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David McEnery

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Birth name
  
David Largus McEnery

Years active
  
1937–2002

Genres
  
Western music

Instruments
  
Vocals, Guitar

Role
  
Musician

Name
  
David McEnery

Also known as
  
Red River Dave



Born
  
December 15, 1914 San Antonio, Texas United States (
1914-12-15
)

Died
  
January 15, 2002, San Antonio, Texas, United States

Albums
  
There's a Blue Sky Way Out Yonder

Record labels
  
Decca Records, Savoy Records

Similar People
  
Elton Britt, Buchanan Brothers, Carson Robison, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Ray Anderson

Occupation(s)
  
Musician, songwriter

Associated acts
  
The Swift Cowboys

Red River Dave - "As Long As I Love You"


Red River Dave McEnery (born David Largus McEnery) (December 15, 1914 – January 15, 2002) was an artist, musician, and writer of topical songs. He was born in San Antonio, Texas. He got the nickname "Red River Dave" because he enjoyed singing "Red River Valley" in high school. He was the leader of The Swift Cowboys.

Contents

Career

As a teenager, he appeared regularly on KABC radio. Dave began his career by singing, yodeling, and performing rope tricks at rodeos. In 1936, 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 song "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight", broadcast in a pioneer television broadcast from the 1939 New York World's Fair. He worked for radio station WOR (AM) in New York City. He was a radio personality in border radio for station XERF. In the latter part of his life, he became a well-known painter of Texas landscapes and Western Americana themes and was often known to paint the backs of his used guitars.

Cinema

He worked in several westerns as a singing cowboy, including Swing in the Saddle (1944), Hidden Valley Days (1948) and Echo Ranch (1948).

Publications

  • 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. 
  • Songs

    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" 1954
  • "Ballad Of Emmett Till"
  • "The Ballad Of Francis Powers" 1960
  • "Trial of Francis Powers" 1960
  • "The Flight Of Apollo Eleven" 1969
  • "The California Hippy Murders"
  • "The Ballad Of Patty Hearst"
  • "The Ballad of Three Mile Island" 1979
  • "Shame is the Middle Name Of Exxon"
  • "Atlanta's Black Children" 1981
  • "The Pine-Tarred Bat, the Ballad of George Brett" 1983
  • "The Clinging Lovers of Kenya" 1983
  • "Night That Ronald Reagan Rode With Santa Claus" 1984
  • References

    David McEnery Wikipedia