High Noon - Music

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter January 12 1905 – January 2 1974 Was An American Country Music Singer And Movie Actor Popular From The Mid-1930s Into The 1960s And The Patriarch Of The Ritter Family In Acting Son John And Grandson Jason . He Is A Member Of The Country Music Hall Of Fame. Tex Ritter The Son Of James Everett Ritter And Martha Elizabeth Matthews Grew Up On His Family's Farm In Panola County And Attended Grade School In Carthage. He Then Attended South Park High School In Beaumont. After Graduating With Honors He Entered The University Of Texas At Austin He Studied Pre-Law Majoring In Government Political Science And Economics. One Of The Early Pioneers Of Country Music Ritter Soon Became Interested In Show Business. In 1928 He Sang On KPRC Radio In Houston A Thirty-Minute Show Featuring Cowboy Songs. In That Same Year He Moved To New York City And Quickly Landed A Job In The Men's Chorus Of The Broadway Show The New Moon 1928 . He Appeared As "The Cowboy" In The Broadway Production Green Grow The Lilacs 1930 Which Was The Basis For The Later Musical Oklahoma!. He Also Played The Part Of Sagebrush Charlie In The Round Up 1932 And Mother Lode 1934 . Ritter Also Worked On Various Radio Programs. In 1932 He Starred On The WOR Radio Show The Lone Star Rangers Which Was New York's First Broadcast Western. He Sang Songs And Told Tales Of The Old West. Ritter Wrote And Starred In Cowboy Tom's Roundup On WINS Radio In New York In 1933. This Daily Children's Cowboy Radio Program Aired Over Three Stations On The East Coast For Three Years. These Shows Marked The Beginning Of Ritter's Popularity In Radio Which Paved The Way For His Upcoming Singing Career. He Also Performed On The Radio Show WHN Barndance And Sang On NBC Radio. He Appeared In Several Radio Dramas Including CBS's Bobby Benson's Adventures And Death Valley Days. Ritter Began Recording For American Record Company Columbia Records In 1933. His First Released Recording Was "Goodbye Ole Paint." He Also Recorded "Rye Whiskey" For That Label. In 1935 He Signed With Decca Records Where He Recorded His First Original Recordings "Sam Hall" And "Get Along Little Dogie." In 1936 He Moved To Los Angeles California. His Motion Picture Debut Was In Song Of The Gringo 1936 For Grand National Pictures. He Starred In Twelve Movies For Grand National "B" Grade Westerns Which Included Headin' For The Rio Grande 1936 And Trouble In Texas 1937 Co-Starring Rita Hayworth Then Known As Rita Cansino . After Starring In Utah Trail 1938 Ritter Left The Financially Troubled Grand National. Between 1938 And 1945 He Starred In Around Forty "singing Cowboy" Movies Mostly To Critical Scorn. Ritter Made Four Movies With Actress Dorothy Fay At Monogram Pictures Song Of The Buckaroo 1938 Sundown On The Prairie 1939 Rollin' Westward 1939 And Rainbow Over The Range 1940 . He Recorded A Total Of Twenty-Nine Songs For Decca The Last Being In 1939 In Los Angeles As Part Of Tex Ritter And His Texans. Tex Helped Start United Cerebral Palsy Associations Inc After His Son Thomas Was Found To Have Cerebral Palsy. Tex Thomas And John Spent A Great Deal Of Time Raising Money And Public Awareness To Help Others With Cerebral Palsy. Ritter Was The First Artist Signed With The Newly-Formed Capitol Records As Well As Being Their First Western Singer. His First Recording Session Was On June 11 1942. His Music Recording Career Began What Was His Most Successful Period. He Achieved Significant Success With "Jingle Jangle Jingle " And In 1944 He Scored Another Hit With "I'm Wastin' My Tears On You " Which Hit #1 On The Country Charts And #11 On The Pop Charts. "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder" Was A Country Charts #2 And Pop Charts #21. In 1945 He Had The #1 #2 And #3 Songs On Billboard's "Most Played Jukebox Folk Records" Poll A First In The Industry. Between 1945 And 1946 He Registered Seven Consecutive Top 5 Hits Including "You Two Timed Me One Time Too Often " A Country #1 Written By Jenny Lou Carson Which Spent Eleven Weeks On The Charts. In 1948 "Rye Whiskey" And His Cover Of "Deck Of Cards" Both Made The Top 10 And "Pecos Bill" Reached #15. In 1950 "Daddy's Last Letter Private First Class John H. McCormick " Also Became A Hit. In 1952 Ritter Recorded The Movie Title-Track Song "High Noon Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin' " Which Became A Hit. He Sang "High Noon" At The First Academy Awards Ceremony To Be Televised In 1953 And He Recorded The Song A Number Of Times. It Received An Oscar For Best Song That Year. 1 Ritter First Toured Europe In 1952. In 1953 He Began Performing On Town Hall Party On Radio And Television In Los Angeles. He Formed Vidor Publications Inc. A Music Publishing Firm With Johnny Bond In 1955. "Remember The Alamo" Was The First Song In The Catalog. In 1957 He Released His First LP Album Songs From The Western Screen. He Starred In His Own Television Music Series Ranch Party Televised For Four Years Starting In 1959. Even After The Peak Of His Performing Career Ritter Would Be Recognized For His Contributions To Country And Western Music And For His Artistic Versatility. He Became One Of The Founding Members Of The Country Music Association In Nashville Tennessee. In 1964 He Became The Fifth Person And First Singing Cowboy To Be Inducted Into The Country Music Hall Of Fame. He Moved To Nashville In 1965 And Began Working For WSM Radio And The Grand Ole Opry. He Also Received A Lifetime Membership To The Opry. His Family Remained In California Temporarily So That Son John Could Finish High School There. For A Time Dorothy Was An Official Greeter At The Opry. During This Period Ritter Co-Hosted A Late Night Radio Program With Famed Country Disc Jockey Ralph Emery. In 1970 Ritter Surprised Many People By Entering The Republican Primary For United States Senate. Despite High Name Recognition He Lost Overwhelmingly To Chattanooga Tennessee Congressman Bill Brock Who Then Went On To Win The General Election. read less