Henry Alfred Clauser (1911–1989) was a

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

featured on radio shows in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

and

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

.Clauser, Al
"
of Oklahoma History and Culture
' (accessed May 3, 2010)

Early years

Clauser was born in

Manito, Illinois Manito is a village in Mason County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,552 at the 2020 census, down from 1,642 in 2010. Geography Manito is located in northeastern Mason County. The northernmost border of the village follows the T ...

, on February 23, 1911. While still in high school in Illinois, he formed a trio that played in various clubs. He may have originated the term "

Western swing Western swing, country jazz or smooth country is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which att ...

," since he used it as early as 1928. The group was invited to play on the Peoria Illinois radio station, WMBD, where it added two more players. Although Clauser had never been in Oklahoma, he named his band the

Oklahoma Outlaws Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, later explaining that the style of music they played needed a Western tone and a name to express it.Logsdon, Guy. "Clauser, Henry Alfred (1911-1989)." ''The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''.
Accessed March 16, 2019. In 1934, Clauser and the Oklahoma Outlaws moved to

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, which had a popular radio show on station

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

, where they were regulars until 1937. The band specialized in Western swing, playing the popular songs of the day, with Clauser's original songs added in. Al Clauser & His Oklahoma Outlaws appeared in an early

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American actor, musician, singer, composer, rodeo performer, and baseball team owner, who largely gained fame by singing in a Crooner ...

film, ''

Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm ''Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm'' is a 1937 American Western film directed by Mack V. Wright and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and Armida. Based on a story by Johnston McCulley, the film is about two cowboys who assume the identities of dead o ...

'', and recorded a dozen tracks for ARC. In 1937, Autry called to ask Clauser to bring the band to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

to be in the movie. WHO sportscaster

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

asked Clauser if he could come along on the band bus, and Clauser said that would be fine. Reagan's first experience on a movie set was during the shooting of this film. In the 1970s and '80s, the office of Clauser's recording studio had an enormous photograph of Reagan with Reagan's thank-you note for his "start in the business" penned on it in ballpoint ink. After finishing the movie assignment in 1938, Clauser and his band moved to WCKY in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, then moved to KHBF in

Rock Island, Illinois Rock Island is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 37,108 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock a ...

, where their shows were aired over 272 Mutual Network stations.

Move to Tulsa

In 1942, Clauser moved the band to

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, and began a regular weekly program on KTUL Radio. While at KTUL, Clauser added a teenager singer from Claremore, Oklahoma, Clara Ann Fowler, to his band, which was then called the

. Fowler later achieved international fame using the stage name

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

. Clauser disbanded the Oklahoma Outlaws in the 1950s, but continued to work for KTUL Radio. In the 1970s, he played the role of " Uncle Zeke" on a local kids' television show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ''Uncle Zeb's Cartoon Camp'', on KTUL TV, where Clauser was also Chief Engineer at the time. During the 1970s and early '80s, Clauser had a recording studio at Prue, Oklahoma, called Alvera Records, the name being a combination of Al and Vera, his wife's name. His assistant recording engineer was

Rocky Frisco Don Roscoe Joseph III (July 26, 1937 – May 26, 2015), professionally known as Rocky Frisco and Rocky Curtiss, was an American musician. He was best known as the longtime pianist for J. J. Cale, and for his role in the development of the music s ...

, a local musician who, in 1994, became the pianist with the

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

Band. Clauser died on March 3, 1989, in Tulsa. The surviving ARC sides, along with several radio transcriptions, were collected and released by Krazy Kat Records in 2004 under the title ''Hot Western Swing 1937-48''.

''Rootin' Tootin' Rhythm'' (1937 Republic)

Gene Autry and

Smiley Burnette Lester Alvin Burnett (March 18, 1911 – February 16, 1967), better known as Smiley Burnette, was an American country music performer and a comedic actor in Western films and on radio and TV, playing sidekick to Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and ...

's adventures with rustlers (

Monte Blue Gerard Montgomery Blue (January 11, 1887 – February 18, 1963) was an American film actor who began his career as a romantic lead in the silent era; and for decades after the advent of sound, he continued to perform as a supporting player ...

, Max Hoffman Jr. and Charlie King) are played for fun.

Hal Taliaferro Floyd Taliaferro Alderson (November 13, 1895 – February 10, 1980) was an American film actor who specialized in westerns. After serving in the Great War, he began his career in the era of silent films, when he frequently used the name Wally ...

plays Gene's partner in the ranch. Blue is leading lady Ann Pendleton's uncle. Comedy actress

Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic '' Jerusalem Delivered'' (), Rinaldo is a fierce and determined warrior who is also honorabl ...

plays Pendleton's silly friend and is Gene's love interest. Gene's real-life buddy and songwriting partner, Frankie Marvin, who appears in most of Gene's features, has his biggest role in this film. Al Clauser and his band are the featured group (with Art Davies as a fiddler).

Notes

References

External links

* on Tulsa TV Memories * on Tulsa TV Memories
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Clauser, Al
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clauser, Al 1911 births 1989 deaths American country guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Songwriters from Illinois American audio engineers Western swing performers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Illinois 20th-century American engineers Country musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians Musicians from Des Moines, Iowa Radio personalities from Tulsa, Oklahoma American male songwriters 20th-century American songwriters