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America's Favorite Singing Cowboy
Known as America's Favorite Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry's career spanned some 70 years in the entertainment industry. He became famous in radio, records, film, television, and live tour performances including rodeo. From the late 1920s through the early 1950s, Gene Autry recorded and wrote hundreds of songs; he was the most successful singing cowboy, appearing in 93 movies and starring in 91 episodes of his television series. Gene Autry was ranked among the most celebrated film stars, and for years was considered to be the most popular Western film actor. In his later years, Gene Autry owned television and radio stations on the West Coast and was the original owner of the Angels Major League Baseball team in Anaheim, California.
Gene Autry Activities and Events
Updated March 4, 2024
Gene Autry YouTube Clip of the Week
Posted April 22, 2024
Last week the Library of Congress announced the National Recording Registry Inductees for 2024 and we are thrilled to share that Gene Autry's 1949 Columbia Records release Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer is on this prestigious list! The Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden named the 25 recordings as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the nation's recorded sound heritage. Gene is in good company with this year's recording selections including Benny Goodman, Patti Page, Perry Como, Johnny Mathis, ABBA and more.
To celebrate this recognition, our Gene Autry YouTube Clip of the Week is Presenting.....Gene Autry "Christmas Songs". Hear Gene in his own words tell how he was inspired to write Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) and how he came to record Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
Visit the Official Gene Autry YouTube Channel for more Gene Autry musical clips from his radio, movie, and television career. Be sure to subscribe so you'll receive updates whenever Gene Autry Entertainment uploads new videos! Read More
Holiday Hitmaker Gene Autry's Easter Tunes
Posted March 4, 2024
Everyone knows that Gene Autry is the Christmas Cowboy with his hit songs "Here Comes Santa Claus (right Down Santa Claus Lane)" and "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," but did you know that Gene also sang Easter tunes, too? That's right, he performed "Easter Parade" on his Melody Ranch Radio Show on Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947. While he never recorded this Irving Berlin classic for Columbia Records it was a hit with his radio audience. When Gene renewed his contract with Columbia Records in the Spring of 1950 for an additional five years, his brand-new Easter hit "Peter Cottontail" sold 175,000 copies during its first week of release! The flipside of the record was "The Funny Little Bunny (with the Powder Puff Tail)" with Gene backed by the Cass County Boys and Carl Cotner's Orchestra on both tracks.
The popularity of Gene's record "Peter Cottontail" led to the song's performance on his Melody Ranch radio show and in his cross-country personal appearance tours. Most significantly, Gene sang "Peter Cottontail" in his B Western film The Hills of Utah, released by Columbia Pictures in 1951. That same year, Gene recorded and released another Easter record with the songs "Sonny the Bunny" and "Bunny Round-Up Time." The success of Gene Autry's holiday and children's recordings in the early 1950s led to his final Easter record in1954 with "Easter Mornin'" and "The Horse with the Easter Bonnet."
An interesting connection between Gene's Christmas and Easter records are composers Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. Gene debuted their songs "Peter Cottontail" and "Frosty the Snowman" in 1950. Both releases became Gold Records for Gene. He recorded one more song by the songwriting duo, but it wasn't a holiday song. In the early 1950s Smokey Bear was hugely popular with his Wildfire Prevention campaign, and songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote a song about him, adding "the" to the name only to keep the song's rhythm. Gene Autry recorded "Smokey the Bear" in 1952, once again backed by the Cass County Boys and Carl Cotner's Orchestra.
You can check out a selection of Gene Autry's Easter songs performances from his Melody Ranch Radio Show and movie Hills of Utah on our Gene Autry Official YouTube Channel's Easter Songs and Clips Playlist here.
Spotify does have a few of Gene Autry's Columbia Records Easter song recordings.
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Gene Autry Social Media
Updated February 20, 2024
Gene Autry connected with his fans during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s via letters, phone calls, official Fan Club magazines, and of course personal appearances. Today fans can connect with Gene's music, movies, and more via official Social Media outlets like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Folks can also subscribe to streaming services like Spotify for Gene's music and Shout! TV for Gene's films and television series.
For information on how to sign up for and use Gene Autry's official social media and streaming sites. Read more on our website here.
Follow our Gene Autry Official Facebook Page:
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Stream Gene Autry's movies and television series on Shout! TV:
Movies:
https://shout-tv.com/film/western
TV Series:
https://shout-tv.com/series/the-gene-autry-show
Follow Gene Autry's Profile on Spotify:
open.spotify.com/artist/5ixB75BQR3ADoWQkcHQJTs
Subscribe to the Gene Autry YouTube Channel:
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Gene Autry circa 1939