Everybody agrees with the
fact that Rex Allen was the last of the Singing Cowboys
; indeed, he entered the pictures (!) in 1949, when Republic Pictures in Hollywood
signed him to a 7-year contract - with a little help from one of Rex's heroes,
Roy Rogers himself. Rex starred in 19 westerns for them between 1950 ('The
Arizona Cowboy') and 1954 ('The Phantom Stallion').
Rex was born
on December 31, 1921, on a ranch in Mud Springs Canyon, forty miles from Wilcox,
Arizona. In a very informative piece written in the April '83 issue of US
mag, 'Goldmine', author Bob Garbutt explains that Rex lost his brother at
a very early age and that his mother died when he was twelve. His father was
a fiddle player ; Rex's interest in music came from there and grew even more
after his Dad bought him a guitar. Later on, Rex did some radio work in Phoenix,
Arizona, finally ending up on Chicago's famous 'National Barn Dance' in 1945.
Three years later, he signed
a recording contract with Mercury Records ; he cut about forty discs for them
- some being pretty dire pop (like his duets with Patti Page in 1950/1), others
showing his deep,
melodious baritone voice to good advantage. At first, the '78s bore the mention
'Rex Allen & His Dawn-Busters', then 'Rex Allen & His Dawn-Breakers'
and eventually, 'Rex Allen & His Arizona Wranglers'.
In 1949, Rex sang the vocal part on Jerry
Byrd's classic, 'Steelin' The Blues' ; Jerry would often play steel on
Allen's recordings from then on. 1952 saw Rex moving to Decca Records - that's
where he cut his best sides. He went back to straight Country music for a
while, cutting nice versions of 'Jambalaya' and Stuart Hamblen's 'Rack Up
The Balls Boys' ; other good songs included 'Till The Well Goes Dry', 'Lonesome
Letter Blues', 'Money, Marbles & Chalk' and 'This Old House', a duet with
Tex Williams. His biggest hit though, was his 1953 cover of Darrell Glenn's
'Crying In the Chapel' (Valley 105).
However, two singles stand out in my humble opinion.
One
is from 1952 (Decca #28446) and couples a languorous version of 'No One Will
Ever Know' with a terrific hillbilly boogie number, 'Hootin' & Howlin',
written by Vaughn Horton who also penned or co-penned such classics as 'Choo
Choo Ch'Boogie', 'Mockin' Bird Hill', 'Sugarfoot Rag', 'Plantation Boogie'
and 'Hillbilly Fever'. Allen had cut other boogies prior to that one (i. e.
'Dixie Boogie' and 'Honolulu Boogie', both on Mercury) but I think 'Hootin'
& Howlin', propelled by some Jerry Adler-type harmonica, is even better.
The harmonica solo is wonderful and there's also a very fine guitar break.
Rex's voice - one of the best in its category, along with Eddie
Dean's - is perfectly suited to that uptempo material.
The other (Decca #30651) was the result of a February 23, 1958, session held
at Bradley's Studio in Nashville. This time, Rex tried to rock - certainly
with some reluctance - but he did score nicely thanks to two Clyde Mitchell
compositions ! 'Knock, Knock, Rattle' is a real good rocker, fast and ornamented
with two strong Hank Garland guitar soli. Rex manages to mention 'Rin-Tin-Tin'
in the words - probably a nod to his friend, James L. Brown. The song re-emerged
on the third volume in the trailblazing 'Rare Rockabilly' series of UK LPs
in 1978 - the definitive proof of its enduring quality. As for the flip side,
'Invitation To The Blues', it's more relaxed and the vocal chorus more prominent
but Garland again is in fine form, playing licks which would soon grace Elvis's
records. One mystery I'd like to solve concerns the composer credits to 'Invitation
To The Blues' ; that same song was later cut by Roger Miller, Red Sovine,
Pete Drake and Joe Maphis,
yet the credits always go to Roger Miller.
Did Clyde Mitchell sell his rights ?
Even
if 'Knock, Knock, Rattle' didn't dent the charts, Allen's discs sold usually
well and at the end of the '50s, Rex was living comfortably in California.
One day, he got a call from Walt Disney who asked him to become the narrator
on some of his nature movies and do some cartoon character voices as well
; according to Rex himself, he worked in 150 such movies in about 15 years.
The association with Disney Productions led to Allen's appearance on Disney's
Buena Vista label - home of Annette and Hayley Mills ! Happily, it didn't
last ; Allen went on to record for Hacienda (he had 3 singles, one EP and
one LP there, featuring a remake of 'Lonesome Letter Blues'), then returned
to Mercury where he enjoyed a big hit with 'Don't Go Near The Indians' in
1962.
He wrote the last chapter of his recording career at Decca in the late '60s,
while keeping on raising horses on his ranch and performing on the rodeo circuit
: a true Cowboy ! Surely one of his biggest prides has been to watch his first
son, Rex Allen Jr., become a successful Country singer in the '70s.
© PAUL VIDAL * Privas, France * August 2002
| 46390 |
I've Got So Many Million Years / Is He satisfied ? |
| 27876 |
Tuck Me To Sleep In My Old Tucky Home / Ragtime Melody |
| 27952 |
As Long As The River Flows / Waltz Of Roses |
| 28146 |
Till The Well Goes Dry / Rack Up The Balls Boys |
| 28341 |
Two Faced Clock / Jambalaya (On The Bayou) |
| 28446 |
83091 Hootin' & Howlin' / 83089 No One Will Ever Know |
| 28556 |
Knockin' On The Door / Why, My Darlin', Why |
| 28758 |
Crying In The Chapel / I Thank The Lord |
| 28897 |
To Be Alone / If God Can Forgive You So Can I |
| 28933 |
Why Daddy / Where Did My Snowman Go |
| 28998 |
He Played The Steel Guitar / Somewhere |
| 29111 |
Bringing Home The Bacon / I Could Cry My Heart Out (Sometimes) |
| 29168 |
Chapel Of Memories / In The Chapel In The Moonlight |
| 29254 |
This Old House / Two Texas Boys (duets with TEX WILLIAMS) |
| 29297 |
You Took My Name / I'm Learning To Live Without You |
| 29397 |
Lonesome Letter Blues / Tomorrow's Just Another Day To Cry |
| 29586 |
That's What Makes The Juke Box Play / Pedro Gonzales Tennessee Lopez |
| 29610 |
Daddy You Know What / The Albino (Pink Eyed) Stallion |
| 29729 |
The Last Round-Up / I'm A Young Cowboy |
| 29871 |
The Last Frontier / Sky Boss |
| 30066 |
Nothin' To Do / Trail Of The Lonesome Pine |
| 30204 |
Drango / Little White Horse |
| 30205 |
Westward Ho The Wagons / Wringle Wrangle |
| 30364 |
Flower Of San Antone / Money, Marbles & Chalk |
| 30511 |
Blue Dream / The Blue Light Waltz |
| 30651 |
104624 Knock, Knock, Rattle / 104628 Invitation To The Blues |
| 30833 |
I Know The Reason Why / The Mystery Of His Way |
| 31039 |
Take
Me Lord / Sheltered In The Arms Of The Old Rugged Cross |
| 32322 |
Tiny
Bubbles / Jose Ville Lobo Alfredo Thomoso Vincente Lopez |
| ED-2448 |
'WESTWARD
HO THE WAGONS' (4-song EP) |
| DL-8402 |
'UNDER
WESTERN SKIES' (LP issued in 1956 ; with
Victor Young & Singing Strings) |
| DL7-8776 |
'MISTER
COWBOY' (LP issued in 1959) |
| DL7-5011 |
'THE
SMOOTH COUNTRY SOUND OF REX ALLEN' (LP ;
1968) |
| DL7-5205 |
'THE
TOUCH OF GOD'S HAND' (LP ; 1970) |