Westerns that Featured a Great Song Over the Opening Credits (Interactive)
by gpachovsky | created - 16 Aug 2021 | updated - 05 Nov 2021 | PublicNothing draws in a movie audience more quickly than an original song presented over the rolling title credits. If it is good and sets the proper tone, a certain intimacy will be created between what is on the screen and the viewer even before the fade-in.
For budgetary reasons, such title-credits-cum-song-tracks have been presented only rarely, and then mostly in Dramas, Romances, and Westerns. But whereas the former two generally limit their offerings to gooey love songs (not all of them bad), the latter concern themselves with a wider range of (mostly masculine) instincts and emotions: bravery, committment, betrayal, heartbreak and loneliness.
The following list, which I have prepared, is intended to be interactive so that those who are interested can easily access the relevent video clips. It does not, by any pretense, cover all the original Western songs that have been specifically written for supplementing film credits, but it does cover the most notable ones. The order of listing is alphbetical. As to merit, you'll have to decide for yourself.
At this point, special mention should be made of Frankie Laine who has contributed no less than five of the twenty-six songs here. It could well have been six. Although he did not vocalize the theme of "High Noon" for the film, he nevertheless recorded the vinyl hit version, far and away one of the most popular of 1952. Later, he lent his distinctively super-charged baritone voice to the credits of the TV series "Rawhide" which became a stepping stone to fame for a then relatively unknown Clint Eastwood.
My only regret is that I was unable to include "Johnny Guitar" in the list. The haunting, plaintive ballad performed by Peggy Lee is not vocalized until just prior to "The End" fadeout and sadly did not meet the necessary criterion. But, if you are curious, check it out on YouTube. You won't be sorry.
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1. Blazing Saddles (1974)
R | 93 min | Comedy, Western
In order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black Sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman
Votes: 152,473 | Gross: $119.50M
Song: “Blazing Saddles” (by Jim Morris & Mel Brooks)
Artist(s): Frankie Laine
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://...” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzRmp-O496Y
Otherwise, Search for “Blazing Saddles 1974 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
2. Blowing Wild (1953)
Approved | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
In South America, after Jeff Dawson and Dutch Peterson's oil rigs are dynamited by local bandits, the two partners resort to risky transportation of nitroglycerin to raise money.
Director: Hugo Fregonese | Stars: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Ruth Roman, Anthony Quinn
Votes: 1,197
Song: “Blowing Wild (The Ballad of Black Gold)” (by
Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster)
Artist(s): Frankie Laine
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://...” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obR43jQqS1M
Otherwise, Search for “Blowing Wild 1953 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
3. Drum Beat (1954)
Not Rated | 111 min | Adventure, Western
In 1872, Indian fighter Johnny MacKay is appointed peace commissioner for the California and Oregon territory but he faces tough opposition from the renegade Modocs led by their chief Captain Jack.
Director: Delmer Daves | Stars: Alan Ladd, Audrey Dalton, Marisa Pavan, Robert Keith
Votes: 1,137
Song: “Drum Beat” (by Victor Young and Ned
Washington)
Artist(s): Orchestration by Leo Shuken and Sid Cutner
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOkRKw1X8zE
Otherwise, Search for “Drum Beat 1954 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
4. El Dorado (1966)
Passed | 126 min | Drama, Romance, Western
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old Indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher who's trying to steal their water.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt
Votes: 30,423
Song: “El Dorado” (by John Gabriel and Nelson Riddle)
Artist(s): George Alexander
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QXhGGOFNko
Otherwise, Search for “El Dorado 1967 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
5. 5 Card Stud (1968)
Approved | 103 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
The players in an ongoing poker game are being mysteriously killed off, one by one.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Dean Martin, Robert Mitchum, Inger Stevens, Roddy McDowall
Votes: 4,403
Song: “5 Card Stud” (by Ned Washington and Maurice
Jarre)
Artist(s): Dean Martin
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGf5pRoJOaM
Otherwise, Search for “5 Card Stud 1966 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
6. Flaming Star (1960)
Passed | 101 min | Drama, Western
When fighting breaks out between two cultures in West Texas, the mixed-blood Pacer tries to act as a peacemaker, but the "flaming star of death" pulls him irrevocably into the deadly violence.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden, Steve Forrest, Dolores Del Río
Votes: 4,072 | Gross: $1.96M
Song: “Flaming Star” (by Sherman Edwards and Sid
Wayne)
Artist(s): Elvis Presley
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYBnmgD0TSc
Otherwise, Search for “Flaming Star 1960 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
7. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
Passed | 122 min | Biography, Drama, Western
Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming, Jo Van Fleet
Votes: 17,434 | Gross: $11.75M
Song: “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral” (by Ned Washington
and Dimitri Tiomkin)
Artist(s): Frankie Laine
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqyiRwlLa80
Otherwise, Search for “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral 1957 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
8. High Noon (1952)
PG | 85 min | Drama, Thriller, Western
A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 110,166 | Gross: $9.45M
Song: “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)” (by Ned
Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin)
Artist(s): Tex Ritter
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8DPEyBWhbY
Otherwise, Search for “High Noon 1952 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
Frankie Laine actually had a huge pop hit of this record. To view, go to URL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-22za28gnzs
or Search “High Noon – Frankie Laine” on YouTube website.
9. The Hanging Tree (1959)
Approved | 107 min | Western
Unusual western about a doctor with a dark past, whose life is complicated and ultimately redeemed by a young thief, and a pretty Swiss immigrant whom he nurses back to health.
Directors: Delmer Daves, Karl Malden, Vincent Sherman | Stars: Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden, George C. Scott
Votes: 4,753
Song: “The Hanging Tree” (by Mack David and Jerry
Livingston)
Artist(s): Marty Robbins
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrOVc4P6ggw
Otherwise, Search for “The Hanging Tree 1959 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
10. The Man from Laramie (1955)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Western
Newcomer Will Lockhart defies the local cattle baron and his sadistic son by working for one of his oldest rivals.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: James Stewart, Arthur Kennedy, Donald Crisp, Cathy O'Donnell
Votes: 12,006
Song: “The Man from Laramie” (by Lester Lee and Ned
Washington)
Artist(s): Arrangement by George Duning and Morris
Stoloff
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itB8l5UQX3U
Otherwise, Search for “The Man from Laramie 1955 Opening
Credits” on YouTube website.
11. McLintock! (1963)
Passed | 126 min | Comedy, Western
Wealthy rancher G. W. McLintock uses his power and influence in the territory to keep the peace between farmers, ranchers, land-grabbers, Indians and corrupt government officials.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen | Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers
Votes: 16,607
Song: “Love in the Country” (By ‘By’ Dunham and Frank
DeVol)
Artist(s): The Limelighters
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb5elfrQCOM
Otherwise, Search for “McLintock 1963 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
12. Monte Walsh (1970)
PG-13 | 106 min | Western
An aging cowboy realizes that the West he knew and loved will soon be no more--and that there will be no room for him, either.
Director: William A. Fraker | Stars: Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 3,033
Song: “The Good Times Are Comin’” (John Barry and Hal
David)
Artist(s): Mama Cass
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDZ2-iZouEw
Otherwise, Search for “Monte Walsh 1971 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
13. The Maverick Queen (1956)
Approved | 92 min | Western
A Pinkerton detective goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of thieves whose boss is a feisty lady saloonkeeper. Complications ensue.
Director: Joseph Kane | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, Scott Brady, Mary Murphy
Votes: 614
Song: “The Maverick Queen” (by Ned Washington and
Victor Young)
Artist(s): Joni James
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZk8HnLUAEI
Otherwise, Search for “The Maverick Queen 1956 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
14. Night Passage (1957)
Approved | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A fired railroad man is re-hired and entrusted to carry a ten thousand dollar payroll in secret, even though he is suspected of being connected to outlaws.
Director: James Neilson | Stars: James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster
Votes: 4,544
Song: “Follow the River” (by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington)
Artist(s): Uncredited
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://...” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSXxEg_u2xI
Otherwise, Search for “Night Passage 1957 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
15. Paint Your Wagon (1969)
PG-13 | 164 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Two unlikely prospector partners share the same wife in a California gold rush mining town.
Director: Joshua Logan | Stars: Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, Jean Seberg, Harve Presnell
Votes: 14,870 | Gross: $31.68M
Song: “Paint You Wagon” (by Lerner and Lowe)
Artist(s): Choral Arrangements by Joseph J. Lilley
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dincIjE64pw
Otherwise, Search for “Paint Your Wagon” 1969 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
16. Rails Into Laramie (1954)
Approved | 81 min | Western
A railroad sends an agent to Laramie to try to find out who is behind the efforts to stop the railroad from building its line into the area.
Director: Jesse Hibbs | Stars: John Payne, Mari Blanchard, Dan Duryea, Joyce Mackenzie
Votes: 423
Song: “Laramie” (by Frederick Herbert and Arnold
Hughes)
Artist(s): Rex Allen
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hACZyoSaZPs
Otherwise, Search for “Rails into Laramie 1954 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
17. Red River (1948)
Passed | 133 min | Drama, Western
Dunson leads a cattle drive, the culmination of over 14 years of work, to its destination in Missouri. But his tyrannical behavior along the way causes a mutiny, led by his adopted son.
Directors: Howard Hawks, Arthur Rosson | Stars: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru, Walter Brennan
Votes: 34,374
Song: “Settle Down” (by Dimitri Tiomkin)
Artist(s): Moscow Symphony Chorus
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Vmw5ZUuhSI
Otherwise, Search for “Red River 1948 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
18. Red Sundown (1956)
Passed | 81 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A gunfighter takes a deputy sheriff job in a town caught in a feud between a powerful rancher and small farmers.
Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Rory Calhoun, Martha Hyer, Dean Jagger, Robert Middleton
Votes: 727
Song: “Red Sundown” (by Terry Gilkyson)
Artist(s): Terry Gilkyson
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-C4FX8G-NA
Otherwise, search for “Red Sundown 1955 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
19. River of No Return (1954)
Approved | 91 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The titular river unites a farmer recently released from prison, his young son, and an ambitious saloon singer. In order to survive, each must be purged of anger, and each must learn to understand and care for the others.
Directors: Otto Preminger, Jean Negulesco | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun, Tommy Rettig
Votes: 12,992
Song: “River of No Return” (by Ken Darby and Lionel
Newman)
Artist(s): Ken Darby Singers
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14rqR4vfoc
Otherwise, Search for “River of No Return 1954 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
Marilyn Monroe’s version, sung within the movie, sounded even better than this. To view, go to URL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLzeHkEQe9g
or Search “River of No Return – Marilyn Monroe” on YouTube website.
20. The Searchers (1956)
Passed | 119 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
An American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond
Votes: 96,276
Song: “The Searchers (Ride Away)” (by Stan Jones)
Artist(s): The Sons of the Pioneers (uncredited)
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srU7eKMWFyQ
Otherwise, Search for “The Searchers 1956 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
21. 7 Men from Now (1956)
Approved | 78 min | Western
A former sheriff blames himself for his wife's death during a Wells Fargo robbery and vows to track down and kill the seven men responsible.
Director: Budd Boetticher | Stars: Randolph Scott, Gail Russell, Lee Marvin, Walter Reed
Votes: 5,997
Song: “7 Men from Now” (by Dunham and Henry Vars)
Artist(s): Arrangement By Henry Vars
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fT9GLTXZuw
Otherwise, Search for “7 Men from Now 1956 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
22. Sitting Bull (1954)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, Western
A cavalry officer sympathetic to the wronged Sioux fixes a meeting between Chief Sitting Bull and President Grant but a dishonest Indian Agent and a hateful General Custer test the Sioux's patience, threatening to derail the peace-talks.
Director: Sidney Salkow | Stars: Dale Robertson, Mary Murphy, J. Carrol Naish, John Litel
Votes: 895 | Gross: $1.50M
Song: “Great Spirit” (by Max Rich
Artist(s): ???
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://…” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIwHBGtGZmU
Otherwise, Search for “Sitting Bull 1954 Opening Credits on YouTube website.
23. Strange Lady in Town (1955)
Approved | 112 min | Western
Greer Garson plays a female doctor who plans to introduce modern techniques of medicine to old Santa Fe in 1880, but is opposed by an established doctor.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy | Stars: Greer Garson, Dana Andrews, Cameron Mitchell, Lois Smith
Votes: 599
Song: “Strange Lady in Town” (by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington)
Artist(s): Frankie Laine
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://...” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXls9tPA12U
Otherwise, Search for “Strange Lady in Town 1955 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
24. 3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama, Thriller, Western
Broke small-time rancher Dan Evans is hired by the stagecoach line to put big-time captured outlaw leader Ben Wade on the 3:10 train to Yuma but Wade's gang tries to free him.
Director: Delmer Daves | Stars: Glenn Ford, Van Heflin, Felicia Farr, Leora Dana
Votes: 21,642
Song: “3:10 to Yuma” (by Ned Washington and George
Duning)
Artist(s): Frankie Laine
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://...” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oICqhgbS0lg
Otherwise, Search for “3:10 to Yuma 1957 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
25. The War Wagon (1967)
Unrated | 101 min | Drama, Western
The story of a man who was shot, robbed and imprisoned who returns to steal a large gold shipment from the man who wronged him. The gold is transported in an armored stage coach, the War Wagon.
Director: Burt Kennedy | Stars: John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker Jr.
Votes: 10,804
Song: “Ballad of the War Wagon” (by Dimitri Tiomkin and Ned Washington)
Artist(s): Ed Ames
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://...” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnzYLHA_wSc
Otherwise, Search for “The War Wagon 1967 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
26. Wichita (1955)
Passed | 81 min | Drama, Western
In 1874, after noticing the total lawlessness in Wichita, Wyatt Earp reluctantly accepts the Marshal's job and runs into the worst local troublemakers.
Director: Jacques Tourneur | Stars: Joel McCrea, Vera Miles, Lloyd Bridges, Wallace Ford
Votes: 2,350
Song: “Wichita” (by Hans Salter and Ned Washington)
Artist(s): Tex Ritter
To view video, highlight the URL below, and single right click for drop down menu. On menu, single right click on the “Go to https://...” option to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6zkQMobLDo
Otherwise, Search for “Wichita 1956 Opening Credits” on YouTube website.
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