Memories from the Homestead: Ray Whitley and ‘Back in the Saddle Again’

     Over the years a number of film historians and critics have all agreed that not having Singing Cowboy Ray Whitley star in his own series was a big mistake. He had it all. He was an excellent horseman, singer and yodeler, actor and business manager. He was a singing sidekick in the films of George O'Brien, Tim Holt and Rod Cameron. He really should have had his own series. 

Ray Whitley was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on December 5, 1901. Growing up in Alabama, he later joined the Navy and then moved to New York doing construction work. In 1930, while working on the construction of the Empire State Building, Ray formed a cowboy singing group—Ray Whitley and His Range Ramblers. They soon found work at WMCA radio.  

Elvira Rios and Ray Whitley in 1939, a scene from the RKO short, "Cupid Rides the Range." The Gibson guitar seen here was the first Super Jumbo 200 model. (Photo courtesy of the Sons of the Pioneers Museum

Much of this radio work was done for free. It would be a couple of years before he would see a profit. By 1932 he was co-hosting a show called the Village Barn Dance with Tex Ritter, and after doing three short films with Frank Luther, Ray and Tex would saddle up and move to Hollywood, and like several others, would follow in the footsteps of Gene Autry.

 In 1935 and 1936, Whitley began his Hollywood film career in small roles with Hopalong Cassidy and Tex Ritter. For a period of time in 1937, he was the business manager for the Sons of the Pioneers and helped them negotiate their first movie contract with Columbia Pictures appearing with Charles Starrett. Ray begged the Pioneers to turn down Columbia's offer, but they took it anyway, knowing it would give them major exposure. 

In 1938 he signed with RKO Radio Pictures. One morning he was scheduled to record the soundtrack, the songs for the movie "Border G-Man," and at 5 a.m. he got a phone call from one of the film executives who explained they had a place for another song if he could have it completed and ready by 7 a.m. Ray went back to the bedroom and told his wife Kay the studio wanted another song, and added, "I'm back in the saddle again." Kay stated that what he had just said would be a good title for a new song, so he sat on the edge of the bed and wrote the verse and melody. 

Ray would record "Back in the Saddle Again" with his group the Six Bar Cowboys for Decca Records. A year later, Ray teamed up with Gene Autry. It was Gene who bought the song for $200. Whitley and Autry reworked the tune making a slight change to the melody and changed the order of the verse and chorus. This resulted in the present version that we all know today. The song was featured in Autry's film "Rovin' Tumbleweeds." The following year in 1940 the song would become Autry's theme for his popular CBS "Melody Ranch" radio show.

Also during the late 1930s, Whitley would have a major involvement in the development of guitar for Gibson. In 1937, Gibson guitars and Whitley worked together on the production of the Gibson SJ-200, known as the "Super Jumbo" when it was introduced. Whitley created the guitar with his own money and time, and felt that the powerful sound as a result of the larger body would really put Gibson on the map. Introduced in 1938, Whitley received the first official SJ-200 by Gibson, and it can be seen in a number of his film appearances. Today, this particular guitar is on display in the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. A number of major stars have used these guitars and it is still produced and available today.

Ray Whitley continued with a busy career in the Western music business and wrote a number of other Western classics. His last film appearance was in the 1956 blockbuster "Giant" starring James Dean and Elizabeth Taylor. He remained active well into the 1970s during the Western film festival circuit. He felt that "Back in the Saddle Again" would never have made it, if it wasn't for his friend Gene Autry.

Ray died on February 21, 1979 while on a fishing trip in Mexico with his son-in-law. 

He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1981, and in 1996 the Western Music Association Hall of Fame.

I became hooked on Whitley's Jumbo 200 guitars while in high school and have owned three of them over the past thirty years. My first one, a 1995 model, helped me win the Branson High School talent show my senior year in 1996. I currently play a cutaway version with the Sons of the Pioneers as well as the Old Trail Wranglers here at the Shepherd of the Hills.

There's a lot of YouTube footage available of Ray—numerous film clips and commercial recordings from his early career into the 1940s. Check them out!

Happy trails!