Ray Whitley (singer-songwriter)

Whitley was born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. He had traveled to New York where he became a construction worker on the Empire State Building and the George Washington Bridge. ==Career==

Singing, music groups and live performance Whitley began his singing career in New York City, New York in 1930. Whitley recorded for several record labels, including Okeh, Apollo Records and Decca. Motion pictures In 1937, Whitley was signed by RKO Radio Pictures as a specialty performer in the studio's "B" westerns starring George O'Brien, and O'Brien's successor Tim Holt. RKO also gave Whitley a starring series of his own: 18 two-reel musical short subjects, produced between 1937 and 1942. In the late 1950s, Whitley made appearances on the Roy Rogers TV specials, he also appeared in the feature film Giant starring Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, and James Dean. Whitley wrote the Western tune "Back in the Saddle Again". The song was first performed by him in the Western movie Border G-Man, in which he played the part of 'Luke Jones'. Gene Autry heard it and bought the song for a reported $200, making it his theme song. Whitley and Autry changed the order of the verse and chorus, and made a very slight change in the melody, resulting in the present popular version. It is one of the most recognized and recorded Western tunes in history. ==Death and legacy==

Ray Whitley died on February 21, 1979, Gibson Shipping Ledgers show the following totals for the Montgomery Ward – Recording King Ray Whitley Jumbo Models: Total of 147 – RK Ray Whitley Model No. 1027 (Rosewood back & sides, "bat wing" shaped bridge) Total of 170 – RK Ray Whitley Model No. 1028 (Mahogany back & sides, plain rectangle-style bridge) Breaks down like this: 143 No. 1027s shipped in 1939 Only 4 No. 1027s shipped in 1940 115 No. 1028s were shipped in 1939 55 No. 1028s shipped in 1940 First shipment of 1027s – January 23, 1939 – Last: February 27, 1940, First shipment of 1028s – June 23, 1939 – Last: June 13, 1940 ==Filmography==

Feature films, featuring Ray Whitley Short subjects, starring Ray Whitley and His Six Bar Cowboys All produced and released by RKO Radio Pictures ==References==