as an antique-lover and dealer of vintage items, i feel giddy when discovering a great sale. i found this treasure at an extra-large, multi-family sale, featuring many items from this group of senior citizens' now-long-grown-up children's childhoods. in fact, those "children" are all retired people.
at the time i added this listing and did my research, no other record like this was available for-sale anywhere online. one listing actually re-recorded the album onto a "new" recording, an amateur, illegal one that sold for $35.95.
the name "gene autry" will always jump out. kids today may not know who he is, but "the singing cowboy" is worthy of still being a role model and you could tell your kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids about him.
some cool facts:
- the hollywood walk of fame awarded him five stars, one for every category: radio, recording, motion pictures, television, and live theatre/performance.
- he appeared in 93 movies. in 1940, the only other higher-ranking movie stars were mickey rooney, clark gable, and spencer tracy.
- he made these beloved children's holiday songs famous: here comes santa claus (right down santa claus lane), frosty the snowman, rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, and peter cottontail.
- he was said to be the first performer to sell out madison square garden.
- he worked hard, performing concerts and rodeos, starring in his own cbs tv show, later becoming a producer of many tv shows, and owning radio and tv stations, a hotel in palm springs, the los angeles angels/california angels, a western history/heritage museum, and enough other properties to be ranked for many years on the forbes magazine list of 400 richest americans.
- among his greatest song hits: "you are my sunshine," "tumbling tumbleweeds," and "back in the saddle again."
if you homeschool, ideas for study units:
- watching and writing reports about old musical westerns;
- studying gene autry's life;
- finding old videos of his tv work;
- studying the relationship of cowboys/cowgirls and their horses;
- choosing one topic about gene autry to study in-depth.
though the album sleeve does show some edge issues and wear/tear, the sleeve and album are in decent shape for a well-loved item that is nearly 70-years-old.
vintage item, as-is
