You’ve got to hand it to the folks at Gene Autry Entertainment: they never miss a trick. Autry was a savvy businessman who owned much of his vast output including movies, television shows, and decades of radio broadcasts. Having released albums, published song folios, CDs, and DVDs, and having made long-term deals with the Encore Westerns channel, the Autry office has now brought Gene into the 21stcentury with his own YouTube channel.
I’m especially fond of Gene’s Melody Ranch radio series, which ran for many years on CBS, and this is one source of the wonderful music you can hear online. These are live performances for a studio audience and have a different “feel” from Gene’s commercial records; he also sang many tunes on the show that he never got around to recording.
But as Autry Entertainment’s chief honcho Karla Buehlman explains in her latest e-mail blast, they need the help of fans to give this channel a proper launch.
“We think this is a great YouTube channel, but one thing is missing! We need to get the official ‘Verified Checkmark’ next to Gene Autry’s name so that the world knows this is the one and only official channel for America’s Favorite Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry. YouTube has requirements for verification and we’ve fulfilled all of them but one: We need more subscribers to the Gene Autry YouTube Channel and Gene Autry’s Google+ page. You can help by following these two steps:
“Step One: Subscribe to the Gene Autry Official YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/GeneAutryOfficial. This link takes you to Gene’s YouTube page. In the upper right corner is a red subscribe box. Click on it to subscribe.
“Step Two: Follow our Gene Autry Official Google+ Page:
https://plus.google.com/114677570148020005854/posts. This link takes you to Gene’s Google+ page. At the top left is a white “Follow” box. Click on it to subscribe.
“What does it mean to subscribe to these two pages? You’ll get notifications when something new is added to either page and you won’t miss the latest and greatest from Gene Autry! We’d like to have the Verification Checkmark as soon as possible! To encourage you to sign up, we are having a contest. All folks who subscribe to the Gene Autry Official YouTube Channel and follow our Gene Autry Official Google+ Page will be entered into a drawing to win one of three special Gene Autry Prizes:
(Courtesy of Gene Autry Entertainment)
Prize #1
Gene Autry Movie Scarf –
Fringe Neck Scarf
CD – Gene Autry: The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings
CD – 25 Cowboy Classics:
The Western Collection
DVD Set – Gene Autry Collection 4:
The Old Barn Dance, Blue Montana Skies, Sierra Sue & Cowboy Serenade
DVD Set – The Gene Autry Show Season Two
The Gene Autry Christmas Book
Retail value: $111
(Courtesy of Gene Autry Entertainment)
Prize #2
Gene Autry Movie Scarf –
Rectangular Shawl
CD – The Original: Gene Autry Sings Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & Other Christmas Favorites
CD – South of the Border: Gene Autry Sings Songs of Old Mexico
DVD Set – Gene Autry Collection 6:The Strawberry Roan, Rim of the Canyon, Barbed Wire & Winning of the West
DVD Set – The Gene Autry Show Season Three & Four
Here Comes Santa Claus Illustrated Story Book
Retail value: $110
(Courtesy of Gene Autry Entertainment)
Prize #3
Gene Autry Movie Scarf – Large Square Wrap
CD – Here Comes Santa Claus
CD – Cowboy Hymns & Songs of Inspiration
DVD Set – Gene Autry Collection 7:Tumbling Tumbleweeds, The Old Corral, Prairie Moon & Carolina Moon
DVD Set – The Gene Autry Show Season Five
Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry
Retail value: $111
No purchase necessary. One entry per email address. For full contest rules read more HERE. The contest closes on Friday, June 19th, so be sure to sign up by then! We will select our three prize winners on Monday, June 22nd. Already signed up? Then you are already in the drawing for the prizes. Thank you for your continued friendship with Gene Autry and for helping him get the recognition he deserves in the 21st Century!”
Karla adds, “Here is the latest on the DVDs. By the end of the year, all of Gene Autry’s feature films will be on DVD. We are very excited about this!
Gene Autry Collection 11 will be released August 25th with the films The Singing Cowboy (1936), Guns and Guitars (1936), Round Up Time in Texas(1937) and Springtime in the Rockies (1937). Gene Autry Collection 12 will be released November 17th with the films Sagebrush Troubadour (1935), Ride, Ranger, Ride (1936), Yodelin’ Kid from Pine Ridge (1937), and Goldmine in the Sky (1938). More details will be posted on www.geneautry.com.”
