Dear Mr. Cook,

 

Any number of members of The Vaughn Monroe Society could answer your question, but I just happened to have a few spare moments, so I'll take a crack at it.

 

According to Wikipedia (wikipedia.org), Monroe's recordings of Mule Train and Singing My Way Back Home were made and released in the fall of 1949 (your 45 rpm is numbered RCA Victor 47-3106, while the 78 rpm issue was 20-3600; RCA hadn't yet synchronized their numbering systems). 

 

Mule Train was the "plug" side and Monroe's record of it entered the Billboard magazine popularity chart on November 18, 1949 and stayed there nine weeks.  According to researcher and author Joel Whitburn, its highest chart position was #10.  Actually, there were several successful versions of Mule Train at that time; Frankie Laine's recording for Columbia Records was the most popular (it went to #1), while Bing Crosby recorded it for Decca and Tennessee Ernie Ford covered it on Capitol. 

 

Monroe also performed both songs in a western film, "Singing Guns," released by Republic Pictures in 1950.  According to Wikipedia, "He played an outlaw who became town marshal with the intent of stealing a shipment of gold, and sang [ Mule Train ] while at the reins of what appeared to be a stagecoach."  Lissauer's Encyclopedia of Popular Music in America states that it was "Nominated for Academy Award for being in, but not introduced in," that movie.

 

Lastly, you may have noticed on your record's label that Mule Train was composed by three men (Johnny Lange-Hy Heath-Fred Glickman), while Singing My Way Back Home was written by a "Wilton Moore," which was, in fact, a pen name for Monroe.

 

Thank you for your inquiry and interest in Vaughn Monroe's music. 

 

Regards,

 

- Christopher Popa

 

 

 

--- On Mon, 6/22/09, David Cook <musicnut2161@...> wrote: