A statue of the singing cowboy, Gene Autry, outside the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Los Angeles, California

A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films, popularized by many of the B-movies of the 1930s and the 1940s. The typical singing cowboys were white hat wearing clean-shaven heroes with the habit of showing their emotions in song. Nickname: City of Angels Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 3rd 410,000 km² 402. ... A cowboy (Spanish vaquero) tends cattle and horses on cattle ranches in North and South America. ... The Western is an American genre in literature and film. ... The term B-movie originally referred to a film designed to be distributed as the lower half of a double feature, often a genre film featuring cowboys, gangsters or vampires. ... A Whitehat, also rendered as White hat or White-hat, is, in the realm of Information technology, a name that describes a person who is ethically opposed to the abuse of Computer systems. ...

The image of the singing cowboy was established in 1925, when Carl T. Sprague recorded the first cowboy song "When the Work's All Done This fall". A year later, John I. White became the first representant of the genre to perform on a nationally broadcast radio show, but the full popularity of the singing cowboys wasn't reached until the spread of sound films. Poster from the Western Music, directly related to the old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, was originally composed by and about the people settling and working in the American West and western Canada. ... A sound film (or talkie) is a motion picture with synchronized sound, as opposed to a silent movie. ...

While other Western actors, such as John Wayne, only dabbled in singing roles, some actors became known mainly for their roles as singing cowboys. The most famous of them was Gene Autry and the moniker "The Singing Cowboy" usually refers to him in particular. Autry first rose to popularity as a singer, but his acting career started off quickly with the 1935 film serial, The Phantom Empire and he became a prolific star. Autry, by his own words, wasn't a good actor, a good rider, or a particularly good singer^[1], but at the time of his death in 1998, he was still on the top 10 list of Hollywood box office moneymakers^[2]. Autry's early popularity, both for his radio and film performances, quickly paved the way for a multitude of imitators, but most attempts didn't get close to his success. John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), popularly known as The Duke, was an [[United States|film actor whose career began in silent movies in the 1920s. ... Gene Autry Gene Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998) was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television. ... Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ... The Phantom Empire starring Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy, was a 12 chapter 1935 Mascot serial that combined western, musical, and science fiction genres. ...

A mural of Roy Rogers at his hometown, Portsmouth, Ohio

Autry's status as the top singing cowboy was never in question until 1937, when disagreements made him temporarily walk out on his contract with Republic Studios. The studio's chosen replacement, Roy Rogers, who had previously only appeared in minor roles, quickly grew popular when given the chance to star and by the time Autry returned, he wasn't the clear star anymore. When Autry enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II, Roy Rogers became the "King of the Cowboys", competing head-to-head with Autry for the rest of the decade. Roy Rogers mural in hometown Portsmouth, Ohio Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 21:07, Aug 19, 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Roy Rogers mural in hometown Portsmouth, Ohio Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 21:07, Aug 19, 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Carl D. Perkins Bridge across the Ohio River at Portsmouth Portsmouth is a city located in Scioto County, Ohio, at the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto Rivers. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 34th 116,096 km² 355 km 355 km 8. ... Republic Pictures Corporation (aka Republic Entertainment) is an independent film, television, and video distribution company that was originally a movie production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, best known for its specialization in quality B pictures, westerns and movie serials. ... Dale Evans & Roy Rogers Leonard Franklin Slye (November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), became famous as Roy Rogers, a singer and cowboy actor. ... 1. ... Combatants Allies: • Soviet Union, • UK & Commonwealth, • USA, • France/Free France, • China, • Poland, • ...and others Axis: • Germany, • Japan, • Italy, • ...and others Commanders Strength Casualties Full list Full list World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a large scale military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ...

Other notable actors that became famous for their roles as singing cowboys were Jimmy Wakely, Tex Ritter and Rex Allen, who didn't start his career until 1950, when the popularity of the genre was waning. With the invention of television, the making of B-movies dropped off and the era of singing cowboys was coming to an end. Gene Autry and Roy Rogers went on to star in The Gene Autry Show and The Roy Rogers Show respectively, but the series' runs had ended by the end of the decade. Tex Ritter Tex Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was an American country singer and actor. ... Rex Allen (December 31, 1920--December 17, 1999) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter. ...

The singing cowboy image has since been parodied, most notably in the 1985 film Rustlers' Rhapsody with Tom Berenger portraying a stereotypical singing cowboy. Tom Berenger starring as Sgt. ...

Footnotes

1. ^  Findagrave.com on Gene Autry
2. ^  Gene Autry's obituary at cnn.com

External links

• Points West article: The Singing Cowboys: Real to Reel