The original âbutcherâ cover of this record was not well-received, so Capitol Records spent $250,000 recalling the 750,000 copies that had already been shipped to stores. The covers were changed, but as with most recalls, some of the original copies remained out in the world and have been sold for as much as $15,300.
The Rifleman is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son, Mark McCain. It was set in the 1870s and 1880s in the town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show was filmed in black-and-white, half-hour episodes. The Rifleman aired on ABC from September 30, 1958, to April 8, 1963, as a production of Four Star Television. It was one of the first prime time series on American television to show a widowed parent raising a child.
After the producers watched him in the movie, they decided they should cast Connors in the role of Lucas McCain and make him a better offer, including a five-percent ownership of the show. The Rifleman was an immediate hit, ranking No. 4 in the Nielsen ratings in 1958â59, behind three other Westerns â Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Have Gun â Will Travel.