Search - Gene Autry :: Essential Gene Autry

"40 Historic Songs from America's Favorite Singing Cowboy"

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 08/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Gene Autry recordings keep surfacing and gathering plenty of steam with this latest release "THE ESSENTIAL GENE AUTRY"...the sound quality is excellent and nostalgic for the wranglers who grew up listening to "America's Favorite Singing Cowboy"...for the first time ever a 2-CD-Set covering his entire Columbia Records career, absolutely essential for all cowboys and gals...Gene's good guy image with catchy lyrics and beautiful melodies are pleasant and extremely calming...after listening these songs over and over, you are transported back in time when life was simpler and the good guys always won. Gene was the screen's first "Singing Cowboy", already well known in the late '20s as a radio and recording star. Autry began making films in 1934 and kept cranking them out except for a short visit with Uncle Sam in the United States Army Air during World War 2.



Ride down the trail to Melody Ranch and meet the only entertainer with five stars on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame". One each for radio, recordings, films, television and live appearances. The Autry Museum of Western Heritage is a world-class center devoted to preserving and interpreting the rich history and traditions of the American West...Gene maintained his own coterie of fine songwriters to keep him supplied with original tunes...his wondrously effective singing voice was warm, reassuring and nostalgic...somes marvelous recordings from Gene's early days in films...40 historic songs from his rise to superstardom in "horse-operas".



"TUMBLING TUMBLEWEEDS" and "BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN" were big Autry recordings and became movie titles...and "GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY" became a classic for him and other recording artists...other highlights ~ SOUTH OF THE BORDER(DOWN MEXICO WAY), MEXICALI ROSE, THAT SILVER-HAIRED DADDY OF MINE, WHEN IT'S SPRINGTIME IN THE ROCKIES, BE HONEST WITH ME, DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS, TAKE ME BACK TO MY BOOTS AND SADDLE, YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE, JINGLE JANGLE JINGLE, DON'T FENCE ME IN, HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE YOU, GOODNIGHT IRENE, SIOUX CITY SUE, HOME ON THE RANGE, ON TOP OF OLD SMOKEY, BUTTONS AND BOWS, OLD CHISHOLM TRAIL, PETER COTTON TAIL..plus many, many more gave us such pleasure when we saw Gene on that big screen.



During my childhood I grew up listening to Gene Autry's Christmas music...there isn't a more special way to celebrate Christmas than hearing "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" performed by Gene...now that I have my grandchildren, I want them to have the same wonderful memories that I experienced...this was good old fashioned Christmas spirit that the entire family loved and enjoyed...Gene Autry who was responsible for keeping one of the world's greatest Christmas traditions alive the "Hollywood Christmas Parade", when bad times surfaced and needed some assistance financially...it was Gene who came to the rescue as Johnny Grant (Honary Mayor of Hollywood) did whatever it took to keep the parade the class-A Holiday event from going under...drawing approximatley one million spectators along the parade route each year, Hollywood's biggest single-day event and the kick off for the Holiday Season...this was all from Gene's generous support and giving spirit.



By 1969 Gene's version of "RUDOLPH" had sold 6,500,000 copies and was the all-time top selling single for Columbia Records (the 1957 version, recorded for Gene's Challenge label, is included here)..."RUDOLPH" ranks as the second favorite Christmas song right behind Irving Berlin's "White Christmas".



But let's go back to the 1946, on a Thanksgiving weekend and a Gene rode tall in the saddle, and Santa Claus was right around the bend, heard the children excited chants of "HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS"...and a song was born from Gene and co-written by Oakley Haldeman...recorded on August 28th, 1947 and became an instant hit. Then in 1949 songwriter Johnny Marks composed a tune from a poem - "RUDOLPH, THE RED-NOSED REINDEER" many artist turned down the chance to record this classic, but Ina Autry, Gene's first wife loved the song and felt the children would love it too...she was right...and the rest my friends, is history...this Autry Collection is Essential for all fans of Country Music and Western Films...don't miss this one, you'll never regret it!



Total Time: 2-CD-Set ~ Sony/Columbia/Legacy 63779 ~ (1/11/2005)"

Great collection of Autry's best material

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 01/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like many of the old-time singing cowboys, screen star Gene Autry has long been discounted by some country snobs, who see him as too hokey to be part of the classic country canon. Too bad for those folks, though, because Autry's music is both rich in country tradition and musical show-biz savvy. Like Roy Rogers and other hayseed Hollywood harmonizers, Autry dipped liberally into jazz and swing, giving his music a nice little bounce. The songs are delightfully corny and often well-crafted, drawing on the traditions of the Tin Pan Alley composers -- this is music that was made to entertain, and it still works its magic, all these decades later. This is a nice 2-CD set that gathers material from many of the labels Autry recorded for, including Columbia, Okeh, Vocalion and a slew of smaller outfits, and spans his career from 1931, when he was still singing roughneck blues (ala Jimmie Rodgers) up through the early 1950s, when his success with "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer" had led him to a profitable sideline singing songs for kiddies. This is an excellent collection which really does justice to the wide range of material Autry covered... Highly recommended!"

Splendid! Every home should have one!

Patrick Murphy | Toronto, Canada | 02/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a terrific album and definitely the place to start a Gene Autry collection. Disc 1 is pure magic. The sound is clearer than on the previous 1992 single disc Essential release and the performances have a marvellously unadorned simplicity and charm. It doesn't get better than this anywhere.



Disc 2 is also very good although not quite up to the standard of Disc 1. While very listenable, the 10 tracks from the late 40s/early 50s don't have quite the sparkle of the earlier recordings. If I had my way, I'd substitute a half-dozen earlier recordings (Old Faithful, Dust, The Last Roundup, Pardon for Daddy, Red River Valley & Blueberry Hill) in place of later recordings like Ghost Riders in the Sky, God Bless America, Goodnight Irene, Roly Poly, On Top of Old Smokey & Old Soldiers Never Die. But that's a small quibble. Sony are to be commended for this excellent addition to the Columbia Legacy series."