Gene Autry – Blues Singer 1929-1931: Booger Rooger Saturday Nite! / Riders in the Sky – Public Cowboy #1: The Music Of Gene Autry
While Gene Autry is best-known for his classic Western songs, it may surprise some of his fans to discover that at the beginning of his career, he was an unabashed Jimmie Rodgers imitator who sang the blues with gusto.
A number of the songs included on Blues Singer 1929-1931 are Rodgers covers, though the bulk are tunes penned by Autry or others in the Rodgers style. These tales of boozing and hell-raising among high-steppin’ mamas and bearcat papas are a lot grittier than the songs that would later make Autry famous. While none of them approach the lewdness of Jimmie Davis’ early Victor recordings (which included notorious ditties such as “Organ Grinder Blues” and “Tom Cat and Pussy Blues”), Autry songs like “Do Right Daddy Blues” use blues lines that are as suggestive as anything recorded by Rodgers.
While many country singers at the time tried to imitate Jimmie Rodgers (Davis, Ernest Tubb and Hank Snow are just three of the country stars who began their careers mimicking Rodgers), it was Autry who sounded most uncannily like him. Not only did he strive to imitate Rodgers’ guitar runs, he also had the Blue Yodeler’s insouciant bluesiness down cold. In fact, so difficult is it at times to distinguish the two vocalists that RCA once mistakenly included an Autry recording on a collection of Rodgers songs.
Naturally, if Autry had been just a Rodgers imitator, the major position he holds in country music history would be considerably diminished. Still, these important recordings show one of country music’s greatest entertainers at the beginning of his career, apprenticing under the spell of a master until he had enough confidence to develop a masterful style of his own.
Riders In The Sky, a modern Western trio modeled after the classic harmony group Sons Of The Pioneers, recently recorded their own tribute to Autry, titled Public Cowboy #1: The Music Of Gene Autry. The Riders album shies away from the early Autry blues songs, instead offering an eclectic assortment of interpretations of his later work.
The trio closely adheres to the sound and spirit of Autry’s original recordings. Some of the Western classics are here, such as “Back In The Saddle Again”, “Mexicali Rose”, “South Of The Border” and “Ridin’ Down The Canyon”, along with more obscure selections, but the Riders’ versatility allows them to handle all kinds of material with ease. They deliver a reverent version of Autry’s first big hit, the sentimental “That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine”, strut through the frisky “Lonely River”, and get downright bluesy on the 1946 Autry song “Can’t Shake The Sands Of Texas From My Shoes”.
The Riders included perhaps a couple too many of country music’s most-recorded songs. Even though Autry had hits with songs such as “Sioux City Sue” and “You Are My Sunshine”, they are usually identified with other artists, and it would’ve been nice to hear other songs that haven’t been so indelibly imprinted on the memories of country music fans.
Public Cowboy #1 is an affectionate tribute to one of country music’s most influential figures, but those interested in taking a closer look at Autry’s work should begin with his own recordings — not only the Columbia compilation of his early blues songs, but also with some of the Columbia collections featuring Autry’s own versions of the music that made him Public Cowboy #1.