Gene Autry Round-up guitar restored 
   Plays 1930s hokum and 1940s swing better than ever
   Bares Singing Cowboy's partnership with catalog firm
                                          ______________________________________
                                                ©  2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

c. 1940 Gene Autry Round-up guitar made by Harmony
Company and sold in Sears, Roebuck catalogs at $9.95

This Gene Autry Round-up is one of a limited number of signature cowboy guitars made between 1939 and 1941 by Harmony Company of Chicago and sold through Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogs of the day.

It cost $9.95 and included Gene Autry books on writing songs and playing guitar, collection of cowboy songs and mountain ballads, set of guitar strings, pick and capo. An artificial leather case cost $3.00 more.

Built like a poor man’s J-185, it has a small jumbo body with maple back, sides and neck that are finished in a painted flame-pattern sunburst. It has a spruce top with a dark red-brown sunburst, firestripe pickguard and D-shaped neck with 14 frets to the body.

Unlike most Gene Autry guitars from the 1930s and 1950s, this model does not have a western scene on the lower bout. Instead, the words Gene Autry are painted in white on the fingerboard in lariat letters. The slotted peghead is decorated with a painted emblem — a buckin' bronco rider with lasso under the model name — Round-up.

The guitar length is 39¼ inches; the body is 19 inches; lower bout width is 15 inches; body depth is 3¾ inches at end block. The scale length is 25¼ inches; sound hole diameter is 3¾ inches; nut width is 1¾ inches; string spacing at the bridge is 2-1/8-inches.

Finally, the top, back and sound hole were edged in white celluloid binding. The dyed pear wood fingerboard has a total of 19 frets and pearl markers at the 3^rd,  5^th,  7^th, 10^th, 12^th and 15^th frets.

Date stamp, FON and model number

The interior has a smudged black ink stamp indicating 1940 production and faint evidence of a blue and silver Supertone label, the brand Sears used on musical instruments. In addition, a Harmony factory order number (4728) and Round-up model number (244) in white paint are visible on the back surface just below the neck block.

Acquired at the summer 2016 Philadelphia Guitar Show from a Pittsburgh-area dealer, the instrument is in good condition. It has lots of dings, scratches and finish cracks. Likewise, the body, top, fretboard and headstock have an overall dull finish from 75 years of dust, dirt, smoke and what-have-you.

The original machines — nickel-plated plank tuners with white buttons — were replaced by period tuners. Adequate yet balky, these machines were replaced as well by modern repro tuners that work better.

Long ago a reinforcement bolt was installed through the neck block and into the heel. It has been patched and finished over.

Converted from ladder-braced to x-braced

In December 2014 luthier James Burkett of Dothan AL reset the neck and added a straight Gibson-style rosewood bridge. This new bridge replaced an oversized bridge that had replaced the original ebonized wood unit.

Burkett also opened the back of the Round-up to remove the original ladder bracing and replace it with traditional X bracing. He then installed two scalloped tone bars off the treble side of the X brace, a maple bridge plate, three small braces astride the sound hole and a tapered brace perpendicular to and under the fingerboard tongue.

Finally, the original frets were ground down. Though somewhat drastic, this fret dressing was an attempt to maintain playability, Burkett said, yet avoid a more drastic planing and refret of the entire fingerboard — a measure that could have erased the precious Gene Autry signature.

At my request, the luthier's art has been memorialized with the addition of a wood patch he sent me to place inside the body of the guitar. Above Burkett's signature the patch reads: "Repaired & X-braced 12/14/2014."

New sound from an old Round-up

Like other x-braced spruce and maple jumbos, this guitar has a focused sound and distinct maple fade. It also offers the expected percussive bass, clean-as-a-whistle midrange and crisp treble chime. It handles flatpacking and fingerpicking nicely.

It's a converted guitar, and like other guitars I've owned that were converted from ladder bracing to x-bracing, they were no longer fish, no longer fowl. Kay, Gibson and Harmony conversions, no matter. They seldom offer the wide sonic palette of an x-braced guitar and they didn't deliver the woof and zing of a ladder-braced guitar.

Yet, this Gene Autry Round-up doesn't sound like a ladder-braced guitar or an x-braced guitar. Instead, it is graced with an original sound and a deep-in-the-gut feel. In short, it is now a well-made, played-in older guitar without hairy aroma or stiff demeanor. Here, I'm using words to describe the experience of sound, an effort burdened by personal vanity and the limitations of the English language.

Nevertheless, this Round-up is a gentle beast that was restored to offer musical enjoyment for another 75 years. Performing with this instrument in my Vintage Music Concerts will safeguard the legend of America’s singing cowboy — Gene Autry — even as it preserves the 1930s hokum and 1940s swing music it was born to play.

Three Gene Autry guitar models from Sears

Between 1932 and 1955 Harmony produced three inexpensive guitar models with Gene Autry’s name and western scenery painted on spruce tops, according to cowboy guitar collector Steve Evans, co-author of Cowboy Guitars, a 2002 book with photos and commentary on hundreds of these vintage instruments.

Offered through the Sears, Roebuck catalog, these musical instruments were not toys. They were built with solid wood tops and bodies and priced just under $10. They sold like hot cakes to young fans of Gene Autry.

Like his other licensing deals, the radio personality, recording artist and matinee movie star earned a royalty (less his agent's 25% fee) on the sale of the Sears guitars. Though the exact amount is unknown, we know he reaped a 5% royalty on the wholesale value of cast-iron cap pistols sold by an Ohio hardware firm.

In 1938, the first year of sales of the guns, which bore Autry's signature below the barrel, Autry netted $15,458 in royalties, according to Holly George-Warren, author of Public Cowboy No. 1, a 2007 biography. The pistols and guitars — along with brushless shave cream, hair tonic, comic books, cowboy hats, song books and other items — were among hundreds of product "tie-ups" decorated with Gene Autry's brand over the next two decades, George-Warren said.

1932 Sears catalog listing for the first Gene Autry Roundup guitar

         Roundup  —  The earliest iteration was a 12¾-inch wide flat-top with mahogany body, spruce top and 12-fret mahogany neck. Made from fall of 1932 to fall of 1933, the first Roundup (different spelling than 1939 – 1941 model) was a decent instrument that sold for $9.75 (without case, which was available for $1.20 more). According to the catalog copy, the spruce top was graced with a “striking western ranch scene” and “a reproduction of Gene Autry’s signature."

In 1934 the Roundup was produced with a larger (13-in. wide) birch body and lower price of $8.25. A year later the spruce top took on several color tones and the body width grew to 14 inches to accommodate a longer-scale neck with 14 frets clear of the body.

                                                                                                                       PHOTO: James Burkett
Color variations on four mid-1930s Gene Autry Roundup guitars. All have solid spruce tops, body length is 39 inches and the body width is similar to Martin 00 or Gibson LG-2, according to luthier James Burkett, who is restoring them. Scale length is 25¼ inches, same as 1940 Gene Autry Round-up guitar described herein.

In 1939 Harmony introduced its grand concert-sized version of the Gene Autry Round-up (different spelling than 1932 - 1933 model) guitar. It featured a maple back and sides, maple neck and "selected spruce top." Named after "the famous cowboy of radio and pictures." It was the largest catalog guitar to bear Autry’s name, yet it cost a modest $9.95.

1939 Sears catalog listing for Gene Autry Round-up grand concert guitar

Peghead on 1935 Gene AutryOld Santa Fe archtop

          Old Santa Fe  —  A 14-fret archtop with figured maple body, spruce top with a sunburst finish and steel-reinforced neck. Produced from fall of 1935 to spring of 1936, it was discreetly decorated with Autry's signature in the lower bass bout below the f hole. The peghead had the stenciled image of a white church steeple and the words Old Santa Fe.

         Melody Ranch  —  Except for the depths of WWII, these low-cost flat-tops were made from 1941 to 1955 with a sign post and Melody Ranch stenciled on the peghead.

Gene Autry Melody Ranch guitar

All of Harmony's Gene Autry guitars (except the Old Santa Fe archtop and 1939 - 1941 Round-up) were graced in stenciled images of a western theme. They depict a cowboy with lasso and a galloping horse splashed across the lower treble bout, a wagon pulled by an oxen team across the lower bass bout, and a forested mountain scene above the bridge.

Sales of these low-cost guitars were good but the competition was intense. Indeed, between 1930 and the mid-1960s a huge variety of cheaply made guitars with stencil-painted motifs in a host of themes were offered by the major catalog firms, including Sears, Roebuck & Co., Spiegel and Montgomery Ward in the U.S. and the T. Eaton Company in Canada.


Mutual promotion by radio stars and catalog firms spurs guitar sales

The Round-up, Old Santa Fe and Melody Ranch guitars made by Harmony and sold through Sears catalogs drew lavish attention to Gene Autry. They helped him promote and sell his movies, recordings, music books, personal appearances, guitar playing, even his horse.

Other singing cowboys — including Wilf Carter, the Lone Ranger, Carson J. Robison and Roy Rogers — saw a chance to promote their radio shows, recordings, oater movies and personal appearances by obtaining endorsement deals of their own. They all figured instrument makers and catalog companies could make, promote and sell cowboy guitars emblazoned with their names.

Soon enough guitar makers and catalog companies realized they could sell these low-cost, high-volume items with generic motifs — sans endorsement deals that cost them royalty fees. This meant cowboy guitars would not only be adorned with artful renderings of wagon wheels, bronco busters and singing cowboys, but you could find guitars covered with boats, volcanoes, flowers, lily pads, stars and stripes, flamenco dancers and palm trees as well.

More than three dozen examples of these stencil-painted guitars from the 1930s to 1960s with western, nautical, patriotic, floral and other motifs have come up for sale at Matt Umanov Guitars in New York City. Offered in a single lot, they are part of the dealer's huge collection of vintage catalog guitars amassed over several decades. Below are a few examples:

 

For more on Matt Umanov's catalog guitar collection, see References at end.

Merchandising madness of musicians who "partner" with product firms
Over time, instrument makers and catalog companies offered guitars in cheaper and coarser materials, including plastic and fiberboard. They also began to put western motifs on other objects — clothing, toys, furniture — and pitch these wares to younger and younger buckaroos.

These last few measures represented the epitome of creative marketing for vendors in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. Today, we’d just call it line extension. Indeed, Autry's product "tie-ups" resemble the retail promotions, on-line sales and merch table displays of cheap imported goods with an arena rocker's name.

Still, the variety of promotional merchandise offered today may be broader. Of course, it includes tee shirts, baseball caps, posters, baby bodysuits, tank tops, stationery and bumper stickers.

But such merchandising madness extends to hoodies, perfumes, gloves, leather bracelets, scarfs, cell phone hardcases, refrigerator magnets, sneakers, thongs, and, oh yes, $428 signature guitars.

                  _____________________________________

                                     © 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

                                        REFERENCES

James Burkett, luthier, Dothan AL                          —       jtb @ burkettguitars.com
Ed Hyp, guitar dealer, North Huntingdon PA           —      alleghenyvalleyguitars @ aol.com
Matt Umanov + catalog guitars, New York NY        —      http:// umanovguitars.com
                 
Public Cowboy No. 1 — The Life and Times of Gene Autry — by Holly George-Warren, Oxford University Press, © 2007.

Singing Cowboys — by Douglas B. Green, Gibbs Smith, Publr., © 2006.

Singing in the Saddle — The History of the Singing Cowboy — by Douglas B. Green, Vanderbuilt Univ. Press, © 2002.

Cowboy Guitars — By Steve Evans and Ron Middlebrook, Centerstream Publg., © 2002.

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© 2016 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

Taken for a Heartlands Hayride 
WDVR Radio's live on-air Saturday night program
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   © 2016 Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved

Rich Evans, emcee of Heartlands Hayride, and Ken Lelen with 1921
Martin 000-28K guitar at the April 17, 2004 show. I played this guitar
and sang Jimmy Cox's 1923 tune, "Nobody Knows You When You're
Down and Out," popularized by singer Bessie Smith, who released a
recording of the song just before the 1929 Stock Market Crash.

A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but old photos can tell a larger story.

We recently found snapshots made in 2003 and 2004 at Heartlands Hayride shows, a twice-monthly radio program that airs Saturday nights in a rural outpost of west-central NJ. The photos were made by people who had attended shows, made multiple copies for friends and performers, then handed them out as mementos.

The photographs capture an intimate view of a live on-air radio program held before an audience of about 90 people seated on wooden pews in the former Brethren Church, a late 19th Century wood building located on a country lane four miles east of the Delaware River. They also show some of the vintage acoustic guitars I displayed, described to audiences and played at the time.

Ken Lelen and 1920 Galiano at the Hayride
on April 17, 2004. I sang "April Showers," a
1921 tune introduced by Al Jolson.

Now in its 16th year, the Heartlands Hayride show is a two-hour program. It mimics the fast-paced format of the Grand Ole Opry, a long-running show that first aired in 1925 on WSM Radio in Nashville.

Unlike the Opry, which offers a national audience to big-name country acts, the Hayride reaches a miniscule audience in Hunterdon County NJ. It features unpaid, local and nonprofessional performers who offer folk, bluegrass, country 'n' western, gospel music and comedic skits.

Only regulars are household names
Rich Evans, a stalwart bluegrass DJ, has emceed the show since its start by WDVR Radio in 2000. A 5,000-watt FM station founded in 1990 by radio engineer Frank Napurano, WDVR is based in the rural (pop. 5,010) village of Sergeantsville (pronounced "serge-ents-ville").

During the time I played the Hayride, regular performers included singer Chris Val, guitarist Danny Newman, country and bluegrass singer Beth Coleman, multi-instrumentalist and luthier Mike Terris, the country-bumpkin comedy duo Chuck Pierman and Joe Adda (1922 - 2013), and Len Rambo of Califon NJ, the last performing member of the Burd Boys Country Music Band. Because of their appearance on the Hayride, some of these performers have become household names within a 20-mile radius of the radio station.

Sadly, Hayride performers included as well some dull and self-conscious family acts, housewives with cowboy hats and guitars, an execrable husband-and-wife gospel duo, and a Hank Williams impersonator.

Producers with numerous contacts
When I played the Hayride, regular and guest performers were assembled by singer Beth Coleman with an assist from Evans. Both of them had numerous contacts among local and regional performers in several musical genres.

A musician's performance was by invitation. A call to perform was driven by who Coleman and Evans knew as well as by a need to balance program content. In addition, the show's pacing and time format, which included 35 to 37 three-minute segments, determined how many songs each musician performed.

Joe Adda, Ringoes NJ dairy farmer, harmonica virtuoso and

comedian, and Ken Lelen. On the May 8, 2004 show, I sang

Hoagy Carmichael's 1930 "Georgia On My Mind" while Joe

accompanied me on his harmonica.

Beth Coleman knew someone who knew someone who knew me. Out of the blue one day she called to ask if I wanted to perform on live radio.

"Of course I do," I said, adding that I played old guitars and sang pop hits from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

"I don't do no rock 'n' roll, not much bluegrass and even less country."

"You'll do," she said.

So, in between traveling for my tours, I played the Hayride show more than a dozen times for some truly appreciative audiences. I sang great American ragtime, jazz and swing and I played some fine vintage acoustic guitars.

China shop bull reprograms show
Then, one night in late 2004 a woman identified only as Ginny showed up about midway in the show. She began changing the order and duration of the on-air performers. She barked orders at Evans and Coleman from off-stage. And, like a bull in a china shop, she questioned the seating arrangements for performers, since there is no Green Room at the Hayride.

Ken Lelen and 1941 Gibson J-35 at the Hayride on June 14, 2003.
I played this guitar and sang a tune, "Old Corrals and Sagebrush,"
written in 2002 by Canadian folk singer Ian Tyson.

Few musicians knew what was happening, who this person was, or the reason for the mid-show program changes. Still, in her unique and personable way, Ginny recast programming for the Hayride that night.

We eventually learned that Ginny was the wife of station owner Frank Napuran and she hosted several talk shows on WDVR. Prior to her radio job, she spent 32 years in the personnel department of a large drug firm in Princeton.

WDVR's announcers and staff liked to call the station a community-based nonprofit during fundraising cycles. Nevertheless, the Napuranos kept a tight grip on their private property.

Indeed, at a follow-up meeting for Hayride performers at the station's business office, Ginny identified herself as WVDR's operations manager. She then threw Beth off the show and took on the role of Hayride producer, albeit with a heavy reliance on Rich Evans.

Like a baby tossed out with the bath water, I lost my foothold on playing for a live radio show. Fortunately, 2005 was a particularly productive year for my business, Vintage Music Concerts. I played 140 dates in a dozen tours on the East Coast.

In addition, in May 2005 I was the subject of a flattering profile in the New York Times. And by mid-summer I started performing and recording vintage music concerts in a jazz and swing trio — with bass, fiddle and vintage guitars.

Straight-ahead country church
Coleman returned to the Hayride as a performer for a short time in 2006. By then, the show's programming had taken a tight turn toward straight-ahead bluegrass and country, which Hayride personnel define as Bill Monroe, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and other 1950s rural music players.

Indeed, today the Hayride's six-man back-up band tends to homogenize each performer's sound with an identical mid-century twang. A tiny cast of regular performers still dominates Saturday night productions. And touring musicians, unwittingly chasing free promos from an FM station that can only offer meager coverage, round out the programs.

Frank and Ginny Napurano are now deceased. The Hayride continues to bill itself as a "radio barn dance country music variety show." Rich Evans is now producer, director and emcee — a one-armed paper hanger.

The live on-air radio show is still held in the "little country church by the side of the road," though the station's owners bought the site for $225,000 in 2010. In a piece of twisted irony appreciated by local musicians, they renamed the 1898 property for Ginny.

So, if you have an urge for local music next Saturday, the Hayride's hosts will charge you $12 to hear country or bluegrass on one of their hardwood benches. They'll also sell you homemade sweets and refreshments if you venture upstairs to the old church vestibule.

But don't worry. Parking is still free.

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© 2016 Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved