Posts Tagged ‘Gene Autry’

Single Of The Day-David Rogers “I’m Gonna Love You Right Out Of This World”

Greetings from Asheville, where good music is always found on the turntable, in the CD player, or in the MP3 player. Today’s Single Of The Day harkens back to an artist that I’m sure, in the minds of many who experienced 1970′s Country music, firsthand, may have completely forgotten, despite having a relatively decent career in Country music, David Rogers. His overall recording career spanned the period, 1967 to 1988. During that time, twenty-one of his singles broke into the Country 40, with two of those making it into the top ten, “Need You” and “Loving You Has Changed My Life”. Three others were able to make it into the Country 20, while, interestingly, six of his singles got close to the Country 20, but stopped in that 21-23 range, including today’s featured single.

The fourteenth of those twenty-one Country 40 singles, “I’m Gonna Love You Right Out Of This World”. The slower ballad, released on Gene Autry’s Republic label, was his third single for the label, and after it’s February, 1977 debut, would peak at twenty-one. A good, solid vocalist, mixed with a good song, this is an excellent release, that in my opinion, should have been a higher peaking single. A fine piece of music, right here.

If you remember the music of David Rogers, or if you’d like to learn about this 1970′s-era vocalist, then you’ll want to check out an article written by our buddy Paul W. Dennis, a few years ago, on the website the9513, that gives a really nice overview of his career. You can read that article by simply clicking here.

Saving vinyl, one record at a time.
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Classic Album Review-Gene Autry “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer & Other Children’s Christmas Favorites”

Greetings from Asheville, where good music is always found on the turntable, in the CD player, or in the MP3 player. Today, an album that has made many revolutions on our turntables, the past forty years or so, Gene Autry’s Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer And Other Children’s Christmas Favorites. Released on Columbia’s Harmony label in November, 1963, it features the original hit versions of Gene’s classics “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Here Comes Santa Claus”, along with his million-selling version of “Frosty The Snowman”. The tracks were all recorded during the late 1940′s and early 1950′s, mixing Autry originals with Christmas standards.

It’s one of those standards that open the album, as you get Gene’s take on “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”. Nothing fancy, here, just straightforward sounds in the typical smooth western sounds of Autry, which makes for fun listening.

The aforementioned “Here Comes Santa Claus” is next. This was actually Gene’s first Christmas hit, selling over a million 78 rpm’s and climbing into both the Country and Pop top tens in 1947. Simply a classic, must-hear for the Christmas season.

“He’s A Chubby Little Fellow”, as one would expect, is all about Santa and telling boys and girls, everywhere, to mind their mommies and daddies and do what’s right so he’ll visit on Christmas Eve. From the Christmas season of 1949, I would term this as a “cute” song. Nothing fancy, groundbreaking, or spectacular, but it does feature a catchy melody and is a song that I would imagine resonated quite positively with the kids of the time.

The flip-side of that single was “Santa, Santa, Santa”. Again, pretty much the same as “He’s A Chubby Little Fellow”, in that it’s a song that’s geared towards the younger set, of whom it would be hard to imagine would have turned down the catchy melody and fun lyrics.

Of course, the song that immediately comes to mind for many, when Gene Autry is mentioned, is the classic “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer”, one of the true classics of Christmas, appearing in 1949, and topping both the Country and Pop charts. In addition, it’s one of the biggest selling singles of all-time, selling over 25 million 78′s and 45′s. Really, do I need to review this track? No. It’s a classic, simply put, that kids STILL love, along with most parents and grandparents.

Side two opens with the story of “The Night Before Christmas”, set to melody, though without some of the verses from the original story. Released in 1952 as “The Night Before Christmas Song”, it also features the legendary Rosemary Clooney, in a duet with Gene. There’s something sweet and sentimental about this track that makes it nearly irresistible.

“I Wish My Mom Would Marry Santa Claus” is a little on the bland side. A 1953 single, it’s not terrible, it’s just there.

From 1950, there’s “When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter”. Again, a song that’s intended more for the younger listeners, but one that’s cute and fun for the kids, with a catchy, bouncy melody.

“When Santa Claus Gets Your Letter” was the flip-side of Gene’s third big Christmastime hit, “Frosty The Snowman”. Due to the immensity and continued popularity of his other two Christmas classics, Gene’s version of “Frosty The Snowman” often gets overlooked, and is seldom heard on the radio, or anywhere, for that matter. Yet, when released for the Christmas season of 1950, Gene’s version (which is also the first recorded version) also broke into both the Pop and Country top tens. In addition, Gene’s version sold over a million copies, as well. Personally, I like Gene’s version, as well as any out there. Then again, I like most of Gene’s music, very much.

The album wraps with “Everyone’s A Child At Christmas”, an ever-so-true statement for most of us. Bouncy, swinging, and infectious, it’s a good end to this album.

This album is out of print, however, all of the tracks are available on a CD/MP3 download titled Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer And Other Classics. As for used copies, it might take a bit of searching, but they are out there. The ones I found ranged from $5 to $20 in price.

Of course, you have to give the title cut the Standout Track. As for the Hidden Gem, I am going with “Everyone’s A Child At Christmas”, while the Weakest Track goes to “I Wish My Mom Would Marry Santa Claus”.

Overall, it’s still a fun album to hear, even with tracks that are in the sixty year old range. Something about good Christmas recordings that they never seem to be dated; and that’s the case, here. Fun music to play during the holidays, especially if you have children or grandchildren around. I rate it a 4.5 out of 5.

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Ultimate Twang Show

Greetings from Asheville, where good music is always found on the turntable or in the CD and MP3 players.  It was a great time, last evening, on the latest edition of Ultimate Twang.  If you missed it, we had some great tunes spinning for three hours, from Country music’s glorious past.  In addition, there was some Halloween fun, as well.

Good news, though, if you weren’t able to catch the show, just click on the link to the Ultimate Twang page on Asheville Free Media, and you can hear the show in it’s entirety.

Ultimate Twang Page On Asheville Free Media

Here’s a look at the list of magical melodies that played..

Single Of The Day-Gene Autry “Tweedle-O-Twill”

Beginning with early hits such as 1932's “That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine” (with Jimmie Long), along with many other hits such as “South Of The Border”, “At Mail Call Today”, “You Are My Sunshine”, “It Makes No Difference Now”, and his theme, “Back In The Saddle Again”. These records sold many millions of copies for Gene during the 1930's and 1940's.

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