The Life and Work of Eddie Dean: I Wonder Why You Said Goodbye Friday, December 10, 2010

The Life and Work of Eddie Dean Eddie Dean (7/9/1907~3/4/1999): An era ended with the death of Eddie Dean in West Lake Village, Calif. The 91-year-old Dean, who died of emphysema, was the last of the great cowboy singers. Eddie was a western singer and actor whom Roy Rogers and Gene Autry termed the best cowboy singer of all time. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Rex Allen may have attained greater financial success and notoriety and all had fine voices in their own right, but they all envied Eddie's voice. Dean was best known for "I Dreamed of A Hill-Billy Heaven" (1955), which became an even greater hit in 1961 for Tex Ritter. Dean was born Edgar Dean Glossup in the rural community of Posey in Hopkins County, Texas, northwest of Sulphur Springs. His father was a teacher, who encouraged Dean to launch a professional singing career. At the age of sixteen, Dean performed on the Southern gospel circuit with the Vaughan and then the VO Stamps quartets. Dean and his brother, Jimmie Dean moved to Chicago and performed together on WLS Radio's National Barn Dance. They also did work from a radio station in Yankton, South Dakota. In 1934, Dean appeared in his first film in the role of Sam in Manhattan Love Song. In 1937, Dean relocated to Hollywood, California, and began appearing in western films, often with Mississippi native Roscoe Ates (1894~1962) in the role of Soapy Jones. Eddie appeared in over 30 western movies, including some with Gene Autry. The majority of his films were ...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7HUhzQmY38&hl=en