"Laine's 1961 album Hell Bent for Leather was a compendium of western classics, sung in his signature style. The pairing was so successful that Laine was asked to sing the theme songs to a number of cowboy TV shows, eventually becoming closely associated with the genre." "In fact, the association was so strong that when Mel Brooks made the movie Blazing Saddles in 1974, Laine was the obvious choice to sing the theme song. When he made the recording, Laine wasn't aware that the movie would be a comedy – and he sang with all the serious intensity he would give to any other good cowboy song. The result was absolutely perfect."