Tex Ritter (Woodward Maurice Ritter, January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) wa… Read Full Bio ↴Tex Ritter (Woodward Maurice Ritter, January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting (son John and grandson Jason). He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

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.

Cielito Lindo
Tex Ritter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones

De la Sierra Morena
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Un par de ojitos negros

Cielito lindo, de contrabando

Ese lunar que tienes
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
No se lo des a nadie
Cielito lindo que a mí me toca

Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores
Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones

De la Sierra Morena
Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
Un par de ojitos negros
Cielito lindo, de contrabando

Ese lunar que tienes
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
No se lo des a nadie
Cielito lindo que a m me toca

Ay, ay, ay, ay
Canta y no llores

Porque cantando se alegran
Cielito lindo, los corazones

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "Cielito Lindo" can be translated as, "Ay, ay, ay, ay, sing and don't cry, because singing makes hearts happy, beautiful little sky." The song is typically associated with Mexican culture and has been covered by numerous artists throughout the years. The opening lines encourage listeners to sing and be happy, rather than crying or being sad. The song then goes on to describe a pair of dark eyes coming down from the mountains, which are referred to as the Sierra Morena. The lyrics also mention a beauty mark next to the mouth that should not be given to anyone else, as it belongs to the singer.

The song is oftentimes used to celebrate Mexican heritage and culture, particularly during holidays such as Cinco de Mayo. The lyrics speak to the joy and beauty of life, even in the midst of struggle and hardship. Additionally, the repetition of the ay, ay, ay, ay serves as a sort of refrain, encouraging listeners to join in and sing along.

Line by Line Meaning

Ay, ay, ay, ay
Expressing strong emotions of joy and sorrow

Canta y no llores
Sing instead of weeping

Porque cantando se alegran
Singing brings happiness

Cielito lindo, los corazones
The little beautiful one, makes hearts happy

De la Sierra Morena
From the Morena Mountains

Cielito lindo, vienen bajando
The little beautiful one is coming down

Un par de ojitos negros
A pair of black eyes

Cielito lindo, de contrabando
The little beautiful one, smuggled

Ese lunar que tienes
That mole you have

Cielito lindo, junto a la boca
The little beautiful one, next to the mouth

No se lo des a nadie
Don't give it to anyone else