Born in Tioga, Texas on September 29, 1907, Gene Autry grew up on a small ranch and sang in the local church choir. Throughout his youth, he worked on ranches in Texas and Oklahoma -- but frequently lost jobs due to his desire to sing more than to work. Accompanying himself on the guitar, Autry worked a few stage shows and county fairs and finally landed a spot on the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based KVOO, where he sang songs and spun yarns of life on the range. Billed as "Oklahoma's Yodeling Cowboy," the demands of a daily fifteen-minute show got him interested in songwriting; when Autry and train dispatcher Jimmy Long wrote "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," he found his career beginning to soar. His popular recording of the song led, in 1931, to Sears-Roebuck hiring him for a fifteen-minute program on WLS Chicago for the princely sum of thirty-five dollars a week. Shortly thereafter, he began making appearances on "The National Barn Dance" and "The National Farm and Home Hour," also broadcast by WLS.
| Download Title |
Broadcast Date - Description |
Filesize |
| Melody Ranch |
Nov 22, 1953 |
6.76 MB |
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