should collaborate to record some of the poetry, which eventually resulted in the Grammy-nominated spoken-word album, America, Why I Love Her (1973). The song "The Ballad of John Chisum", which is heard during the opening credits of the film, features verses spoken by William Conrad, while the song heard later in the film, "Turn Me Around", is sung by Merle Haggard. Box office and reception The film premiered in Dallas, Texas, on June 24, 1970. It grossed $6 million at the box office. U.S. President Richard Nixon commented on the film during a press conference in Denver, Colorado, on August 3, 1970. In doing so, he used the film as a context to explain his views on law and order: Director Andrew V. McLaglen called the film one of his favorites and said: "I wanted Billy the Kid to just be Billy the Kid, a human being, not a bad little boy. Fenady was sort of a scholar about the Lincoln County Cattle War, which was a conflict over water and cattle—trading cattle—and John Chisum actually became a very powerful landowner. It was an American story." Home media Warner Home Video released Chisum on Blu-ray on June 7, 2016. See also List of American films of 1970 John Wayne filmography References External links 1970 films 1970 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Lincoln County Wars Films directed by Andrew McLaglen Films produced by John Wayne Films scored by Dominic Frontiere Films set in New Mexico Films set in the 1870s Batjac Productions films Warner Bros. films 1970s English-language films Cultural depictions of Billy the Kid Cultural depictions of Pat Garrett 1970s historical films American historical films Biographical films about Billy the Kid 1970s American films