"Rawhide" is a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written by

Ned Washington Ned Washington (born Edward Michael Washington, August 15, 1901 – December 20, 1976) was an American lyricist born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Life and career Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962. He won the Be ...

(lyrics) and composed by

Dimitri Tiomkin Dimitri Zinovievich Tiomkin (May 10, 1894 – November 11, 1979) was a Russian and American film composer and conductor. Classically trained in Saint Petersburg before the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Berlin and then New York City after t ...

in 1958. It was originally recorded by

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

. The song was used as the theme to ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'', a western television series that ran on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

from

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

. Members of the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in th ...

chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.

Background

The song is about the job of a drover on a

cattle drive Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding, often associated with cattle, in which case it is a cattle drive (particularly in the US). Droving stock to market—usually on foot and often with the ...

In other media

* In ''

The Blues Brothers The Blues Brothers (formally, The Fabulous Blues Brothers’ Show Band and Revue) are an American blues and soul music, soul revue band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, who met and began collaborating as original cast ...

'', the band performs "Rawhide" in a local country western bar. * The song is played in a scene on '' An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'', when the titular character is rolling through the desert inside a tumbleweed. The song is actually the cover reused from ''The Blues Brothers'', mentioned above, performed by an uncredited

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

and

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

as various desert animals. However, the song was removed from the soundtrack's later releases due to copyright. * In ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. ''My Favorite Martian'' was th ...

'', the sentient, wise-cracking metallic suit Zoot (voiced by an uncredited

Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played recurring roles such as Newman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996� ...

) sings a verse of the song as he and fellow Martians Martin (

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and television shows since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''B ...

) and Neenert (

Ray Walston Herman Ray Walston (November 2, 1914 – January 1, 2001) was an American actor. He started his career on Broadway theatre, Broadway earning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as Mr. Applegate in ''Damn Yankees'' (1956 ...

) leave Earth on their spacecraft. * The song is parodied in the ''

Histeria! ''Histeria!'' is an American animated series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. Unlike other animated series produced by Warner Bros. in the 1990s, ''Histeria!'' was an explicitly educational program c ...

'' episode "North America" as the Cowpie Song. * In ''

A Little Curious ''A Little Curious'' is an American children's animated television series that ran on HBO and HBO Family for two seasons. The series premiered on February 1, 1999 until its final episode aired on May 1, 2000. The series, produced by cel and compu ...

'', episode Long, Short, Roll, there is a segment with a song that is a parody of "Rawhide". * On ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', the Canyonero jingle featured in " The Last Temptation of Krust" is a parody. Additionally, in " Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore", the song

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

, Lenny, and Carl sing while rolling on toxic barrels is sung to the tune of "Rawhide". * In ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Sti ...

'',

Donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

(voiced by

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

) is briefly heard singing the song; however, the song wasn't included in the soundtrack. * In ''

Happy Feet Two ''Happy Feet Two'' is a 2011 animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced and co-written by George Miller. It is the sequel to the 2006 film ''Happy Feet''. Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Hugo Weaving, Magda Szubanski and Anthony LaPagli ...

'', the elephant seals were heard singing with an Australian accent while marching to the iceberg was included in the soundtrack. * The theme song to the 1980 Japanese ''

Super Sentai The is a Japanese superhero team media franchise consisting of television series and films produced by Toei Company and Bandai, and aired by TV Asahi. The shows are of the '' tokusatsu'' genre, featuring live action characters and colorfu ...

'' series, ''

Denshi Sentai Denjiman is Toei's fourth entry to its Super Sentai metaseries. It was broadcast from February 2, 1980, to January 31, 1981, replacing ''Battle Fever J'' and was replaced by ''Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan''. The title given to this series for international dis ...

'', is heavily based on the ''Rawhide'' theme song. * The jingle for the Rosen Motor Group used car dealership ("Rosen, Rosen, Rosen, Rosen, Rosen, Rosen") is based on the ''Rawhide'' theme. * A series of mid-1990s advertisements for the

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

chain that focus on its rolling back prices use a song based on the ''Rawhide'' theme. * In the ''Star Trek'' tie-in novel '' How Much for Just the Planet?'' by John M. Ford, the play-acting Direidi barbarian followers of Queen Janeka sing a song whose lyrics (about the difficulties of being a barbarian horde in the 23rd century) parallel those of the "Rawhide" theme. * In ''City Slickers'', Mitch Robbins, played by

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...

, sings a parody of the ''Rawhide'' theme while on horseback. * In Series 3, Episode 1 of Hustle, Danny Blue (played by

Marc Warren Marc Warren (born 20 March 1967) is an English actor, known for his British television roles. His roles have included Albert Blithe in ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001), Danny Blue (Hustle), Danny Blue in ''Hustle (TV ...

) sings the song while in the bath.

Notable covers

Dan Sartain Daniel Fredrick Sartain (August 13, 1981 – March 20, 2021) was an American musician. His music encompasses a variety of genres, including rockabilly, punk rock and the blues. Biography Sartain grew up in Fairfield, Alabama, and later settled ...

* 101 Strings Orchestra *

Big John Bates Big John Bates is a Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist. He cofounded and performed in Annihilator (band), Annihilator writing the first and highest selling album, Alison Hell. As the creator of Big John Bates & the Voodoo Dollz (the fir ...

(on the soundtrack to their eponymous film) *

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

* Frank Chacksfield and his Orchestra; the first bars of this instrumental version were used in a news jingle by

Radio Veronica Radio Veronica was an offshore radio station that began broadcasting in 1960, and was on air for over fourteen years. It was set up by independent radio, TV and household electrical retailers in the Netherlands, to stimulate the sales of ra ...

in the 1970s *

Dezperadoz Dezperadoz (formerly Desperados) is a German "Western metal" band and is the side project of Onkel Tom guitarist Alex Kraft. Formed in 2000, the band plays heavy metal music that is heavily influenced by the soundtracks of the 1960s and 1970 ...

(''The legend and the truth'' album, 2006) *

Ensiferum Ensiferum (Latin: , n adj., meaning "sword bearing") is a Finnish folk metal band from Helsinki. The members of the band label themselves as "melodic folk metal". History Formation, demos and ''Ensiferum'' (1995−2002) ''Ensiferum'' was foun ...

Greenbriar Boys The Greenbriar Boys were an American northern bluegrass music group. who first got together in jam sessions in New York's Washington Square Park. The group disbanded in 1970. Biography In 1958, guitarist and vocalist John Herald formed The Gre ...

Helgi Björnsson Helgi Björnsson (born 10 July 1958), often referred to as Helgi Björns, is an Icelandic actor and pop/rock musician. He has released several albums with his own band Helgi Björns Og Reiðmenn Vindanna. He was also a lead vocalist for the Icela ...

( Icelandic, as ''Ríðum, ríðum, ríðum'') *

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

(performed again with Jimmy Carroll and his orchestra); this version was used in an advertisement for

Google Chrome Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, iPadOS, an ...

in 2013 *

Litfiba Litfiba was an Italian rock band formed in Florence in 1980. The band evolved from British-influenced new wave rock to a more personal rock sound influenced by Mediterranean vibes; their songs are mostly sung in Italian. History First era ...

(''Pirata'' live album, 1989) *

The Men They Couldn't Hang The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodic ...

The Meteors The Meteors are an English psychobilly band formed in 1980. Originally from London, England, they are one of the pioneers of the psychobilly subgenre — which fuses punk rock with rockabilly — its distinctive sound and style. "Starting in t ...

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

*The

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...

used a cover of the song in a 1978 television advertisement for its freight services *Nassim (full name Nassim Ait-Kaci) recorded an instrumental version for the soundtrack of ''

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland ''Tony Hawk's American Wasteland'' is a 2005 skateboarding video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the seventh entry in the '' Tony Hawk's'' series and was released initially for the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox i ...

'' *

Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo () was an American new wave music, new wave band formed by songwriter Danny Elfman in 1979. The band emerged from a Surrealism, surrealist musical theatre troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo, that Elfman had led and wri ...

* Riders in the Sky *

Sheb Wooley Shelby Fredrick Wooley (April 10, 1921 – September 16, 2003) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He recorded a series of novelty songs, including the 1958 hit rock-and-roll comedy single "The Purple People Eater", and under the name ...

(who actually starred in ''Rawhide'') *

Jan Rot Jan Rot (25 December 1957 – 22 April 2022) was a Dutch singer-songwriter born in Makassar, who was famous in the Netherlands for his many translations of songs, pop as well as classical ones. His Dutch translation of Bach's ''St Matthew Pass ...

translated the song in Dutch as "Yippieyayee" for the 2008 album ''An + Jan gaan landelijk'' * Sublime *

Johnny Western Johnny Western (born October 28, 1934) is an American country singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and radio show host. He is a member of the Western Music Association Hall of Fame and the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame. Early life J ...

* The Chaps, 1982 Scottish novelty version (coupled with "Ghostriders in the Sky") * The Survivors, 1965 Jamaican ska cover, released on UK label RIO Records *Jared Irish

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawhide (Song) 1958 songs 1958 singles Dead Kennedys songs Frankie Laine songs Songs about cattle Songs about cowboys and cowgirls Songs with lyrics by Ned Washington Songs with music by Dimitri Tiomkin Television_theme_songs The Blues Brothers songs Western swing songs

Background

In other media

Notable covers

See also

References