Gene Austin - Like A Melody Out Of The Sky

Gene Austin (1900-1972) was an American singer and songwriter who is considered to have been one of the first crooners. In 1919, Austin settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he intended to study dentistry. Soon, however, he was playing piano and singing in local taverns. He started writing songs and formed a vaudeville act with Roy Bergere. The act ended when Bergere married. Austin worked briefly in a club owned by Lou Clayton. Austin sold over 80 million records -- a total unmatched by a single artist for 40 years. Offered to work in Hollywood at the height of his career he appeared in three films, Austin retired from the music business in the late 1950s and was active in civic boards there until 1970. Income from his record sales allowed him to live comfortably the rest of his life. He died in Palm Springs of lung cancer. In 1978, As for this moving rendition, it was recorded in 1928. Mr. Austin was accompanied by members of the Nat Shilkret Orchestra.