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Red River Dave McEnery (born David Largus McEnery)[1] (December 15, 1914 – January 15, 2002)[2] was an American artist, musician, and writer of topical songs. His two best-known are "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" (a memorial tribute to the recently deceased pilot) and "There's a Star-Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere".
"Red River Dave" McEnery | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | David Largus McEnery[1] |
| Also known as | Red River Dave |
| Born | December 15, 1914 San Antonio, Texas, United States |
| Died | January 15, 2002 (aged 87) |
| Genres | Western music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, Guitar |
| Years active | 1937–2002 |
| Labels | Decca Records MGM Records Savoy Records |
He was born in San Antonio, Texas, United States. He got the nickname "Red River Dave" because he enjoyed singing "Red River Valley" at Brackenridge High School in San Antonio.
He first appeared on radio at age 18, in 1932, for KABC in San Antonio. In 1936 he became "cattle whip and lariat champion" at a state competition.[3] That same year he broadcast a live singing performance from the Goodyear Blimp over CBS AM radio station WQAM in Miami.
His career really took off with his topical song "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight", broadcast in a pioneer television broadcast from the 1939 New York World's Fair, where his band entertained at the Swift Premium exhibit.[4] He worked for radio station WOR (AM) in New York City.[5] He was a radio personality in border radio for station XERF. From the 1940s McEnery had a daily radio show for several years at station WOAI in his home town of San Antonio, where he set up a booking office for himself and his band.
He became a disc jockey for WOAI in 1953, and also appeared on WOAI-TV. In November 1953 he bought a recording studio, Marathon Recording Company, in San Antonio.[6]
Red River Dave was featured in several full-length westerns and short subjects as a singing cowboy. including the Columbia Pictures feature Swing in the Saddle (1944), and the Universal Pictures featurettes Hidden Valley Days and Echo Ranch (both 1948). He also starred in 14 Soundies, three-minute musical films shown in coin-operated "movie jukeboxes", and was the company's most prolific cowboy entertainer.[7]
Columnist Lester Ketner of Boxoffice Magazine asked Red River Dave "why he did not run for some political office next May. Dave's answer was, 'I'm gonna run for sheriff, just to keep outa jail.'"[8]
In the latter part of his life, McEnery became a well-known painter of Texas landscapes and Western Americana themes, and was often known to paint the backs of his used guitars.
- Dave, Red River; Betty Ann Fisher (1939). Red River Dave Song Book: marvelous collection of cowboy, hill-billy, mountain and home songs, all originals. New York: Stasny Music Corporation.
- McEnery, Dave (c. 1940). Red River Dave's Louisiana Jamboree and Nashville Favorites. San Antonio, Texas: Red River Dave Music Company.
Red River Dave's songs have been recorded by Hank Snow and Tex Ritter.
- "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" 1937
- "The Blind Boy's Dog" ("I'd Like To Give My Dog To Uncle Sam")
- "The Red Deck of Cards"[9] 1954
- "Ballad Of Emmett Till"
- "The Ballad Of Francis Powers" 1960[10]
- "Trial of Francis Powers" 1960
- "The Flight Of Apollo Eleven" 1969
- "The California Hippy Murders"[11][12]
- "The Ballad Of Patty Hearst"[12]
- "The Ballad of Three Mile Island" 1979[12]
- "Shame is the Middle Name Of Exxon"
- "Atlanta's Black Children" 1981
- "The Pine-Tarred Bat, the Ballad of George Brett" 1983[13]
- "The Clinging Lovers of Kenya" 1983[14]
- "Night That Ronald Reagan Rode With Santa Claus"[14] 1984[15]
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