Ray Whitley (singer-songwriter)
Raymond Otis Whitley (December 5, 1901 – February 21, 1979) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for writing the Western song “Back in the Saddle Again.”
Whitley was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He moved to New York City, worked as a steelworker on big projects like the Empire State Building and the George Washington Bridge, and began singing in 1930 after winning a local radio audition. He taught himself to play guitar to back his singing and soon worked with professional musicians, including the Frank Luther Trio. He formed The Range Ramblers and started broadcasting on WMCA. He later toured with the World’s Championship Rodeo, renaming his group Ray Whitley and The Six Bar Cowboys.
Whitley was known for his stock-whip tricks and his guitar work. He recorded for Okeh, Apollo, and Decca. In 1937, he helped Gibson promote the SJ-200 guitar, becoming its first owner; the instrument is now displayed in the Country Music Hall of Fame. He also starred in films, being signed by RKO Radio Pictures as a specialty performer in B westerns from 1937 to 1942, and he made 18 two-reel musical shorts. He later appeared on Roy Rogers TV specials and in the 1956 film Giant.
Whitley wrote “Back in the Saddle Again,” which he first performed in the western Border G-Man. Gene Autry bought the song and made it his theme song, with only minor changes to the melody.
He passed away on February 21, 1979, while traveling to a fishing trip in Mexico with his son-in-law Hal Bracken.
Whitley was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Western Music Association Hall of Fame in 1996. He also endorsed a Montgomery Ward “Recording King” guitar in 1939.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:08 (CET).