REX ALLEN
Better-known as the Arizona Cowboy, Rex Allen was the last of Hollywood's singing cowboys. Between 1950 and 1954, Allen starred in 19 movies for Republic studios. The films launched a popular recording career for Allen, as he had several hit singles and albums in the early '50s, before the singing cowboys slowly disappeared from the charts.
The son of a fiddle player, Rex Allen was given his first guitar when he was 11 years old; his father intended Rex to support him at dances. Shortly afterwards, Allen began singing. After he finished high school, he was hired as a performer by a Phoenix radio station, but he only stayed there for a brief time. Instead, Allen hit the rodeo circuit. His career as a rodeo rider was short-lived, as he suffered an injury from a bull. The injury led Allen back to singing, and he was hired by WTTM in Trenton, NJ, in 1943.
After he left WTTM, Allen joined the Sleepy Hollow Ranch Gang in Pennsylvania. During the summer of 1946, Allen was spotted by Lulu Belle & Scotty; impressed, the duo recommended that he try out for the National Barn Dance and WLS in Chicago. Allen became a popular performer in the Windy City, which led him to become one of the first country & western artists signed by Mercury Records. Mercury released several of Allen's singles before he had a hit with "Afraid" in 1949. That same year, Allen went to Hollywood.
Bringing along a CBS network radio program, Allen approached Republic Pictures. The studio signed the singer to a star in a film, The Arizona Cowboy, which was released in 1950. The movie was a success, beginning a string of 19 pictures that ran until February 1954. All of the movies were musical Westerns, starring Allen with a rotating cast of sidekicks. Frequently, he would star with Slim Pickens, but Buddy Ebsen and Fuzzy Knight also made their appearances in Allen's films.
Allen's film successes led to a hit record in 1951, "Sparrow in the Tree Top." Released on Mercury Records, the single climbed into the country Top Ten and made it into the pop Top 30. Soon after its release, Allen signed with Decca Records, which released his biggest hit, 1953's "Crying in the Chapel"; the song peaked in the Top Five and reached the Top Ten pop charts. In the latter half of the decade, he made a number of albums composed of Western songs. During this time, he acted in 39 episodes of the television program Frontier Doctor.
By the '60s, Rex Allen had re-signed with Mercury Records, which led to several minor hits and one major success -- 1962's "Don't Go Near the Indians," which returned the singer to the country Top Ten and the pop Top 20. On his '60s stint at Mercury, Allen had two other significant hits -- 1961's "Marines Let's Go" and "Tear After Tear" in 1964. In the late '60s, the singer went back to Decca Records, which resulted in one minor hit in 1968, "Tiny Bubbles." During this time and the early '70s, he recorded albums for Disneyland, Buena Vista, and JMI. However, he was more prominent in this era as a narrator for many Walt Disney films and television programs, as well as a voice in several Disney cartoons.
In the '80s, Allen's oldest son, Rex Allen, Jr., became a star in his own right. A museum in his hometown, Willcox, AZ, was dedicated to Rex Allen, and the Governor of Arizona honored him. Allen occasionally appeared in Western film fare, where he remained as popular as ever. He died December 17, 1999, after his caretaker accidentally ran him over with a car; Allen was 78.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
-
Voice of the West
Country - Released by Bear Family Records GmbH on 20 Apr 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rex Allen Sings 16 Favorite Songs
Children - Released by Walt Disney Records on 6 Jan 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Last of the Great Singing Cowboys
World - Released by Bpr Records on 22 Mar 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Morgen (Mono Version)
Pop - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Cowboy Essentials
Country - Released by Nifty Music, Inc. on 1 Aug 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All the best
Country - Released by Vintage Jukebox on 10 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Cowboy Songs
Country - Released by Rockabilly Records on 1 Jul 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Arizona Cowboy: Selected Singles 1946-62
Country - Released by ACROBAT on 10 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Arizona Cowboy
Country - Released by Music Manager on 7 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Singing Cowboy
Country - Released by StarPointe Records on 9 Nov 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
America's Last Singing Cowboy
Country - Released by Country Rewind on 25 Oct 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Last of the Great Singing Cowboys
Country - Released by Bloodshot Records on 22 Mar 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Arizona Cowboy (Remastered)
Country - Released by Master Tape Records on 25 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Versatile Rex Allen
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Jasmine Records on 6 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Rex Allen Vol 1
Country - Released by RedDirt on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rex Allen - Vintage Sounds
Country - Released by Retro Music Box on 3 Feb 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Classic Westerns: The Victor Young Years, Vol. I
World - Released by Bpr Records on 27 Mar 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All the Best
Country - Released by Don't stop the music on 5 Mar 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -