Eugene Rogers (March 23, 1917–November 23, 1993), known professionally as Smokey Rogers, was an American

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 ...

musician and songwriter, active during the 1940s and '50s on the West Coast. Born in

McMinnville, Tennessee McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,788 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It was named after Governor Joseph McMinn. Geography McMinnville is locate ...

, Rogers joined

Spade Cooley Donnell Clyde "Spade" Cooley (December 17, 1910 – November 23, 1969) was an American Western swing musician, big-band leader, actor, television personality, and convicted murderer. In 1961, he was tried and convicted for the murder of his ...

's band in the 1940s (who gave Rogers his stage name).

Tex Williams Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held th ...

, Rogers, and other members of Cooley's band formed a group called the Western Caravan. Both groups featured Rogers on vocals for novelty songs. Rogers co-wrote "Spanish Fandango" with

Bob Wills James Robert "Bob" Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although Spade C ...

, released in 1947. In 1949, he had a modest hit with "A Little Bird Told Me". Rogers is best known for writing the ballad " Gone", first recorded by

Ferlin Husky Ferlin Eugene Husky (December 3, 1925 – March 17, 2011) was an American country music singer who was equally adept at honky-tonk, ballads, spoken recitations, rockabilly and pop tunes. From 1948 to 1953, he recorded under the stage name Terry ...

in 1952. When Husky re-recorded the song in 1956, it reached number one on the country chart. It remained there for 10 weeks and crossed over to the pop chart. He also wrote "My Chickashay Gal", popularized by

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

. From 1947–50, Eugene Rogers appeared in at least 22 of

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

' "musical featurettes" with Tex Williams. In 1950, he bought the Bostonia Ballroom in

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish language, Spanish: El Cajón, lit. 'the box') is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajon, Rancho El Cajón, which was named for the ...

, near

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, and started a daily live TV show from the facility. In 1958, he was also doing a radio show on 50,000-watt XERB in Rosarita Beach, Mexico. He programmed both sides of a Zane Ashton (aka Bill Aken) record of 'The Wind Running Through" with the flip side being the same song in Spanish and called "El Viento". The resulting sales in Mexico gave Ashton his first gold record. Rogers and his first wife, Madelene, had six children; Laura Jo, Carl, Harold, Ruth-Ann, and twin sons, Roy and Rex Rogers. Rogers and his second wife lived in Apple Valley, California, for several years, where he was a local radio personality and performed regularly at the Branding Iron Restaurant. He died in San Diego on November 23, 1993, at age 76.Personal knowledge

Discography

Links

Smokey Rogers bio
- CMT *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Smokey 1917 births 1993 deaths People from McMinnville, Tennessee American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Western swing performers 20th-century American singer-songwriters Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male singers