Gene once received a record 80,000 fan letters in one month.

Watch a Gene Autry Video Clip

My Buddy
Gene Autry's Melody Ranch Radio Show
(December 7, 1947)

Gene Autry's December 7, 1947 Melody Ranch radio show marked the sixth anniversary of Pearl Harbor. The program's songs, humor, and the drama reflected that day and the war that followed.

In the introduction to the song "My Buddy," Gene says, "I'd like to pay tribute to all the 'Rips' in the world, wherever they may be." He is referencing a character in the drama just before the song, Private First-Class Rip Rankin. Gene goes on to say, "if it weren't for them there might be a swastika flying over the White House instead of Old Glory, there might be a concentration camp in St. Louis instead of a baseball park, and our kids might be learning to carry guns instead of school books." You can hear the sincerity in Gene's voice as he goes on to "salute a lot of my buddies who died" to bring the world peace.

Gene is backed in this performance by the Cass County Boys, The Pinafores, Johnny Bond, and Carl Cotner's Orchestra.

Words and Music by Gus Kahn and Walter Donaldson
Published by Remick Music

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