Back in the Saddle Again
"Back in the Saddle Again" | |
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Song |
"Back in the Saddle Again" was the signature song of American cowboy entertainer Gene Autry.[1] It was co-written by Autry with Ray Whitley and first released in 1939. The song was associated with Autry throughout his career and was used as the name of Autry's autobiography in 1976.[2] Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[3]
Although the song has long been associated with Autry, it was first used in a non-Autry film, Border G-Man (1938). Ray Whitley and his Six Bar Cowboys group sang it in that film, and they made a record of it for Decca Records in 1938. Autry first performed "Back in the Saddle Again" on film in Rovin' Tumbleweeds (1939), and he recorded it for the first time with other songs in Los Angeles in April 1939.[4]' He eventually "made at least a dozen recordings" of the song.[5]
"Back in the Saddle Again" was used as the theme for Autry's radio program, Gene Autry's Melody Ranch[6] and for The Gene Autry Show on television.[7][8]
The 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle included Back in the Saddle Again as one of "a number of standards" in its soundtrack.[9]
Honors
- Autry's 1939 recording of Back in the Saddle Again became his second gold record.[5]
- In 1997, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[10]
- In 2001, a group of voters selected by the RIAA ranked "Back in the Saddle Again" the 98th best song of the Twentieth Century.
- In 2010 Slim Whitman released the track on his "Twilight on the Trail" album.
Partial discography
Year | Artist | Label/Number |
---|---|---|
1942 | Eddie Dean | Decca 6034 single backed with Sleepy-Time in Caroline[11] |
1947 | Gene Autry | Columbia C-120 Gene Autry's Western Classics album[12] |
1969 | Gene Autry | Harmony HS 11276 Back in the Saddle Again[13] |
1970 | Gene Autry | Columbia CS 1035 Gene Autry's Country Music Hall of Fame Album[14] |
1976 | Gene Autry | Republic IRDA -R -6011 South Of The Border, All American Cowboy[15] |
1976 | Gene Autry | Republic IRDA- LPN -R -6016 Rex Allen, Gene Autry, Eddie Dean, Tex Ritter, Roy Rogers, Jimmy Wakely—The Great American Singing Cowboys[16] |
1983 | Various artists | New World Records NW 314/315 Back In The Saddle Again, New World Records Anthology Of American Music[17] |
Sources
- ^ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 9 - Tennessee Firebird: American country music before and after Elvis. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.
- ^ Autry, Gene with Herskowitz, Mickey. (1978). Back in the Saddle Again. Doubleday & Company, Inc. ISBN 038503234X
- ^ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". American Cowboy. Archived from the original on 10 August 2014.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ Cusic, Don (2007). Gene Autry: His Life and Career. McFarland. p. 84. ISBN 9780786430611. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ a b "'Back in the Saddle'". National Public Radio. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ French, Jack & Siegel, David S. (eds.) (2014). "Radio Rides the Range: A Reference Guide to Western Drama on the Air, 1929-1967. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-7146-1. Pp. 77-78.
- ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 521. ISBN 9780307483201. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Terrace, Vincent (2013). Television Introductions: Narrated TV Program Openings since 1949. Scarecrow Press. p. 141. ISBN 9780810892507. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Russell, Deborah (July 17, 1993). "`Sleepless' Soundtrack Is Sleeper Hit" (PDF). Billboard. p. 9. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "GRAMMY Hall of Fame". Grammy.org. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ in the saddle again%22 "American Folk Records" (PDF). Billboard. April 18, 1942. p. 63. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
{{cite news}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - ^ "Album Reviews" (PDF). Billboard. March 8, 1947. p. 106. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Gene Autry: Back in the Saddle Again" (PDF). High Fidelity. February 1969. p. 134. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Special Merit Picks: Country" (PDF). ==Births==. May 30, 1970. p. 46. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ "Billboard's Top Albums: Country" (PDF). Billboard. August 17, 1976. p. 68. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. September 18, 1976. p. 62. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Billboard's Recommended LPs: Country" (PDF). Billboard. September 10, 1983. p. 55. Retrieved 4 December 2016.