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" became pop and jazz standards.
Early life
Austin was born as Lemeul Eugene Lucas in
Gainesville, Texas (north of Dallas), to Nova Lucas and the former Serena Belle Harrell.
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, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...
.
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 which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
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), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...
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 groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
and send him to Mexico with Major General
John J. Pershing's
Pancho Villa Expedition, 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". 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 "
The Lonesome Road", "
My Blue Heaven", "Riding Around in the Rain", "
Tonight You Belong to Me", and "
Ramona".
At the peak of his career, Austin demanded that only the pianist
Fats Waller could provide accompaniment on his records.
By 1924, Austin was in New York's
Tin Pan Alley. 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 in a duet with
Aileen Stanley.
Nathaniel Shilkret, 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 with
Billy "Uke" Carpenter.
In the next decade with Victor, Austin sold over 80 million records.
[
His 1926 " Bye Bye Blackbird" was in the year's top 20 records. George A. Whiting and Walter Donaldson'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/o ...
. 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-Mabel Wayne song created for the 1927 romantic adventure film '' Ramona'' with Dolores del Río. 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' 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 piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
, Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...
, The Ink Spots, Hot Lips Page, Johnny Mathis, The Four Freshmen, Red Nichols' Five Pennies, Ella Fitzgerald, Sy Oliver, and the Wolverines Orchestra; "How Come You Do Me Like You Do?", recorded by Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra, Gene Rodemich, Marion Harris, George Wettling, and Erroll Garner; "The Lonesome Road", written with Nat Shilkret, recorded by Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong
Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...
, 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, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Sammy Davis Jr., Dick Dale, The Fendermen, Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
, Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
, Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music.
Darin started ...
, Duane Eddy, Paul Robeson, Jerry Vale, Muggsy Spanier, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Jimmie Lunceford, Frankie Laine and Ted Lewis; "Riding Around in the Rain", written with Carmen Lombardo 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) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
'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 cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
plant owned by the Hunter family.
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'' – all 1934 releases, '' Songs and Saddles'' (1938), and '' My Little Chickadee'' (1940) at the request of his friend Mae West.
Musical style
With the advent of electrical recording, Austin, along with Rudy Vallee, 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 Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...
, Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
, 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 popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
.
Honors
In 1978, Austin's 1928 Victor recording of "My Blue Heaven" (Victor 20964A), was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 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 Austin 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, 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 landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
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.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Gene
1900 births
1972 deaths
People from Gainesville, Texas
Writers from Minden, Louisiana
Singers from Baltimore
United States Army personnel of World War I
United States Army soldiers
American 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
Deaths from lung cancer in California
20th-century American singer-songwriters
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 in World War I
20th-century American male singers
Singer-songwriters from Louisiana
Military personnel from Texas
United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel
Victor Records artists
Perfect Records artists
Melotone Records (US) artists