Lemeul Eugene Lucas (June 24, 1900 – January 24, 1972), better known by his stage name Gene Austin, was an American singer and songwriter, one of the early " crooners". His recording of " My Blue Heaven" sold over 5 million copies and was for a while the largest selling record of all time. His 1920s compositions " When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" and "

The Lonesome Road "The Lonesome Road" is a 1927 song with music by Nathaniel Shilkret and lyrics by Gene Austin, alternately titled "Lonesome Road", "Look Down that Lonesome Road" and "Lonesome Road Blues." It was written in the style of an African-American folk ...

" became pop and jazz standards.

Early life

Austin was born as Lemeul Eugene Lucas in Gainesville, Texas (north of Dallas), 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

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, gr ...

. Austin grew up in Minden, Louisiana. In Minden, he learned to play piano and guitar. He ran away from home at 15. He attended a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

act in Houston, Texas, 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 Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptists, Baptist denomination, and the Protestantism in the United States, largest Protestantism, Protestant and Christia ...

choir boy. The audience response was overwhelming, and the vaudeville company immediately offered him a billed spot on its ticket. Austin joined the U.S. Army at the age of 15 in hopes of being dispatched to Europe to fight in World War I. He was stationed in New Orleans, where he played the piano at night in the city's notorious vice district. His familiarity with horses from helping his stepfather in his blacksmithing business prompted the Army to assign Austin to the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

and send him to Mexico with General

John Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

, for which he was awarded the Mexican Service Medal. He later served in France in World War I. On returning to the United States in 1919, Austin settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he briefly studied dentistry and law. Soon, he was playing piano and singing in local taverns. He started writing songs and formed a vaudeville act with Roy Bergere, with whom he wrote "

How Come You Do Me Like You Do "How Come You Do Me Like You Do?" is a song written by vaudeville comedy duo Gene Austin and Roy Bergere in 1924. It has later been covered by many artists, and is considered a jazz standard. Austin and Bergere were a vaudeville comedy duet act ...

". 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 Durante.

Career

Gene Austin was an influential early crooner whose records in their day enjoyed record sales and the highest circulation. He made a substantial number of influential recordings, including a string of best-sellers. Some of his best sellers include "

", " My Blue Heaven", "Riding Around in the Rain", " Tonight You Belong to Me", and " Ramona". At the peak of his career, Austin demanded that the pianist

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

only could provide accompaniment on his records. By 1924, Austin was in New York's

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It origin ...

. His first recording surreptitiously was providing the vocals for the Tennessee guitarist George Reneau, whose own voice did not record well. In 1925, Austin recorded his popular song " When My Sugar Walks Down the Street" for the

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

in a duet with Aileen Stanley.

Nathaniel Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents ...

, in his autobiography, describes the events leading to the recording. He followed it that year with hits, including "Yearning (Just for You)" and " Yes Sir, That's My Baby. In the next decade with Victor, Austin sold over 80 million records. His 1926 "

Bye Bye Blackbird "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by Jerome H. Remick and written by composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926. Song ...

" was in the year's top 20 records.

George A. Whiting George A. Whiting was a vaudeville song and dance man, and also a writer of lyrics for popular songs during the vaudeville era. He toured with singer Sadie Burt, whom he later married and had 3 daughters with. His best-known work is " My Blue ...

and

Walter Donaldson Walter Donaldson (February 15, 1893 – July 15, 1947) was an American prolific popular songwriter and publishing company founder, composing many hit songs of the 1910s to 1940s, that have become standards and form part of the Great American Song ...

's "My Blue Heaven" was charted during 1928 for 26 weeks, stayed at No. 1 for 13, and sold over 5 million copies. It was awarded a gold disc by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. Until Bing Crosby's " White Christmas" replaced it, it was the largest selling record of all time. In the hope of duplicating the success, this was quickly followed by "Ramona", an

L. Wolfe Gilbert Louis Wolfe Gilbert (August 31, 1886 – July 12, 1970) was a Russian Empire–born American songwriter of Tin Pan Alley. He is best remembered as the lyricist for "Ramona" (1928), the first movie theme song ever written. Biography Born i ...

-Mabel Wayne song created for the 1927 romantic adventure film '' Ramona'' with

Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...

. It charted for 17 weeks, was No. 1 for eight and easily topped 1 million in sales. It also gained gold disc status. His next success, Joe Burke and

Benny Davis Benny Davis (August 21, 1895 - December 20, 1979) was a vaudeville performer and writer of popular songs. Biography Davis started performing in vaudeville in his teens. He began writing songs when working as an accompanist for Blossom Seeley. I ...

' 1928 song " Carolina Moon" was on the charts 14 weeks, with seven weeks at No. 1. The depression struck during Austin's hit-making years, severely damaged the recording industry and, with it, Austin's recording career. Despite never learning to read or notate music, Austin composed over 100 songs. His compositions included "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street", recorded by

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was bas ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

, The Ink Spots, Hot Lips Page,

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, The Four Freshmen, Red Nichols' Five Pennies,

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, Sy Oliver, and the

Wolverines Orchestra The Wolverines (also Wolverine Orchestra, Wolverines Orchestra, The Original Wolverines) were an American jazz band. They were one of the most successful territory bands of the American Midwest in the 1920s. History The Wolverine Orchestra fi ...

; "How Come You Do Me Like You Do?", recorded by

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black music ...

and His Orchestra,

Gene Rodemich Eugene Frederick Rodemich (April 13, 1890 in St Louis, Missouri – February 27, 1934 in New York) was a pianist and orchestra leader, who composed the music for numerous films in the late 1920s and early 1930s, mostly cartoons and live-action sho ...

Marion Harris Marion Harris (born Mary Ellen Harrison; April 4, 1896 – April 23, 1944) was an American popular singer who was most successful in the late 1910s and the 1920s. She was the first widely known white singer to sing jazz and blues songs.Ward, Eli ...

George Wettling George Godfrey Wettling (November 28, 1907 – June 6, 1968) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Topeka, Kansas, United States, and from his early teens was living in Chicago, Illinois. He was one of the young Chicagoans who fell ...

, and

Erroll Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad " Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first re ...

; "The Lonesome Road", written with

Nat Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents ...

, recorded by

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

, Eddy Arnold, Don Gibson, Mildred Bailey,

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Sammy Davis, Jr.,

Dick Dale Richard Anthony Monsour (May 4, 1937 – March 16, 2019), known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverb. Dale was known a ...

The Fendermen The Fendermen were an American rockabilly duo, composed of Jim Sundquist and Phil Humphrey, active in the early 1960s. Jim Sundquist (lead guitarist; born James D. Sundquist, November 26, 1937, Niagara, Wisconsin; later settled in Minnesota) an ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

, Chet Atkins,

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

, Duane Eddy, Paul Robeson, Jerry Vale, Muggsy Spanier,

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His conc ...

, Jimmie Lunceford,

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final ...

and Ted Lewis; "Riding Around in the Rain", written with

Carmen Lombardo Carmen Lombardo (July 16, 1903 – April 17, 1971) was lead saxophonist and featured vocalist for his brother Guy Lombardo's orchestra. He was also a successful composer. In 1927, Carmen Lombardo was the vocalist of the hit record Charmaine, perf ...

and "The Voice of the Southland". Austin formed a trio with bassist Johnny Candido and guitarist Otto Heimel. They called themselves Gene Austin and his Candy and Coco. They had a radio series from 1932 to 1934. Colonel Tom Parker, who later became

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's manager, gradually worked his way into the music business when he began to promote Gene Austin in 1938. In the 1940s, Austin and his singers toured the U.S. in a 14-truck caravan with its own power plant and cook house. He stopped in Minden, Louisiana, and performed there in a popular tent show on the grounds of the local

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...

plant owned by the Hunter family.

Style

With the advent of electrical recording, Austin, along with

Rudy Vallee Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

, Art Gillham, Nick Lucas, Johnny Marvin and Cliff Edwards, adopted an intimate, radio-friendly, close-miked style that took over from the full-voiced, stage-friendly style of tenor vocals popularized by such singers as Henry Burr and Billy Murray. Such later crooners as

, and Russ Columbo all credited Austin with creating the musical genre that began their careers. Austin also influenced his friend Jimmie Rodgers (who considered Austin his "idol") and as such contributed to the birth of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

Film appearances

Offered to work in Hollywood at the height of his career as the "Voice of the Southland", Austin appeared in several films, including '' Belle of the Nineties'', '' Klondike Annie'', ''

Sadie McKee ''Sadie McKee'' is a 1934 American pre-Code, romantic-drama film directed by Clarence Brown, starring Joan Crawford, and featuring Gene Raymond, Franchot Tone, Edward Arnold, and Esther Ralston. The film is based on the 1933 short story "Pretty ...

'' – all 1934 releases, '' Songs and Saddles'' (1938), and '' My Little Chickadee'' (1940) at the request of his friend Mae West.

TV drama

In 1956, CBS made a television drama about Austin's life.

Honors

In 1978, Austin's 1928 Victor recording of "My Blue Heaven" (Victor 20964A), was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. In 2005, his 1926 Victor recording of "Bye Bye Blackbird" (Victor 20044) was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as well.

Personal life

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, his fifth and final marriage. Country music singer

Tommy Overstreet Thomas Cary Overstreet (September 10, 1937 – November 2, 2015) was an American country music singer. Often referred to as "T.O." by fans and radio disc jockeys, Overstreet had five top-five hit singles in the ''Billboard'' country charts an ...

, who had his biggest hits in the 1970s, is Austin's third cousin. Austin retired to Palm Springs, California in the late 1950s and was active in civic boards there until 1970. Income from his record sales allowed him to live comfortably the rest of his life. In 1962, he campaigned unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor of Nevada. He died in Palm Springs of lung cancer and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Gallery

File:Emerald Room menu 1952-04-25.jpg, Shamrock Hotel/Emerald Room Program/Menu featuring Gene Austin (circa 1952, Houston, Texas) File:Emerald Room menu 1952-04-25-biography and photo.jpg, Shamrock Hotel/Emerald Room Program/Menu featuring Gene Austin (circa 1952, Houston, Texas)

References

Bibliography

* "Gene Austin", ''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'', Vol. 1 (1988), p. 25 * John Agan, "The Voice of the Southland", '' North Louisiana History'', Vol. 28, No. 4 (Fall 1997), 23–37 * ''Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections'',

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

gubernatorial primaries * ''The Rise of the Crooners'', Michael Pitts and Frank Hoffman; Scarecrow Press, 2002

External links

*
Biography in the Handbook of Texas Online

* ttps://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104682 Gene Austin recordingsat the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Gene 1900 births 1972 deaths People from Gainesville, Texas Writers from Minden, Louisiana Musicians from Baltimore United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers Vaudeville performers American crooners American male pop singers Traditional pop music singers American male singer-songwriters Four Star Records artists RCA Victor artists Vocalion Records artists Musicians from Palm Springs, California Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Nevada Democrats California Democrats Deaths from lung cancer in California 20th-century American singers Southern Baptists Singer-songwriters from Texas Singer-songwriters from California Singer-songwriters from Maryland Baptists from Maryland Baptists from Louisiana 20th-century Baptists Child soldiers 20th-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Louisiana Military personnel from Texas United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel