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Gene Autrey music biography continued...

29, 1907, on a small farm near Tioga, Texas, and soon after moved to Oklahoma. His father, a livestock dealer, introduced him to the life of the cowboy at the same time that Autry was discovering his love for music by singing in his church's choir. Discovered by humorist Will Rogers, in 1929 Autry was billed as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy" at KVOO in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He gained a popular following, a recording contract with Columbia Records in 1929. His breakthrough record, "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," was released in 1931 and became the country's first gold record. Soon after, Autry was selected to perform on the "National Barn Dance" for radio station WLS in Chicago, which helped him establish a national following. By the early '30s, Autry had become one of the most beloved singers in country & western music and his record sales were soaring. At about this time, Autry was also tapped to appear as a singing cowboy in the movies. One of his first starring Westerns was Tumbling Tumbleweeds (released on September 5, 1935), which became a huge hit, and was followed by Melody Trail, The Sagebrush Troubador, and The Singing Vagabond, all released during the final three months of 1935. By 1937 and for five years after -- a string that was only broken when he enlisted in the army during World War II -- Autry was rated as one of the top ten box-office attractions in the country, and a true American superstar.



Although his movie career waned somewhat after World War II, Autry's singing career picked up right where it had left off. In 1949, he scored the biggest single hit of his career -- and possibly the second- or third-biggest hit song ever recorded up to that time -- with "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." Up until 1956, the public listened to him on Gene Autry's Melody Ranch radio show that was heard weekly over the CBS Radio Network, featuring Autry's trademark theme song Back In The Saddle Again. During this time, he also branched out into Television, starring in The Gene Autry Show for CBS. Autry slowed down considerably in the 60s, but not before he became the only entertainer to have all five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one each for Radio, Recording, Motion Pictures, Television, and Live Theatre/performance. He died on October 2, 1998 at age 91, having conquered the entertainment world.