Gene Autry: Tioga’s Singing Cowboy

Today is the birthday of Gene Autry. He would be 119 today.

Orvon Grover Autry was born near Tioga, Texas on September 29, 1907, in Grayson County, north of Dallas near the Red River. He grew up on a ranch and learned guitar from his mother and harmonica from a traveling musician. He worked as a telegraph operator for the Frisco railroad in Oklahoma, where Will Rogers heard him singing one night and encouraged him to try the big time. Autry took the advice.

The Cowboys Who Sang

Autry became the first great singing cowboy of Hollywood Westerns, making over 90 films between 1934 and 1953. He recorded “Back in the Saddle Again” — his theme song — in 1939. He wrote and recorded “Here Comes Santa Claus” in 1947 and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” in 1949, making him one of the most commercially successful Christmas recording artists in history. He parlayed his entertainment career into a business empire that included the California Angels baseball team. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969. He died October 2, 1998. Tioga claims him. Learn more at the Texas State Historical Association.