Gene Autry
Though we think of cowboy music as part of our folk tradition, it's not. The singing cowboy is a glossy pop creation born in Hollywood in the 1930s. The first, and greatest, of the celluloid singing cowpokes was Gene Autry (still with us today at 89), seller of some 50 million records, star of more than 90 movies. The dozen standards on Riders in the Sky's Autry tribute, Public Cowboy #1, evoke the genial ease of Gene's originals. But the three Riders—known as Ranger Doug, Too Slim and Woody Paul—toss in plenty of fillips all their own. Guitarist-vocalist Ranger Doug, just possibly the world's greatest living yodeler, turns Autry's signature "Back in the Saddle Again" into a rubber-lunged tour de force, itself worth the price of the album. But you also get renditions of Autry gems like "Blue Canadian Rockies," "Be Honest with Me" and "South of the Border" that'll put you right out under the western skies. (Rounder)
Autry's own Blues Singer, meanwhile, is a revelation. Back when Autry was getting started, the infant country music industry's biggest star was Jimmie Rodgers, many of whose hits were pure, unalloyed blues. As Blues Singer shows, Autry began as an out-and-out Rodgers imitator. The effect of these 23 tracks, collectors' items until now, is truly eerie. We might be listening to Rodgers himself singing "In the Jail-house Now No. 2," "T.B. Blues" and his other hits. In 1931, Autry found his own voice with the million-selling ballad "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine," and his days as a bluesman were over. But he left us this mini-legacy as a fascinating footnote. (Columbia/Legacy)
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