(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: