Red River Dave McEnery (born David Largus McEnery) (December 15, 1914 – January 15, 2002) was an American artist, musician, and writer of topical songs. He was born in San Antonio, Texas, United States. He got the nickname "Red River Dave" because he enjoyed singing "Red River Valley" in high school. He was the leader of The Swift Cowboys.

Career

As a teenager, he appeared regularly on KABC radio. Dave began his career by singing, yodeling, and performing

rope trick The term ''rope trick'' may refer to: * Magic trick, any trick involving a rope ** Indian rope trick, a trick involving causing a rope to appear to levitate in the air and then climbing up it * Nylon rope trick, a demonstration of the chemical princ ...

s at

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

s. In 1936, he broadcast a live singing performance from the Goodyear Blimp over CBS AM radio station WQAM in Miami. His career really took off with his song "

Amelia Earhart's Last Flight "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" is a song written by Red River Dave McEnery shortly after Amelia Earhart's disappearance. It has been believed to be the first song ever performed on commercial television (at the 1939 World's Fair). It was copyrig ...

", broadcast in a pioneer television broadcast from the

1939 New York World's Fair The 1939–40 New York World's Fair was a world's fair held at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York, United States. It was the second-most expensive American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchas ...

. He worked for radio station WOR (AM) in New York City. He was a radio personality in border radio for station XERF. In the latter part of his life, he became a well-known painter of Texas landscapes and Western Americana themes and was often known to paint the backs of his used guitars.

Cinema

He worked in several westerns as a

singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and d ...

, including ''

Swing in the Saddle ''Swing in the Saddle'' is a 1944 American Western musical comedy film directed by Lew Landers and starring Jane Frazee. Cast * Jane Frazee as Penny Morrow * Guinn Williams as "Tiny" Baldwin * Slim Summerville as Northup "Slim" Bayliss * Sall ...

'' (1944), ''Hidden Valley Days'' (1948) and ''Echo Ranch'' (1948).

Publications

* *

Songs

Red River Dave's songs have been recorded by Hank Snow and Tex Ritter. * "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" 1937 * "The Blind Boy's Dog" ("I'd Like To Give My Dog To Uncle Sam") * "The Red Deck of Cards" 1954 * "Ballad Of

Emmett Till Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African American boy who was abducted, tortured, and lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in her family's grocery ...

" * "The Ballad Of Francis Powers" 1960 * "Trial of Francis Powers" 1960 * "The Flight Of Apollo Eleven" 1969 * " The California Hippy Murders" * "The Ballad Of

Patty Hearst Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954) is the granddaughter of American publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. She first became known for the events following her 1974 kidnapping by the Symbionese Liberation Army. She was found a ...

" * "The Ballad of

Three Mile Island 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * ''Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

" 1979 * "Shame is the Middle Name Of

Exxon ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 30, ...

" * "Atlanta's Black Children" 1981 * "The Pine-Tarred Bat, the Ballad of George Brett" 1983 * "The Clinging Lovers of Kenya" 1983 * "Night That

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

Rode With

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

" 1984

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McEnery, David 1914 births 2002 deaths People from San Antonio American male composers 20th-century American composers American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American folk guitarists American male guitarists American folk singers American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Mexican radio presenters Yodelers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male singers