28 Years Ago Today, the World Said Goodbye to the “King of the Singing Cowboys” Who Inspired Countless Imitators

On this day (October 2) in 1998, Gene Autry died from lymphoma in his Studio City, California, home. It was just three days after his 91^st birthday. His legacy includes several hit country songs and western films, in which he played the heroic singing cowboy. While he wasn’t the first to portray the archetype, he was the most popular.

Autry’s career began when he performed on KVOO in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He sang Jimmie Rodgers covers on the air and earned the nickname “Oklahoma’s Yodeling Cowboy.” Not long before the Great Depression, he relocated to New York and cut several singles for multiple recording companies. Art Satherly, an A&R man for American Record Corporation, gave the young performer some advice that changed his life forever. He insisted that Autry cultivate a cowboy image and focus on singing western songs.

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Gene Autry Was the King of the Singing Cowboys

In 1934, Gene Autry appeared in the film In Old Santa Fe as a singing cowboy. A year later, he reprised the role in a sci-fi western serial called The Phantom Empire. According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, Autry was voted the No. 1 box-office attraction for westerns. Moreover, he was the biggest star on the Republic Pictures roster.

His time as Hollywood’s singing cowboy had a huge impact on his recording career and the American film landscape.

As his star in Hollywood rose, his songs soared up the country charts. Songs like “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “Mexicali Rose,” and “That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine” were commercially successful. Later, he topped the charts with “Back in the Saddle Again,” “Little Sir Echo,” and “South of the Border (Down Mexico Way).”

Autry was not the first singing cowboy. Ken Maynard, who appeared in the 1929 film The Wagon Master, is credited as the first to portray the archetype. However, it was Autry’s popularity that made other studios find their own singing cowboys to compete. The only one who came close to matching his popularity, though, was Roy Rogers, who began taking starring roles in the 1940s while Autry was serving in the Army Air Corps during World War II.

Featured Image by Bettmann/Getty Images

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