Gene Autry composer

Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (1907 –1998) was an American singer-songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer and business tycoon who gained fame as a singing cowboy in a crooning style on radio, in films, and on television for more than three decades beginning in the early 1930s. Autry was also one of the most important pioneering figures in the history of country music, considered the second major influential artist of the genre's development after Jimmie Rodgers. His singing cowboy films were the first vehicle to carry country music to a national audience. In addition to his signature song, Autry is still remembered for his Christmas holiday songs, most especially his biggest hit "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as well as "Frosty the Snowman", "Here Comes Santa Claus", and "Up on the House Top".