ALLEN, Rex Collectors Edition

Rex Allen

Rex Elvie Allen, born in Willcox, Arizona, on December 31, 1920, ranks among the last of the great singing cowboys. On the family ranch he learned to ride almost before he could walk; after the early death of his older brother the family moved into town. His father, a fiddle player, bought him a small mail-order guitar so the two could perform together at local dances. A voice of remarkable range and expressiveness, together with his warmth and friendliness, made "the Arizona Cowboy" a perennial favorite with country fans.

His national radio career began in 1945 on WLS' National Barn Dance, where he followed in the footsteps of Gene Autry, Eddie Dean and Bob Atcher. That same year he started recording, first for Mercury and later for Decca and Buena Vista. In 1950 he made his first motion picture, The Arizona Cowboy, and starred in around a dozen more Westerns over the following years. His 1954 feature The Phantom Stallion is regarded as the last of the singing-cowboy films, and Allen fittingly billed himself as the last of the singing cowboys.

He appeared in television series such as Frontier Doctor, narrated more than 80 Walt Disney productions, and Dell Comics issued 30 comic books featuring him. His greatest success as a singer came in 1962 with Don't Go Near The Indians, produced by Jerry Kennedy. In the early 1970s he recorded a classic Western album for Jack Clement's JMI label, later reissued by Bear Family. With Knock Knock Rattle, cut in Nashville for Decca in 1956, he crossed over just once from country to Rock 'n' Roll.

In his final years Allen increasingly withdrew into private life. He died on December 17, 1999, at the age of 78; at his request his ashes were scattered in the small park in his hometown of Willcox where his horse Koko is buried. Willcox, to which he remained devoted all his life, has hosted the Rex Allen Days for nearly half a century.

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