Composed by Gioachino Rossini for his opera William Tell, which premiered in Paris in 1829, the overture closes with a brisk march often linked to galloping horses. In the 20th century American radio and television adopted that finale as the theme for The Lone Ranger, cementing it in popular culture far beyond opera houses. That association made the piece a universal cue for heroics and hurrying. Animators, advertisers and comedy editors kept reusing it, so younger audiences now know it mainly from cartoons, films and short online videos.