Gene Autry

<p> Gene Autry was the first of the wildly popular singing cowboys of the thirties and forties and the man who carried the flag for western in country and western popularizing the genre's marriage of seemingly disparate western and hillbilly influences. Beyond his highly successful recording career his on-screen persona influenced an entire generation of American boys. Autry an accomplished investor and businessman was a longtime owner of Major League Baseball's Angels franchise.</p><p> This meticulously researched biography takes the reader from Gene Autry's childhood in Oklahoma through his phenomenally successful career as a singer and actor and covers his later triumphs in business and sports. Of particular interest is the book's detailed day-to-day treatment of Autry's performing career with a wealth of information on each recording session and film shoot including key personnel (e.g. songwriters engineers directors crew) and interesting anecdotes. The work includes information from the author's own interviews with Autry's contemporaries.</p>