1960 Publicity photo of Gene Autry [source]
Gene Autry The Singing Cowboy
Gene Autry was born in Tioga, Texas and grew up helping out with his family’s cattle ranch. He sang in the church choir and his mother gave him his first lessons on guitar when he was twelve. While working as a telegraph operator in the 1920s, Autry would sing and play during his shift. His manager overheard and suggested he move to New York and try to make a career in radio. It would take a few years, but Autry eventually signed a record deal. His first hit, “This Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine,” was the first gold album, selling more than 500,000 copies. He transitioned into the movies in the 1930s, earning the nickname “The Singing Cowboy,” then into television in the late 1940s. Perhaps his most famous song was recorded in 1949: “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” the first record in history to go platinum. Later in life, Autry began to help preserve some of the old cowboy culture, creating what is today the Autry Museum of the American West.
