Song. Recording Ritter's recording career was his most successful period. He was the first artist signed with the newly formed Capitol Records. In 1944, he scored a hit with "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You", which hit number one on the country chart and number 11 on the pop chart. An article in the trade publication Billboard noted 14 years later that with that song, he "reached the style of rhythmic tune that would assure his musical stature". In 1952 Ritter recorded "The Ballad of High Noon" for the film High Noon. He performed the track at the first televised Academy Awards ceremony in 1953, and it received an Oscar for Best Song that year. Television When television began to compete with movies for American audiences, Ritter began to make appearances on the new medium following 71 straight movie appearances. In 1953, he began performing on Town Hall Party on radio and television in Los Angeles. In 1957, he co-hosted Ranch Party, a syndicated version of the show. He made his national TV debut in 1955 on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee and was one of five rotating hosts for its 1961 NBC-TV spin-off, Five Star Jubilee. Later work Ritter became one of the founding members of the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee, and spearheaded the effort to build the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum into which he was inducted in 1964. He moved to Nashville in 1965 and began working for radio station WSM and the Grand Ole Opry, earning a lifetime membership in the latter in 1970. Senate campaign In 1970, Ritter entered Tennessee's Republican primary election for United States Senate. Despite high name recognition, he lost the nomination to United States Representative Bill Brock, who then defeated the incumbent Senator Albert Gore, Sr. in the general election. Personal life Ritter had a heart attack and died in Nashville in 1974, ten days before his 69th birthday. He was survived by his wife and two sons, one a popular actor John. Following the death of his son John at the age of 54 from an aortic dissection in 2003, the family now believes that Tex died of it as well, as the condition appears to run in the family. Legacy For his contribution to the recording industry, Ritter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6631 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1980, he was inducted into