Tex Ritter, the son of James Everett Ritter and Martha Elizabeth Matthews grew up on his family's farm in Panola County and attended grade school in Carthage. He then attended South Park High School in Beaumont. After graduating with honors, he entered the University of Texas at Austin; he studied pre-law, majoring in government, political science and economics.
One of the early pioneers of country music, Ritter soon became interested in show business. In 1928, he sang on KPRC Radio in Houston, a thirty-minute show featuring cowboy songs. In that same year, he moved to New York City and quickly landed a job in the men's chorus of the Broadway show The New Moon (1928).
He appeared as "The Cowboy" in the Broadway production Green Grow the Lilacs (1930), which was the basis for the later musical Oklahoma!. He also played the part of Sagebrush Charlie in The Round Up (1932) and Mother Lode (1934).
Ritter also worked on various radio programs. In 1932, he starred on the WOR Radio show The Lone Star Rangers, which was New York's first broadcast western. He sang songs and told tales of the Old West. Ritter wrote and starred in Cowboy Tom's Roundup on WINS Radio in New York in 1933. This daily children's cowboy radio program aired over three stations on the East Coast for three years. These shows marked the beginning of Ritter's popularity in radio, which paved the way for his upcoming singing career. He also performed on the radio show WHN Barndance and sang on NBC Radio.
He appeared in several radio dramas, including CBS's Bobby Benson's Adventures and Death Valley Days.
Ritter began recording for American Record Company (Columbia Records) in 1933. His first released recording was "Goodbye Ole Paint." He also recorded "Rye Whiskey" for that label. In 1935, he signed with Decca Records, where he recorded his first original recordings, "Sam Hall" and "Get Along Little Dogie."
In 1936, he moved to Los Angeles, California. His motion picture debut was in Song Of The Gringo (1936) for Grand National Pictures. He starred in twelve movies for Grand National, "B" grade Westerns, which included Headin' For The Rio Grande (1936), and Trouble In Texas (1937) co-starring Rita Hayworth (then known as Rita Cansino).
After starring in Utah Trail (1938), Ritter left the financially troubled Grand National. Between 1938 and 1945, he starred in around forty "singing cowboy" movies, mostly to critical scorn.
Ritter made four movies with actress Dorothy Fay at Monogram Pictures: Song of the Buckaroo (1938), Sundown on the Prairie (1939), Rollin' Westward (1939) and Rainbow Over the Range (1940).
He recorded a total of twenty-nine songs for Decca, the last being in 1939 in Los Angeles as part of Tex Ritter and His Texans.
Tex helped start United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc, after his son, Thomas, was found to have cerebral palsy. Tex, Thomas, and John spent a great deal of time raising money and public awareness to help others with cerebral palsy.
Ritter was the first artist signed with the newly-formed Capitol Records as well as being their first Western singer. His first recording session was on June 11, 1942. His music recording career began what was his most successful period.
He achieved significant success with "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle," and in 1944, he scored another hit with "I'm Wastin' My Tears On You," which hit #1 on the country charts and #11 on the Pop charts. "There's A New Moon Over My Shoulder" was a country charts #2 and Pop charts #21. In 1945, he had the #1, #2 and #3 songs on Billboard's "Most Played Jukebox Folk Records" poll, a first in the industry. Between 1945 and 1946, he registered seven consecutive Top 5 hits, including "You Two Timed Me One Time Too Often," a country #1 written by Jenny Lou Carson, which spent eleven weeks on the charts. In 1948, "Rye Whiskey" and his cover of "Deck Of Cards" both made the Top 10 and "Pecos Bill" reached #15. In 1950, "Daddy's Last Letter (Private First Class John H. McCormick)" also became a hit.
In 1952, Ritter recorded the movie title-track song "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin')", which became a hit. He sang "High Noon" at the first Academy Awards ceremony to be televised in 1953, and he recorded the song a number of times. It received an Oscar for Best Song that year.[1]
Ritter first toured Europe in 1952. In 1953, he began performing on Town Hall Party on radio and television in Los Angeles. He formed Vidor Publications, Inc., a music publishing firm, with Johnny Bond, in 1955. "Remember the Alamo" was the first song in the catalog.
In 1957, he released his first LP album, Songs From the Western Screen. He starred in his own television music series, Ranch Party, televised for four years, starting in 1959.
Even after the peak of his performing career, Ritter would be recognized for his contributions to country and western music and for his artistic versatility. He became one of the founding members of the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1964, he became the fifth person and first singing cowboy to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He moved to Nashville in 1965 and began working for WSM Radio and the Grand Ole Opry. He also received a lifetime membership to the Opry. His family remained in California temporarily so that son John could finish high school there. For a time, Dorothy was an official greeter at the Opry. During this period, Ritter co-hosted a late night radio program with famed country disc jockey Ralph Emery.
In 1970, Ritter surprised many people by entering the Republican primary for United States Senate. Despite high name recognition, he lost overwhelmingly to Chattanooga, Tennessee Congressman Bill Brock, who then went on to win the general election.
As Long As I Live
Tex Ritter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Life isn't long enough baby, but I can love you as long as I live.
Maybe I can't give you diamonds and things like I want to,
But I can promise you, baby, I'm gonna want to as long as I live.
I never cared, but now I'm scared, I won't live long enough.
That's why I wear my rubbers when it rains and eat an apple every
What if I can't live to love you as long as I want to.
Long as I promise you, baby, I'm gonna love you as long I live.
I'll even wear long underwear, when winter breezes blow
I'm gonna take good care of me because, a sneeze or two might mean the flu,
And that would never never do
What if I can't live to love you as long as I want to.
Long as I promise you, baby, I'm gonna love you as long I live.
The lyrics of Tex Ritter's song "As Long as I Live" express a deep devotion and commitment to love. The singer acknowledges that life is not unlimited, but he promises to love his partner for as long as he can possibly live. He understands that he may not be able to provide extravagant material possessions, but he reassures his partner that his love will never fade. The idea of mortality is reflected in the lyrics, as the singer becomes more cautious about his health in order to prolong his life and his love for his partner.
The lyrics also reveal a shift in the singer's perspective towards love. He admits that he never really cared about living a long life, but his love for his partner has given him a newfound fear of not being able to spend enough time with them. This realization has compelled him to take better care of himself and become more conscious of his health. The singer seems to understand the importance of maintaining his own well-being in order to continue loving his partner for as long as he possibly can.
Tex Ritter's "As Long as I Live" is a song about the commitment to love and the fear of mortality. It is a reminder to appreciate the time we have with our loved ones and to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to love and be loved.
Line by Line Meaning
Maybe I can't live to love you as long as I want to.
Life isn't long enough baby, but I can love you as long as I live.
Maybe I can't give you diamonds and things like I want to,
But I can promise you, baby, I'm gonna want to as long as I live.
I never cared, but now I'm scared, I won't live long enough.
That's why I wear my rubbers when it rains and eat an apple every day then see the doctor anyway.
What if I can't live to love you as long as I want to.
Long as I promise you, baby, I'm gonna love you as long I live.
I'll even wear long underwear, when winter breezes blow
I'm gonna take good care of me because, a sneeze or two might mean the flu, And that would never never do
What if I can't live to love you as long as I want to.
Long as I promise you, baby, I'm gonna love you as long I live.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DOLLY PARTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@edwardpeterson1634
Tex Ritter dies a fantastic rendition of this great song.
@watchman1178
"We Live in Two Different Worlds" - Tex Ritter must've been able to see the future. This could be the theme song for 2021.
@ruthboykin9873
Beautiful old song I've always loved it! Loved Tex Ritter also. Thank you for this great video!