When searching for ‘best Western TV series’…think music!

What was the best television Western series from the 1950s and 1960s? It’s a toss-up among the critics, as a panel of four experts selected four different shows.

Their “top TV Westerns picks” – “Have Gun, Will Travel,” “Wagon Train,” “Rawhide” and “Bonanza” – have one thing in common – a music hall of fame-worthy theme song.

Hence, we defer to Lauren Feldman of Fort Collins, Colo., who is a senior content manager at Equine Network, LLC, to reveal the TV Westerns with the “greatest all-time theme songs.” She ranks them in chronological order.

 

“Have Gun – Will Travel” (1957-63).

The show was set in the 1870s and featured a man named “Paladin,” who maintained a “dual identity.”

 

Sam Stone of TVLine.com said that Paladin, as a resident of the San Francisco Hotel Carlton, “was a smooth-talking, spiffily dressed dandy who enjoyed the game of chess, playing the piano, sampling fine wines and frequenting the opera.”

 

“But when anyone requested the services advertised on his chess knight-adorned calling card – “Have Gun – Will Travel” – he would don his black-on-black cowboy attire, strap on his gunbelt and boldly ride out to some Wild West locale to do derring-do as bodyguard, courier and/or private detective,” Stone said.

 

Actor Richard Boone starred as Paladin. A native of Los Angeles, Boone attended Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., for a time, but dropped out prior to graduation.

He worked as an oil rigger, bartender, painter and writer, before joining the U.S. Navy in 1941. Boone served aboard three ships in the Pacific during World War II, seeing combat as an aviation ordnance man, aircrewman and tail gunner on Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bombers.

“The Ballad of Paladin” was written by Johnny Western, Richard Boone and Sam Rolfe. Western (shown below) sang the vocals.

 

Here’s how it begins:

 Have gun will travel, reads the card of a man,

A knight without armor in a savage land.

 

His fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind,

A soldier of fortune is a man called Paladin.

 

Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam?

Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home.

 

“Wagon Train” (1957-65).

Author James Rosin said that following the Civil War in the late 1860s “westbound wagon trains were a big part of the frontier picture, and they were big again in early television. The show “Wagon Train” lasted eight years thanks to a strong regular cast and prominent guest stars.”

Actor Ward Bond served as first wagon master, Major Seth Adams. 

Bond was born in Benkelman, Neb., and graduated from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Bond was a varsity football standout as a lineman on USC’s first national championship team in 1928.

Bond became fast friends with another player on the team, John Wayne. They would appear in 24 motion pictures together.

 

Ward Bond died in 1960 at age 57, having suffered a massive heart attack. John Wayne delivered the eulogy at his funeral. The cast and crew of “Wagon Train” faced a “heartbreaking turning point,” according to one historian.

“Ward Bond had become a mentor and father figure to many. For nearly four seasons, Bond had anchored the show with his gruff but deeply moral leadership style. How could ‘Wagon Train’ continue without him?”

 

“Robert Horton, who played Flint McCullough (the rugged and reliable trail scout), later recalled: ‘Ward was more than just the lead. He was the heartbeat of the show. When he was gone, it felt like we lost our compass.’”

 

“Behind the scenes, producers scrambled. Scripts had to be rewritten, schedules adjusted. Eventually, veteran actor John McIntire was cast as the new wagon master, Christopher Hale.

“McIntire was a very different presence – more reserved, more philosophical. But with time, audiences warmed to him. The show didn’t just survive. It evolved.”

 

Rosin said: “Wagon Train was all about storytelling, and the stories hold up well, both as entertainment and as what cast member Denny Miller called ‘a Conestoga classroom…about our country’s western expansion.’”

Joe Leydon, entertainment editor at Cowboys & Indians magazine, based in Dallas, Texas, said “Wagon Train” deserves top billing because of its parade of guest stars who appeared in 228 episodes that aired over the eight seasons (including such notables as Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Charles Laughton and future President Ronald Reagan).

 

The show’s theme song was revised several times. The first season’s song “Wagon Train,” written by Henri Rene and Bob Russell, was purely instrumental. It was performed by Stanley Wilson And His Orchestra.

In the second season, a more modern theme song was introduced, “(Roll Along) Wagon Train.” It was written by Sammy Fain and Jack Brooks and sung by Johnny O’Neill (shown below).

 

Roll along

Wagon Train.

 

Rollin’ over prairie where there ain’t no grass,

Rollin’ over mountain where there ain’t no pass.

Sittin’ on a board

Eyein’ the weather

Prayin’ to the Lord

We stay together

Side by side on the Wagon Train.

 

The third and final version of the theme song, “Wagon’s Ho!” was composed by Jerome Moross (shown below) and again performed by Stanley Wilson And His Orchestra.

 

“Rawhide” (1959-66).

“The premise of ‘Rawhide’ followed the adventures of drovers along the rough and challenging cattle drives of the late 1860s,” wrote freelance journalist Meagan Drillinger. 

“It was in ‘Rawhide’ that an American icon was born; the Western gave Clint Eastwood his big break.”

Joe Leydon said: “Clint Eastwood earned his spurs as the crew’s ramrod Rowdy Yates.” In early episodes, Yates was reckless and impetuous. He was a handful for trail boss Gil Favor (Eric Fleming), who was challenged to keep Yates in line, often managing his hot-headed nature with stern guidance.

 

Eric Fleming of Santa Paula, Calif., experienced a “hard knock life” as a youth, before serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a member of the Seabees.

After the war, he was employed by Paramount Studios, working as a construction worker, grip and carpenter. Fleming took acting classes at the studio in the evenings that prepared him for “Rawhide.”

Clint Eastwood, who was born in San Francisco, was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War in 1951. He did duty as a swimming instructor at Fort Ord on Monterrey Bay in California. Honorably discharged in 1953, Eastwood used the GI Bill to study drama at L.A. City College.

“The crack of a bullwhip starts off ‘Rawhide’s’ iconic theme song, written by Ned Washington and Dimitri Tiomkin,” said Lauren Feldman. Then, the legendary Frankie Laine takes over with his iconic vocals. 

Here are the abridged lyrics:

Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’

Rawhide!

 

Though the streams are swollen

Keep them doggies rollin,’ Rawhide!

 

Move ‘em on, head ‘em up

Head ‘em up, move ‘em on…

Move ‘em on, head ‘em up, Rawhide!

 

Cut ‘em out, ride ‘em in

Ride ‘em in, cut ‘em out

Cut ‘em out, ride ‘em in, Rawhide!

 

Keep movin’…movin’…movin’

Though they’re disapprovin’

Keep them doggies movin,’ Rawhide”

 

Don’t try to understand ‘em

Just rope ‘em, throw and brand ‘em.

 

Rawhide! Rawhide!

 

“Bonanza” (1959-73).

Sam Stone said: “‘Bonanza’ follows the Cartwright family, primarily its patriarch Ben (Lorne Greene), around their large ranch named the Ponderosa on Lake Tahoe near Virginia City, Nev. 

Widowed three times, Ben has an adult son from each of his three marriages joining him at the Ponderosa.”

 

“Running for 14 seasons, ‘Bonanza’ is second only to ‘Gunsmoke’ as the longest-running television Western. True to its premise, the series thrived on the strength of its ensemble cast and the natural rapport among them.”

“Bonanza” was the first TV Western shot and broadcast in color, and this is a primary reason why for millions of families, the show was “must-see TV during its 431-episode run,” commented Joe Leydon.

“Female actresses didn’t stay around long,” he noted. “Bonanza remained pretty much a bachelor party from start to finish.” 

The Cartwright sons were Adam (Pernell Roberts), Hoss (Dan Blocker) and Little Joe (Michael Landon).

Here are abbreviated early biographies of the key cast members:

Lorne Greene was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. While there, he acquired a knack for broadcasting. He became the principal newsreader for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s news organization and was deemed “The Voice of Canada.” He was flying officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.

 

Pernell Roberts of Waycross, Ga., attended Georgia Tech in Atlanta prior to enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1946. He was selected to join the Marine Corps Band as a tuba/sousaphone player. He later attended the University of Maryland in College Park, where he was exposed to acting in classical theater. He got his start acting in summer stock.

 

Dan Blocker, a native of De Kalb, Texas, graduated from Sul Ross State Teacher’s College in Alpine, Texas, with a degree in speech and drama. He was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1951 and received multiple medals, including a Purple Heart for wounds in combat in Korea, where he served as an infantry sergeant.

 

Blocker returned to his alma mater after the war to earn a master’s degree in dramatic arts. He was doing post-graduate work to pursue a Ph.D. at UCLA before his acting career took off.

The fellow we called Michael Landon was born in Queens, N.Y., and had a difficult and awkward childhood. He was an excellent high school athlete and earned a scholarship to attend USC in Los Angeles as a member of the track and field team, specializing in the javelin throw.

 

After an injury to his left throwing arm sidelined his athletic dreams, Landon worked as a gas station attendant near the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.

It was here that he was noticed by a regular customer, Bob Raison, a local talent agent. Raison advised the young man (Eugene Maurice Orowitz) “to change his Jewish-sounding name to improve his career prospects.” 

The Los Angeles telephone book led to the lad’s selection of his new name, “Michael Landon.”

The theme song “Bonanza,” was an instrumental written for the TV series by Jay Livingston and Raymond Evans (shown below) and arranged by Billy May. It was performed by the David Rose Orchestra.

 

The theme features sweeping strings, a driving beat and a distinct galloping tempo with a prominent guitar part played by Tommy Tedesco.

 

Lauren Feldman said: “Who can forget the rollicking theme song and the famous opening sequence: a map of the Bonanza going up in flames and the horseback Cartwrights galloping toward the camera?”