Gene Autry

Gene Autry was a beloved actor, singer, songwriter, and performer who popularized country music as one of America’s first broadcast singing cowboys. ∙ Autry recorded more than 600 songs, including his 1932 breakout hit, “That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine,” which was the first single to ever be certified Gold in the US. ∙ “Be Honest With Me,” his 1941 hit single for the film Ridin’ on a Rainbow, earned him his first and only Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. ∙ His 1949 rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” has spanned generations and made the Top 15 of Billboard’s Holiday Songs list every year since the chart’s 2011 inception. ∙ He made over 100 appearances in movies and TV, and he hosted his own hit series, The Gene Autry Show, in the 1950s. ∙ Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969, he was also named a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2003. ∙ In 1987, he became the first artist to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, honored in each entertainment category: film, TV, radio, music, and live performance. ∙ CMT included Autry on their 2003 list of the 40 Greatest Men in Country Music, and he was honored with a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2009.