15 RARE AND MAYBE NOT-SO-RARE '60s WESTERN TV THEME INTROS

[@judyosborne]

What a collection of western classic's! You saved my favorite western theme for last, "The High Chaparral". Boy that brought back memories! Well Done!

[@robharding4028]

Wonderful collection of some classic western shows from my young life back in the early 60's,

[@judithm375]

Thanks for posting this. Great to watch - pure nostalgia!

[@GalileoSmith]

Some of the old west TV series had really great theme songs. _Rawhide_ comes to mind and another was the instrumental theme for _Wagon Train_ . The theme to _Cheyenne_ really spoke to me, when I was 10 years old.

[@jonimichalski69]

No There Were Others Remember Gunsmoke And Little House on the Prairie and Their Were A few In The Eighties Too.Remember Young Guns With JoshBrolin And Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman With Jane Seymour And Their Were Others

[@robharding1957]

born in 57,,and i dont have any regrets,,brilliant tv back then,,as a kid in the 60s we had all this cowboy stuff and it was great fun, no-one plays cowboys and indians any more,,and its a shame,,great times ,,

[@colindominy]

Congrats, RwDt09 .. this is a superb collection that you've put together here. So many nostalgic faces, scenes & songs. There were some fabulous stars featured in these series ...

[@vintageclips5716]

What a delightful treat seeing all these wonderful TV shows!

[@furyiiiplate]

WOW... that was really really great compilation...a few I never even heard of... a few I remember and couple I have watched recently... Guns of Will Sonnet was on not long ago... was a really good show. RIP Peter Brown.... "LAWMAN" that was show I saw for first time in last few years.. really great show.

[@Dariel1212]

You have my favorite Laredo, and one of my next favorites, High Chaparral but not Lawman, a wonderful show. Thanks for posting.

[@Seabee644]

This was great! Being a huge TV western fan, this really took me back. Iron Horse, Jesse James, Lancer, and Custer. thought they were long forgotten! I NEVER missed Laredo on Fri nights!

[@pablocruize3975]

Recently came across High Chaparral and Lancer on youtube. Can't believe how well High Chaparral has stood the test of time. It was really a unique show. Huge cast , stunning visuals. Greta show. Lancer? Hello 1967. The graphics and the theme are so dated. Kind of an odd duck series. Fun post.

[@ferociousgumby]

Guns of Will Sonnet ALWAYS makes me cry. That is brilliant acting, so understated.

[@dr.a.995]

As a kid, I remember the time most TV shows were westerns. And then they dropped like flies. Detectives, doctors and lawyers began popping up and bored me to stay outside playing.

[@crispycritterz]

Wonderful! Custer, designer of the original Arrow Shirt.

[@downhill240]

A walk down memory lane. Thanks for sharing!

[@TheCarablanco]

Wow - it took awhile, but you ran across some old fave's of mine. Cimarron Strip, High Chaparral. . .thanks for posting. ~S~

[@fyorbane]

The Virginian had one the best theme's and was also one of the longest running TV westerns I believe. Very popular in the UK.

[@cartoonjoe]

Third longest after BONANZA (14seasons) and GUNSMOKE (20 seasons {23 if you count the radio version})

[@unclebobunclebob]

Man you have some really rare ones here. Congrats. And thanks.

[@jonimichalski9193]

Beautiful interesting Memories

[@jbaumun]

Really great - you have just conjured up a dozen memories .

[@jonimichalski9193]

Beautiful memories and music

[@misspaddylee]

Enjoyed this very much. I remember some of the programs, and others I only heard about.

[@roderickmilne]

A great selection of titles and theme tunes. I remembered seven or eight of them.

[@filiuscarlovia]

The Virginian was one of the most popular shows in 1960's Ireland. Every Monday night from eight to nine thirty, even the sequel "The Men from Shiloh" had a huge following. They still show repeats on TNG in the afternoons.

[@DomenicDee]

Great video, they should definitely release Iron Horse and Lancer on dvd. They were both excellent shows back in the day!

[@suzietrecallion1042]

DomenicDee agree,so sad about James Stacey.

[@lizcole3975]

They should bring all these westerns back on tv loved all of them it would be great if sky could bring an old westen tv channel vac k to life im dreaming again.

[@lizcole3975]

Back

[@songsmith31a]

Colour TV arrived in the UK around the mid-60s and "High Chaparral" was the first TV "Western" in colour here. It made us realise what we had been missing before! Thanks for some memories as well as the sight of some unfamiliar series PLUS the fun of seeing familiar names doing their thing in small-screen "oaters" when the big screen didn't have work for them.

[@sterling2233]

Nice compilation, RwDt09. I miss Tombstone Territory, The Restless Gun, and a few others, but thanks for informing us they could usually be found in KZbin with a simple search. I'll click on your name and see what else you're sharing with us. From one western aficionado to another -- thanks!

[@jjmac3561]

1:44 The Corduroy Kid.

[@thebigfist]

The best and most memorable Themes were the Rebel,Have Gun Will Travel,Rifleman,Wagon Train,Bonanza,Lone Ranger,High Chaparal and Maverick.Thank God for COZI, ME-TV, DECADES and the other nostalgia channels that are currently showing these classics! TV Westerns from the 50`s and 60`s rule!

[@larrydevore6657]

Jack Elam, one of my most favorite character actors. You see him in almost everything.

[@robharding4028]

Yeah, jack Elam seemed to be in every single western series, or film, or near as damn it,

[@schallrd1]

1:10 Giving horse a workout on a treadmill.

[@peterohalloran5954]

Met jim Drury when he came to Ireland in 2008 with his wife for a vacation I was getting ready for to hours wit the excitement of my favourite cowboy coming At last what Thrill to meet him and shake his hand more than once and thanked him for all the entertainment he gave us on the Virginian when we're growing up that last to this day and beyond R I p jim Drury my cowboy friend Men

[@TimelordR]

Much obliged for them thar Western TV show intros. And they now have Cimmaron Strip on the Encore Westerns movie channel on Digital Cable & Satelite TV.

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

Robert Horton had an excellent singing voice ("Shenandoah"). He spent many years following his television stint performing in live theater and nightclubs with his wife Marilynn. Glad to see the themes of "Lancer" and "Cimarron Strip" here. Those themes were two of the best in television history.

[@jonimichalski69]

Maybe They Could have Tied ,Wagon Train And Shendona Together

[@normanleach5427]

@Brown Paw He sang before the Queen of England...

[@alatherley]

Cimarron Strip was my favorite. Nothing like the opening with Maurice Jarre theme and the overhead pan shot of Whitman riding down hill on his horse. This was a quality western from the same people behind Gunsmoke.

[@Juliaflo]

You said it! After nearly 50 years, that theme song gives me goosebumps. (Don't figure out my age, LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL).

[@alatherley]

+Juliaflo I like your statement. For a show that lasted only one season it was great.

[@44032]

Congrats to Stuart for staying on the horse. It liked it was a close thing...

[@Jm01394]

That was needed!! To jog some faded memories Thank you!!

[@vinylsingleman]

Thanks! I remember many of these.

[@tytotherone]

Shenadoah, Will Sonnet and The Outcasts Monday ABC, I believe Hondo was also. Custer Abc, Cimmaron Strip CBS Thursday nights. Larado NBC, High Chaparral Nbc Fridays. I am a 57 baby too. I loved these shows. Where's the Rebel!!

[@beverlymarkley4692]

out of all of these there were only 4 I didn't remember watching, Riverboat, Tate, Legend of Jesse James and Klondike. The rest I remember watching avidly until the series end. Most only lasted 2 or 3 years, some didn't make it past the first season. Loved my westerns and still do.

[@caesarvalentin7155]

Laredo and High Chaparral the best

[@jurgenkupfer5931]

Hondo und High Chaparral

[@jurgenkupfer5931]

Und Lancer natürlich

[@normanleach5427]

High Chaparral and Bonanza featured soundtracks by David Rose. There are 2 different two-song 45s, a Bonanza lp he conducts and a 'redo' lp by Xanadu Pleasure Dome (1970)

[@ferociousgumby]

God, I love these. I watch them late at night for some reason. Just a time machine.

[@ResidualConfusion]

I've never heard of "Tate" or "The Legend of Jesse James" but, unfortunately, I am well able to remember all the others. Really nice to see the openers and hear the themes for those I do remember. Thanks for posting.

[@gollyanamegame]

thanks found it enjoyable..

[@kev.j.goodwin8612]

Great stuff there, some we got in the UK but most I don't think appeared on British TV during the 60s, certainly recall six or seven. Amazing how many western series the US churned out at this time, not all of them good by any means, a pity that the genre has more or less vanished now.

[@joeraymond2589]

For those who don't know. The longest-running Western TV Shows are as follows; (1) GUNSMOKE -20 Seasons (the longest-running western tv series!), (2) Death Valley Days -18 seasons, (3) Bonanza -14 seasons, (4) Rawhide -9 seasons, (5) The Virginian -9 seasons (6) Wagon Train -8 seasons, (7) Cheyenne -7 seasons, (8) Have Gun - Will Travel -6 seasons, (9) Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp -6 seasons, (10) Tales of Welles Fargo -5 seasons, (11) The Rifleman -5 seasons, (12) Bat Masterson -3 seasons, (13) Wanted: Dead or Alive -3 seasons, (14) The Adventures of Jim Bowie -2 seasons (15) Cimarron Strip -1 season, (16) Cimarron City -1 season ... There are many others, but this is a good list to start collecting!

[@TheParamountPrincess]

thank you for showing these... :) I have never even seen some of these..IRL. wow! I was born in 57.. when we had channel 2,4,5,7,9,20,44. thats it. Then at 2am the Star Spangle Banner played on TV followed by static; and America was put to bed... I miss that. ALOT. :((

[@woodrowpreacely7521]

Waz always crazy about Lancer theme even today.

[@sallywest3143]

I loved these shows when I was a kid - I was born in 1955 and my favourite shows were "Lancer", "High Chapparal", "Iron Horse", "Laredo" and "The Virginian" - we loved these shows in the UK! I was never a fan of "Bonanza" or "Alias Smith & Jones" which all my friends loved!

[@jonimichalski9193]

Robert Horton had a beautiful voice

[@markmeader5148]

Ah, this came from the late 50’s-early 60’s when there were many, many westerns on every week with many great themes songs. Most didn’t last because they were too similar to earlier westerns, or because it made a hero out of a controversial figure like “The Legend of Custer”, or a known villain like “Jesse James”, and turned to “gimmick” westerns like “ The Wild, Wild West”! But it was great fun for us kids while they lasted!!!!!!

[@group4taker]

Some great memories..........nice one

[@jonimichalski9193]

Love it but big valley and Bonanza and the original Wagon train and Gunsmoke were the best ps they should have had a Cross over espidoe between shendoea and Wagon train I think it would have Answered a lot of questions for And About both shows About flint Mccolugh why he suddenly disappeared

[@hampshirewestmusiccollecti3619]

Very nice. Thank you.

[@RAlanBryan2112]

I had never heard of TATE, Custer, Klondike or the Dakotas. thanks!

[@skye1212]

So many of these I had forgotten about, but I recognized most. Funny how we all grew up with westerns or WW2 shows and now there virtually extinct themes.

[@Ljordan093]

My mother saw every show here.This explains her love for Westerns!

[@SagaSagaVGM]

Absolutely love TV westerns, and some of these shows look pretty good. Shame I'll probably never be able to actually see the majority of them.

[@Staszu13]

Interesting thing on Guns of Will Sonnett, they'd found the boy's dad and if there'd been another season it was going to be the three of them riding.

[@ronaldrickard3551]

never saw them find him

[@Staszu13]

Liked the theme on A Man Called Shenandoah. Sucks that he never got his memory back

[@Hatscatsandwaffles]

Slim Pickens is one of the best names ever. His and Leif Erickson's parents certainly had good senses of humor.

[@AlfredFJones1776]

LAREDO IS MY SHIT!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THAT SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!

[@Coastincolt]

Alfred F. Jones A clever action comedy that stands up very well! Neville Brand steals the show, but Peter Brown and William Smith (who usually mostly played a villain) were excellent as well!

[@yardbirdmackay]

Just terrific

[@RwDt09]

You'll find it in my "Animated Intros to 60s TV Sitcoms Part 2". Either copy and paste that quoted title into KZbin's search window or click on my name at the top upper right corner of this page for both it and my complete list of videos posted.

[@MrAzrancher]

It is my opinion that the High Chaparral was the best all time western TV show, it was like a mini-movie every week, with the riding, the stunts and action. It was very expensive to produce compared to most other westerns of the day.

[@tyvallon6511]

Great cast and the best theme song.

[@BlueSky-qv7cd]

I would agree, I think the reason the High Chaparral was so expensive is instead of being shoot mostly on a sound stage like Bonanza it was mostly shoot outside, also the theme music was about the best for a western, the Big Valley wasn't bad either.

[@fatdad64able]

MrAzrancher : I only occasionally was allowed to watch The High Chaparall because it was on at 9 p m on German TV. I had a brother who was 4 years older and when I was lucky, my parents didn't notice i was standing behind them. The opening theme still gives me goose bumps even after almost 50 years.I thought uncle Buck was by far the coolest, because he wore all in black ( AND BLACK LEATHER GLOVES, HOLY SMOKE!!!) and the German actor who dubbed him later was the German voice of Darth Vader.....who was? Yep, dressed all in black. And every kid knows: You don't mess with the guys dressed all in black unless you're John Wayne, lol. I also loved guns of will sonett, rifleman, branded Ty Hardin as Bronco Lane...and the one,...dang.....Laramie I think it was called,...oh and brave eagle, because I was so in love with the squaw ( Kim Wynona) I soon replaced her with Genie and Emma Peel, because I was five already and started to like women in tight clothes, lol

[@suzietrecallion1042]

Anton Chigurh Buck was my fav too.Cam Mitchell once explained why he wore black.

[@texxmexx8176]

Lots of interesting stuff in that series, conflicts and tension running just below the surface and occasionally erupting: Blue and John's father-son conflicts, John and Victoria's arranged-marriage conflicts, Buck and Victoria's closeness which almost got out of hand in one episode. But also a lot of camaraderie and, well, love going on among the tensions. Kind of like real life, but writ large....

[@marsnook]

I only remembered the last ones and you forgot The Wild Wild West with Robert Conrad and Ross Martin.

[@level242]

At 3:11 that Jesse James songs sounds like it was sang by the same ppl who did the Giligan's Island theme.Also the theme song sounds less like a Western and more like Annette Funicello/Gidget/Beach Boys music At 6:56 to 7:06 is beutifull to look at.

[@jefferzone61]

Great clips....reiterates the fact that hollywood can and will beat a horse until.....well, until it's a soup,,,,,or they get tired of beating it.....no, when they get tired they'll put their relatives on the payroll and let them beat it ....until it;s a soup....Thanks for the clips!!!

[@RwDt09]

@ApollonianKing Actually, they all aired in the 60s. Cimarron City was a 1958-59 series but had a repeat run in the summer of 1960. Riverboat began in 1959 and ran till early 1961. The High Chaparral was the only one to spill over into the 70s, ending in 1971, in the summer of which both Cimarron Strip (not City) and Lancer also had repeat runs after their original airings ended in 1968 and 1969, respectively.

[@doodahbagel]

Really nice compilation. But what's going on with that guy's left hand at 1:47 (Tate)????

[@vinylsingleman]

Riverboat, Cimarron City, Tate, Will Sonnett, and Laredo are all out in full on DVD.

[@jbaumun]

Oh, and I loved the theme to Cimmaron Strip . Still do .

[@ediekoller2636]

Wow great clips. I have heard of a few of the shows but I know most of the actors who were in these shows as I am a movie buff. I am not sure but these shows did not last a long time. I actually have met a few of these actors in person many many years ago as I live in Eastern Part of San Fernando Valley since 1961. I might have been in the Navy during the time when some of the shows were on..(1966-1969) but I still love the old westerns of the 1950's as a younger child. Thanks so much

[@suzietrecallion1042]

Edie Koller who did u get to meet u lucky thing?

[@ApollonianKing]

Remember, this was during an era when people would watch anything to keep their minds off the daily news. There were three television networks and things were so different back then it might as well have been the Old West. I do not miss the 60s.

[@lp-xl9ld]

God help any actor in that era who couldn't ride or shoot (or at least fake both convincingly)

[@RwDt09]

@BeingRomans829ed These are just clips I got off KZbin and elsewhere. You can find full episodes of some of these shows on KZbin just by typing in the title, some will be complete, others will be divided into multiple parts.

[@theretiringbarber]

Loved riverboat.

[@dsimmonsla]

I loved Laredo and High Chapparal, but some of the others i dont even remember! Cimarron Strip wasnt bad, but only ran one season i think. Quite a collection.

[@banner74]

The character's arm was nearly blown off in Civil War,so it was wrapped from fingertip to shoulder in leather case.

[@llennywa]

I grew up watching TV Westerns, and even with my "sometimes convenient" photographic memory, cannot remember some of these shows.

[@robertwayne808]

When I was a kid I never missed Laredo on Friday nights. Too bad Hollywood has forgotten how to make terrific shows like they did back in the '60s and '70s.

[@robharding4028]

I agree ! great show Laredo, but there were so many 60's western series, I loved most of them, Here in Britain,

[@henryquenin6580]

The Law Of the Plainsman was my fav when I was a kid.

[@kiwigirlcruiser]

Lots of memories here. What about "The Road West" 1966. That would be a hard one to find I bet.

[@vinylsingleman]

Believe it or not, Tate, which was a summer series of only 13 episodes, is out on DVD, while High Chaparral, which lasted four seasons, is not.

[@robertgift]

0:42 Dipping the firewood into what and for what purpose?

[@tytotherone]

I always loved the Iron Horse and Borax detergent.

[@AMPATL]

The only one they exported to Britain was High Chaparral. We got Casey Jones, Champion the Wonder Horse and a few others. Anyone remember any more?

[@jonimichalski9193]

Wagons oh McCullough just hear those words s and have a taste of Charlie coffee and you would have remembered everything right Quick shock treatment would have worked P.S. . RIP ROBERT Horton Talented Person.

[@margolou2010]

I like the theme from "Iron Horse," and I love the theme from "High Chaparral." I remember a few of these shows, but forgot the theme songs. And "High Chaparral" almost sounds like "Telestar" by the Tornadoes.

[@ssimmons0602]

No "Laramie?" I may cry.

[@ApollonianKing]

I hate to repost, but some of these were from the 50s and 70s. Great compilation though.

[@BeingRomans829ed]

This was great! Most of these I don't even remember. But, it's funny how the mind works; I haven't heard the theme to "Laredo" in, probably, over 40 years, but when I heard it, I recognized it. BTW, apparently you have these old shows on DVD. Where can I get old shows like this?

[@schallrd1]

At least Jessie James was compliant wearing a mask for Covid-19.

[@Onlymusical]

The better the show, the better the theme. There's definitely a correlation and I never really quite realized that. By far the best here on both counts, of course, is the superb "Cimarron Strip." The only weak link for that series was the supporting players, incredible because it was made by the producers of the mother of all supporting casts, "Gunsmoke."

[@jonimichalski69]

Love it

[@Ali-ct9pb]

Oh wow. Ralph Taeger! He’s our local wood supplier. Not sure if he’s still alive though. I no longer need wood. Nice guy. He told me he was an actor, it was just before my time. But he said he had acted in Combat the show. I did not know about Klondike.

[@MrFirstdance2000]

Guns of Will Sonnett by far the best of this and many others. Too bad not enough was put into its writing and success.

[@caesarvalentin7155]

Alias Smith and Jones and Bonanza the last wetstern tv series in the early 1970's

[@robharding4028]

Two wonderful western shows for all the family !

[@speedracer1945]

I was a fan of Cimarron Strip and Custer , and watched Laredo and Will Sonnett , some are coming back on TV on the GRIT channel

[@Juliaflo]

Don't you just love that channel?

[@williamjones6276]

Some classic memories here!! Stuart Whitman as Marshal Jim Crown in "Cimmaron Strip." Philip "Granny Goose Man" Carey as Capt. Parmalee in "Laredo." Andrew Duggan as Murdoch Lancer in "Lancer." Man what memories!! Some of y'all don't know NOTHING about these westerns!!!

[@jonimichalski69]

Was The Cinnamon Strip A Spin-off of Gunsmoke I Always Thought It Was Because They At the Same Producer s.And I Think That Cinnamon Was Mentioned On Their A few Times

[@CountWannabe]

Between 1950 and 1970 Westerns were the most popular genre on T.V. with Hundreds of shows airing from the beginnings of television in the 1940's until the 'Rural Purge' in the late 1960's. Many shows saw only one season, sometimes less, through early cancellation. During it's peak in 1959 the western had 26 shows airing - almost one per channel per night every night of the week. Shows like Wagon Train, The Big Valley, Bonanza and Gunsmoke proved the western could endure many seasons and even become more popular in syndication reruns. They could mirror modern problems and issues of the day in an indirect way and even parody them. They could also emulate 'classic' literature like Moby Dick, Pride And Prejudice, Hamlet and others. The western has never truly left the screen but continued to evolve and present itself anew in the form of modern shows like 'Firefly' and even 'The Walking Dead'. (Below is a link to wikipedia's 'List of T.V. Westerns' ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_TV_Westerns