: cut 2: Theme No. 215 - CLOSING (Western-Full) Q-101: cut 1: Theme No. 215 - Long Version (Western) CD: "TV Classic Themes: 25th Anniversary Edition" Breakable Records DPMC 105 (1999)
[above is title as filed for copyright; ASCAP title variations... aka: "Annie Oakley M & ET"; A careful examination of this melody reveals that it is nearly identical to the Opening Theme #1 above taken from the 1940 film "Deadwood Dick" by Lee Zahler; however it is NOT the same melody as that of "Deadwood Dick" but a slight variation of it; Perhaps the producers, after a couple of seasons, realized that the series would last a bit longer; so they commissioned a new THEME from tv/film composer Greene and asked him to make it as close as possible to the "library track" they had been using previously...since the copyright was filed after the series had ended, it's hard to know for how many seasons for this THEME was used, but it may have used during the last one or two years. Regarding the meaning of this title? Composer Walter W. Greene was born in Tarkio, Missouri in 1910.] Composer: Walter W. Greene (ASCAP) 1978 Publishers: Criterion Music Corp. (ASCAP) 1998 Publishers: Criterion Music Corporation (ASCAP) of Hollywood, CA Copyright Date: June 2, 1958; Eu 526 994. Renewal Date: Sep. 18, 1986; RE-304-965. Recordings:
[This is thought to be the vocal closing THEME used during the last season or two sung by Gail Davis -- which is mentioned in the book "TV Theme Soundtrack Directory" by Craig Pattillo; Fred Weiss sometimes used the pseudonym of "Fred Wise"] Composers: Benjamin Weisman (ASCAP), and Fred Weiss (ASCAP) 1978 Publishers: [not listed in the 1978 ASCAP Index of Performed Compositions] 1999 Publishers: Blen Music, Inc. (ASCAP) of Marina Del Rey, CA; and Erika Publishing (ASCAP) of Chapel Hill, NC Copyright Date: May 20, 1958; Eu 526 889. Renewal Date: Jan. 8, 1986; RE-277-951. Recordings: