Austin was born as Lemeul Eugene Lucas in Gainesville, Texas (north of Dallas), to Nova Lucas (died 1943) and the former Serena Belle Harrell (died 1956). He took the name "Gene Austin" from his stepfather, Jim Austin, a blacksmith. Austin grew up in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana, located east of Shreveport. There he learned to play piano and guitar. He ran away from home at fifteen and attended a vaudeville act in Houston, where the audience was allowed to come to the stage and sing. On a dare from his friends, Austin took the stage and sang for the first time since singing as a Southern Baptist choir boy. The audience response was overwhelming, and the vaudeville company immediately offered him a billed spot on their ticket.
Austin joined the U.S. Army at the age of 17 in hopes of being dispatched to Europe to fight in World War I. He was first stationed in New Orleans, where he played the piano at night in the city's notorious vice district. His familiarity with horses from helping his stepfather in his blacksmithing business also prompted the Army to assign Austin to the cavalry and send him to Mexico with General John Pershing's Pancho Villa expedition, for which he was awarded the Mexican Service Medal. Thereafter, he served in France in the Great War.
On returning to the United States 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, with whom he wrote "How Come You Do Me Like You Do." The act ended when Bergere married. Austin worked briefly in a club owned by Lou Clayton, who later was a part of the famous vaudeville team Clayton, Jackson and Durante. RCA Victor bought his popular song "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street." In the next decade with RCA, Austin sold over 80 million records -- a total unmatched by a single artist for 40 years. Best sellers included "The Lonesome Road," "Riding Around in the Rain," and "Ramona."
Arriving with the advent of electrical recording technologies (earlier, acoustical technologies had been used) Austin soon gave birth to the "crooner" form (a clear light tenor) of singing of the 20's and 30's, taking over from the more sentimental style of tenor vocals popularized by such singers as Henry Burr and Billy Murray. Such later crooners as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Russ Columbo all credited Austin with creating the musical genre that began their careers. Gene Austin became enormously popular in the late 1920s. His recording of "My Blue Heaven" sold over 12 million records and until Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" replaced it as the largest selling record of all time.
Offered to work in Hollywood at the height of his career as the "Voice of the Southland", Austin appeared in three films, "Belle of the Nineties" (1934), "Klondike Annie" (1936) and "My Little Chickadee" (1940), at the request of his personal friend, Mae West.
Gene Austin married his first wife, Kathryn Arnold, a dancer, in 1924 and divorced her in 1929. They had a child, Ann, born in 1928. Austin married his second wife, Agnes Antelline, in 1933, and their daughter Charlotte was born that same year. He and Agnes divorced in 1940. Austin then married actress Doris Sherrell in 1940, and divorced her in 1946. He married wife number four, LouCeil Hudson, a singer, in 1949, and the marriage lasted until 1966. Austin married Gigi Theodorea in 1967; this was his fifth and final marriage.
In 1956, CBS made a television drama about Austin's life.
In 1962, Austin campaigned unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor of Nevada. He polled only 5,017 votes (10.21 percent) to his opponent, Grant Sawyer, who received 40,168 ballots (81.4 percent) Sawyer then won the governorship by a nearly 2-1 margin over weak Republican opposition in the fall campaign.
Austin had retired to Palm Springs, California, in the late 1950s and had been 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 and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.
In 1978, Gene Austin was posthumously awarded a Grammy Hall of Fame Award for his 1928 recording of Bye, Bye, Blackbird, which has long been considered recorded music's definitive rendition of that song.
In 2005, Gene Austin was nominated and admitted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Girl of My Dreams
Gene Austin Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Years full of tears and regret;
I've been alone broken hearted,
Trying so hard to forget:
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
You are so sweet,
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Please come back again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
It's strange how life deals you sorrow,
Sunshine and joy always nigh;
We live and learn for tomorrow,
But sometimes the learning comes high:
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
You are so sweet,
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
Then life would be complete;
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Please come back again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
You are so sweet,
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
Then life would be complete;
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Please come back again.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
The lyrics of "Girl of My Dreams" by Gene Austin speak of a remorseful man who has been trying to forget the girl he loves for years. He expresses his love for her and how life has not been the same since she left. He states that she is the only one for him, the girl of his dreams, and that life would be complete if he could hold her in his arms again.
The song paints a picture of a man who is filled with deep regret and sorrow over losing the love of his life. The lyrics reflect a sense of longing and a desire to be reunited with his beloved. He acknowledges that he has been alone and brokenhearted since their parting, but his love for her has not faded. The repetition of the phrase "girl of my dreams" emphasizes his longing for her and her ultimate importance to him. Although life has dealt him sorrow, sunshine and joy, he believes the only thing missing is her presence.
Overall, "Girl of My Dreams" is a classic tale of lost love and regret. The lyrics express a universal sentiment that many people can relate to, emphasizing the power and pain of romantic love.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear, it seems years since we parted,
It feels like it has been a very long time since we separated.
Years full of tears and regret;
I have spent many years crying and feeling remorseful.
I've been alone broken hearted,
I have been lonely and devastated.
Trying so hard to forget:
I have been making an effort to forget the past.
Girl of my dreams I love you, honest I do,
I truly love the girl that I dream about.
You are so sweet,
She is a kind and loving person.
If I could just hold your charms again in my arms,
If I could just embrace her and feel her beauty again,
Then life would be complete;
I would feel complete and content with my life.
Since you've been gone dear, life don't seem the same,
Life has not been the same since she has left.
Please come back again.
I plead for her to come back to me.
And after all's said and done, there's only one,
When everything is accounted for, there is only one person.
Girl of my dreams, it's you.
And that person is the girl from my dreams.
It's strange how life deals you sorrow,
Life can bring you sadness unexpectedly.
Sunshine and joy always nigh;
But there can also be happiness and joy around the corner.
We live and learn for tomorrow,
We learn from our experiences to improve our future.
But sometimes the learning comes high:
But sometimes the lessons are difficult or painful to learn.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: SUNNY CLAPP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@daytondave100
Gene Austin had that pure comforting voice. A Pleasure to listen to
@catlover34fl
Love Gene Austin's voice on many of his recordings in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Beautiful melodies. No more.
@Trombonology
I've always loved this beautiful tune (despite the fun that is sometimes poked at it with the alternate title, "Gorilla My Dreams"), and Gene's earnest treatment is one of my favorites.
@kanealson5200
That's funny. I used to song the Bryan Adams song 'Have you ever really loved a woman'. As Have you ever really loved a gorilla. It doesn't even scan properly. The line I sang was "When you love a gorilla, you have to give it lots of bananas'.
I came here from a John Lennon home recording where he's playing this at home and singing along. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5HXpUynM2Y Minute 17:20.
I think this song is great. To think, I'm first hearing it 90 years after it was recorded.
@emmanichols7497
Thank you to the78prof. I truly loved this.......
@Billy219
Beautiful recording.
@michaeloleary1867
I have a bunch of his 20's records and a few CD's of his recordings. He was great!
@_theghostinyou_1897
Was looking at the top hits from when my great-grandmother was born, this was one of them listed. Just cried the whole time listening to this.
@askovarjorinne9074
🥰🥰🎶🎶
So sweet old times!!!!
@bryanrendleman2001
When I 1st listened to this on the post date, I whistled and hummed as he did and my 14yr old miniture Italian Greyhound puppy woke up from under her cover and gave me funny looks.
She's gone now.