Gene Austin (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and
songwriterA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well as the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer.-History and background of songwriters:...
one of the first "
croonerCrooner is an epithet given to a male singer of a certain style of popular songs, dubbed pop standards. A crooner is a singer of popular ballads and thus a "balladeer". The singer is normally backed by a full orchestra or big band. Generally, crooners sang and popularized the songs from the Great...
s". His 1920s compositions "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "The Lonesome Road" became pop and jazz standards.
Career
Austin was born as
Lemeul Eugene Lucas in
Gainesville, TexasGainesville is a city in and the county seat of Cooke County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,538 at the 2000 census.-Demographics:...
(north of
DallasDallas , with a population of 1,279,910, is the third-largest city in Texas and the 8th-largest in the United States. The city is the main economic center of the 12-county Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area that according to the March 2009 U.S. Census Bureau release, had a population of...
), to Nova Lucas (died 1943) and the former Serena Belle Harrell (died 1956). He took the name "Gene Austin" from his stepfather, Jim Austin, a
blacksmithA blacksmith is a person who creates objects from iron or steel by forging the metal; i.e., by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut. Blacksmiths produce things like wrought iron gates, grills, railings, light fixtures, furniture, sculpture, tools, agricultural implements, decorative and religious...
. Austin grew up in
MindenMinden is a city in and the parish seat of Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern
LouisianaThe State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, located east of
ShreveportShreveport is the third-largest city and the principal city of the third largest metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Louisiana, as well as being the 99th-largest city in the United States....
. There he learned to play
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
. He ran away from home at fifteen and attended a
vaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
act in
Houston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of...
, where the audience was allowed to come to the stage and sing. On a dare from his friends, Austin took the stage and sang for the first time since singing as a
Southern BaptistThe Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based, mostly conservative Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the US with over 16 million members and more than 42,000 churches.The word Southern in Southern Baptist Convention...
choir boy. The audience response was overwhelming, and the vaudeville company immediately offered him a billed spot on their ticket.
Austin joined the U.S. Army at the age of seventeen in hopes of being dispatched to
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
to fight in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. He was first stationed in New Orleans, where he played the piano at night in the city's notorious
viceVice is a practice or a habit considered immoral, depraved, and/or degrading in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a defect, an infirmity or merely a bad habit. Synonyms for vice include fault, depravity, sin, iniquity, wickedness and corruption...
district. His familiarity with horses from helping his stepfather in his blacksmithing business also prompted the Army to assign Austin to the
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
and send him to
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
with General John Pershing's
Pancho Villa expeditionThe Pancho Villa Expedition was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Francisco "Pancho" Villa from 1916 to 1917...
, for which he was awarded the
Mexican Service MedalThe Mexican Service Medal is an award of the United States military which was established by General Orders of the United States War Department on December 12, 1917...
. Thereafter, he served in
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in the Great War.
On returning to the United States in 1919, Austin settled in
Baltimore, MarylandBaltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding...
, where he intended to study
dentistryDentistry is the known evaluation, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the soft and hard tissues of the jaw , the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is a part of stomatology...
. Soon, however, he was playing piano and singing in local
tavernA tavern or pot-house is, loosely, a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and, more than likely, also be served food, though not licensed to put up guests. The word derives from the Latin taberna and the Greek ταβέρνα/taverna, whose original meaning was a shed or...
s. He started writing songs and formed a vaudeville act with Roy Bergere, with whom he wrote "How Come You Do Me Like You Do." The act ended when Bergere married.
Austin worked briefly in a club owned by Lou Clayton, who later was a part of the famous vaudeville team Clayton, Jackson and
DuranteJames Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer and movie icon, pianist, comedian and actor, whose distinctive gravel delivery, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose – his frequent jokes about it included a frequent self-reference that became his nickname:...
. RCA Victor bought his popular song "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street", which he recorded solo and in a duet with Aileen Stanley. In the next decade with RCA, Austin sold over 80 million records—a total unmatched by a single artist for 40 years. Best sellers included "The Lonesome Road," "Riding Around in the Rain," and "Ramona."
Gene Austin's compositions included "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street", recorded by
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader.Duke Ellington became one of the most influential artists in the history of recorded music, and is largely recognized as one of the greatest figures in the history of jazz, though his music stretched into...
,
Nat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat "King" Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz...
,
The Ink SpotsThe Ink Spots were a popular African American vocal group that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm & blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
, Hot Lips Page,
Johnny MathisJohnny Mathis is an American singer of popular music.One of the last in a long line of traditional male vocalists who emerged before the 1960s, Mathis concentrated on romantic jazz and pop standards for the adult contemporary audience through to the 1980s...
,
The Four FreshmenThe Four Freshmen is a Grammy-nominated American male vocal band quartet that blends open-harmony jazz arrangements with the big band vocal group sounds of The Modernaires , The Pied Pipers , and The Mel-Tones , founded in the barbershop tradition...
,
Bix BeiderbeckeLeon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the two most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s. His turns on "Singin' the Blues" and "I'm Coming, Virginia" , in particular, demonstrated an unusual purity...
,
Red NicholsErnest Loring "Red" Nichols was an American jazz cornettist, composer, and jazz bandleader.Over his long career, Nichols recorded in a wide variety of musical styles, and critic Steve Leggett describes him as "an expert cornet player, a solid improviser, and apparently a workaholic, since he is...
' Five Pennies,
Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as "Lady Ella", and the "First Lady of Song", was an American jazz vocalist....
,
Sy OliverMelvin "Sy" Oliver was a jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader...
, and the Wolverines Orchestra; "How Come You Do Me Like You Do?", recorded by
Fletcher HendersonFletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was often known as "Smack" Henderson.-Biography:...
and His Orchestra, Gene Rodemich,
Marion HarrisMarion Harris was an American popular singer, most successful in the 1920's. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs....
,
George WettlingGeorge Wettling was an American jazz drummer.He was one of the young white Chicagoans who fell in love with jazz as a result of hearing King Oliver's band at the Lincoln Gardens in Chicago in the early 1920s...
, and
Erroll GarnerErroll Louis Garner was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His best-known composition, the ballad Misty, has become a jazz standard...
; "The Lonesome Road", written with Nat Shilkret, recorded by
Bing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American popular singer and actor whose career stretched over more than half a century from 1926 until his death....
,
Fats WallerFats Waller born Thomas Wright Waller was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer and comedic entertainer...
,
Louis ArmstrongLouis Daniel Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
,
Eddy ArnoldRichard Edward Arnold , known professionally as Eddy Arnold, was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He created the Nashville sound in the late 1950s, and had 147 songs on the Billboard Magazine music charts, second only to George Jones...
,
Don GibsonDonald Eugene Gibson was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.-Biography:Don Gibson was born in...
,
Mildred BaileyMildred Bailey was a popular and influential American jazz singer during the 1930s, known as "Mrs. Swing"...
,
Les PaulLester William Polsfuss — known as Les Paul — was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible"...
,
Judy GarlandJudy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Respected for her versatility, she received a Juvenile Academy...
, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons,
Sammy Davis, Jr.Samuel George Davis, Jr. was an American entertainer.Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis was a childhood vaudevillian, and became internationally famous for his performances on Broadway and Las Vegas, as a recording artist, television and film star, and the only black member of Frank Sinatra's...
,
Dick DaleDick Dale is a surf-rock guitarist, known as "The King Of The Surf Guitar"...
,
The FendermenThe Fendermen were a pop/rockabilly duo in the early 1960s.Primarily composed of Jim Sundquist who met as students at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the later 1950s...
,
Frank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers." His professional career had stalled by the...
,
Chet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , better known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who created, along with Owen Bradley, the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.His picking style, inspired by...
,
Bobby DarinBobby Darin was an American singer and musician.Darin performed widely in a range of music genres, including pop, jazz, folk and country...
,
Duane EddyDuane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Rock and Roll's all-time, #1 instrumentalist.- Biography :...
,
Paul RobesonPaul LeRoy Bustill Robeson was an internationally renowned American basso profundo concert singer, scholar, actor of film and stage, All-American and professional athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator and lawyer who was also noted for his wide-ranging social justice activism...
,
Jerry ValeJerry Vale is an American singer.-Career:In high school, in order to make some money, he took a job shining shoes in a barbershop in New York City. He sang while he shined shoes, and his boss liked the sound so well that he paid for music lessons for the boy...
,
Muggsy SpanierFrancis Joseph Julian "Muggsy" Spanier was a prominent white cornet player based in Chicago. He was renowned as the best trumpet/cornet in Chicago until Bix Beiderbecke entered the scene....
,
Tommy DorseyThomas Francis Dorsey was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing".. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey.". His lyrical trombone style became one of the signature sounds of his band...
,
Benny GoodmanBenjamin David Goodman was an American jazz musician, clarinetist and bandleader, known as "King of Swing", "Patriarch of the Clarinet", "The Professor", and "Swing's Senior Statesman"....
,
Jimmie LuncefordJames Melvin "Jimmie" Lunceford was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader of the swing era.-Biography:...
, and
Ted LewisTed Lewis may refer to:*Ted Lewis , Edward Morgan Lewis*Ted Lewis , US bandleader, musician, entertainer, singer*Ted Lewis , English crime novelist...
; "Riding Around in the Rain", written with
Carmen LombardoCarmen Lombardo was the younger brother of bandleader Guy Lombardo. He was a vocalist and composer whose compositions included the 1928 classic "Sweethearts on Parade", which was number one for three weeks in 1929 on the U.S...
, and "The Voice of the Southland".
Arriving with the advent of electro-magnetic recording, Austin, along with
Rudy ValleeRudy Vallée was an American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer.-Early life:Born Hubert Prior Vallée in Island Pond, Vermont, the son of Charles Alphonse and Catherine Lynch Vallée...
,
Art GillhamArt Gillham, , was a songwriter, who was among the first crooners as a pioneer radio artist and a recording artist for Columbia Records....
,
Nick LucasNick Lucas was an American singer and pioneer jazz guitarist, remembered as "the grandfather of the jazz guitar", whose peak of popularity lasted from the mid-1920s to the early 1930s....
, Johnny Marvin and
Cliff EdwardsCliff Edwards , also known as "Ukelele Ike", was an American singer and musician who enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop standards and novelty tunes. He had a number one hit with "Singin' in the Rain" in 1929...
, adopted an intimate, radio-friendly, close-miked style that took over from the more sentimental style of tenor vocals popularized by such singers as
Henry BurrHenry Burr was a Canadian singer of popular songs from the early part of the early 20th century, early radio performer and producer...
and
Billy MurrayWilliam Thomas "Billy" Murray was one of the most popular singers in the United States in the early decades of the 20th century...
. Such later crooners as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and
Russ ColumboRuggiero Eugenio di Rodolpho Colombo , better known as Russ Columbo, was an American singer, violinist and actor, most famous for his signature tune, "You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love," his compositions "Prisoner of Love" and "Too Beautiful For Words", and the legend surrounding his early...
all credited Austin with creating the musical genre that began their careers.
Gene Austin was an important pioneer crooner whose records in their day enjoyed record sales and the highest circulation. The Genial Texan ex-vaudevillian and would-be screen idol, Austin constitutes an underrated landmark in popular music history. He made a substantial number of influential recordings from the mid-1920s including a string of best-sellers. His 1926 "
Bye Bye Blackbird"Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by the American composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Gene Austin in 1926....
" was in the year's top twenty records.
George A. WhitingGeorge Elbridge Whiting was an American composer of classical music. He was born 14 September 1840 in Holliston, Massachusetts, and died in Cambridge, Massachusetts 14 October 1923 at the age of 83....
and
Walter DonaldsonWalter Donaldson was a prolific United States popular songwriter, producing many hit songs of the 1910s and 1920s....
’s "
My Blue Heaven"My Blue Heaven" is a popular song. The music was written by Walter Donaldson, the lyrics by George Whiting .The song was published in 1927 and became a huge 1928 hit for crooner Gene Austin, when its was charted for 26 weeks, stayed at #1 for 13, and sold over five million copies. The song has...
" was charted during 1928 for 26 weeks, stayed at #1 for 13, and sold over five million copies (until Bing Crosby's "
White ChristmasA white Christmas, to most people in the Northern Hemisphere, refers to a Christmas Morning with snow on the ground. This phenomenon is far more common in some countries than in others...
" replaced it, it was the largest selling record of all time). In the hope of duplicating the success, this was quickly followed by
Ramona"Ramona" is a song written by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Mabel Wayne created as the title song for the 1927 adventure film-romance Ramona . The song was used again in the 1936 remake of the movie...
(an
L. Wolfe GilbertLouis Wolfe Gilbert was a Russian-born American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Odessa, Russia, Gilbert moved to the United States as a young man and eventually established himself as one of the leading songwriters on Tin Pan Alley.Gilbert began his career touring with John L...
-Mabel Wayne song created for the 1927 adventure film-romance Ramona)played by de famous actrees Dolores Del Rio. It charted for 17 weeks, was #1 for eight, and easily topped a million in sales. Despite its longevity as a ballad, however, his next success,
Joe BurkeJoseph A. Burke was an American actor, composer and pianist. He was born in Philadelphia and died in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and started a career in acting. His first acting break was in the 1915 film The Senator, his last was The Show of Shows...
and
Benny DavisBenny Davis was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs.Davis was born in New York City. He started performing in vaudeville acts when he was 14 years old and later performed as Blossom Seeley’s accompanist with Benny Fields’ tours...
’ 1928 song Carolina Moon, did not quite measure up to its predecessors, albeit out of 14-weeks charted it stayed for seven at #1.
Offered to work in Hollywood at the height of his career as the "Voice of the Southland", Austin appeared in three films,
Belle of the NinetiesBelle of the Nineties was Mae West's fourth motion picture. It was released by Paramount Pictures in 1934 and directed by Leo McCarey. Johnny Mack Brown and Katherine DeMille were also in the cast....
(1934),
Klondike AnnieKlondike Annie is a 1936 black-and-white comedy film starring Mae West and Victor McLaglen. The film was co-written by West from one of her plays and directed by Raoul Walsh....
(1936) and
My Little ChickadeeMy Little Chickadee is a Universal comedy/western motion picture starring Mae West and W. C. Fields, with Joseph Calleia, Ruth Donnelly, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Meek, Willard Robertson, Dick Foran, George Moran, William B. Davidson, and Addison Richards. It was directed by Edward F. Cline...
(1940), at the request of his personal friend,
Mae WestMae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter, and sex symbol.Known for her bawdy double entendres, West made a name for herself in Vaudeville and on the stage in New York before moving to Hollywood to become a comedienne, actress and writer in the motion picture industry...
.
Gene Austin married his first wife, Kathryn Arnold, a dancer, in 1924 and divorced her in 1929. They had a child, Ann, born in 1928. Austin married his second wife, Agnes Antelline, in 1933, and their daughter Charlotte was born that same year. He and Agnes divorced in 1940. Austin then married actress Doris Sherrell in 1940, and divorced her in 1946. He married wife number four, LouCeil Hudson, a singer, in 1949, and the marriage lasted until 1966. Austin married Gigi Theodorea in 1967; this was his fifth and final marriage. Country music singer
Tommy OverstreetTommy Overstreet is a "Nashville sound"-style country music singer whose popularity peaked in the 1970s...
, who had his biggest hits in the 1970s, is Austin's third cousin.
In 1956,
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American television network, one of television's original "big three", which also include NBC and ABC. Like NBC, CBS started out as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System...
made a television drama about Austin's life.
In 1962, Austin campaigned unsuccessfully for the
DemocraticThe Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
nomination for
governorA governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
. He polled only 5,017 votes (10.21 percent) to his opponent,
Grant SawyerFrank Grant Sawyer was Governor of Nevada from 1959 to 1967. He was a Democrat.Sawyer was born on December 14, 1918, in Twin Falls, Idaho. He was the son of two osteopaths, Doctors Harry W. and Buela Cameron Sawyer . He was raised near Twin Falls. Sawyer served in the U.S. Army during World War...
, who received 40,168 ballots (81.4 percent) Sawyer then won the governorship by a nearly 2-1 margin over weak
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
opposition in the fall campaign.
Austin had retired to
Palm SpringsPalm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, approximately 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 42,807. Golf, swimming, tennis, horseback riding and hiking in the nearby desert and mountain areas are...
, in the late 1950s and had been active in civic boards there until 1970. Income from his record sales allowed him to live comfortably the rest of his life. He died in Palm Springs of
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells...
and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in
Glendale, CaliforniaGlendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies at the eastern end of the San Fernando Valley, is bisected by the Verdugo Mountains, and is a suburb in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
.
He was a godfather of country singer
David HoustonCharles David Houston was an American country music singer. His peak in popularity came between the mid-1960s through the early 1970s.-Biography:...
, who like Austin also lived in Minden, Louisiana, during his youth.
Honors
In 1978, Gene Austin's 1928 Victor recording, Victor 20964A, of "My Blue Heaven", was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
In 2005, Gene Austin's 1926 Victor recording, Victor 20044, of "Bye Bye Blackbird", was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a recording which has long been considered a definitive rendition of that song.
External links