Gene Autry liked the song and together with Whitley revised it and recorded it in April 1939, then performed "Back in the Saddle Again" on film in Rovin' Tumbleweeds (Republic Pictures, November 16, 1939), and introduced it as his theme song for Gene Autry's Melody Ranch, which premiered over the CBS Radio Network on January 7, 1940, on which the show ran until 1956.
Gene Autry recorded "Back in the Saddle Again" for the first time on April 18, 1939, in Los Angeles for American Record Corporation (ARC), which had been acquired by Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) in December 1938,[7] matrix number LA 1865, released on Vocalion 5080.
In 1971, the comedy group Firesign Theatre wrote lyrics to the parody song "Back From the Shadows Again" for their album I Think We're All Bozos on This Bus.
The group reused the parody title in 1993 for their 25th anniversary reunion concert tour and its live recording album.
The 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle included "Back in the Saddle Again" as one of "a number of standards" heard in its soundtrack.