At Mail Call Today: Difference between revisions

"At Mail Call Today"
"At Mail Call Today"
Single by Gene Autry
B-side	"I'll Be Back"
Published	March 14, 1945 Western music pub. Co., Hollywood, Calif.
Released	March 1945
Recorded	December 6, 1944
Studio	CBS Columbia Square Studio, Hollywood, California
Genre	Country & Western
Length	2:49
Label	Okeh 6737
Songwriter(s)	Gene Autry, Fred Rose
Gene Autry singles chronology

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"At Mail Call Today" is a song written by American country music artist Gene Autry and Fred Rose. The two had a successful song writing partnership dating back to 1941, including "Be Honest With Me^[3]", "Tweedle-O-Twill" and "Tears On My Pillow". Rose, with Roy Acuff, founded Acuff-Rose Music Publishing in 1942, and in 1947, would go on to producing Hank Williams.^[4] Autry, after a brief lull in film making due to WWII, would be back to his pre-war output by 1946.^[5]

Background

The song is similar to other contemporary love songs and deals with the possibility of unfaithfulness.^[6] The lyrics describe a young soldier opening a Dear John letter at mail call and learning that the girl he loved from back home has left him. The final words reflect the soldier's despair:

Good luck and God bless you

Wherever you stray

The world for me ended

At Mail Call To-day.^[7]

Chart performance

The song, recorded in December 1944, was Gene Autry's most successful song on the Juke Box Folk charts, peaking at number one for eight weeks with a total of twenty-two weeks on the charts.^[8] The B-side of "At Mail Call Today", a song entitled, "I'll Be Back" peaked at number seven on the same chart.

Charts

Chart (1945)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	1

References

^ Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1945). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1945 Music New Series Vol 40 Pt 3 No 1. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
^ "At Mail Call Today". 45worlds. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
^ "Hillbilly Recordings – Month Ending August 30, 1941" (PDF). The Billboard. Cincinnati, Ohio. 30 August 1941. p. 104. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
^ "Hank Williams 78rpm Issues". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
^ "Sioux City Sue". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
^ Smith, Kathleen E. R. (2003). God Bless America ; Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 44. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.
^ Jones, John Bush (2006). The Songs that Fought the War. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England. pp. 256–57. ISBN 978-1-58465-443-8.
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 35.

Cusic, Don. Gene Autry: His Life and Career. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2007. ISBN 0-7864-3061-3 OCLC 81150476
Jones, John Bush. The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939–1945. Waltham. Mass.: Brandeis University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-58465-443-0 OCLC 69028073
Kingsbury, Paul and Alanna Nash. Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America. London: DK, 2006. ISBN 0-7566-2352-9 OCLC 71248377
Wolfe, Charles K. and James Edward Akenson. Country Music Goes to War. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2005. ISBN 0-8131-2308-9 OCLC 56421871

This 1940s country song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Library of Congress. Copyright Office. (1945). Catalog of Copyright Entries 1945 Music New Series Vol 40 Pt 3 No 1. United States Copyright Office. U.S. Govt. Print. Off.

[2] "At Mail Call Today". 45worlds. Archived from the original on 2017-09-11. Retrieved 2021-07-19.

[auto1-3] "Hillbilly Recordings – Month Ending August 30, 1941" (PDF). The Billboard. Cincinnati, Ohio. 30 August 1941. p. 104. Retrieved 17 July 2021.

[4] "Hank Williams 78rpm Issues". jazzdiscography.com. Retrieved 2021-09-09.

[5] "Sioux City Sue". www.tcm.com. Retrieved 2021-09-09.

[6] Smith, Kathleen E. R. (2003). God Bless America ; Tin Pan Alley Goes to War. The University Press of Kentucky. p. 44. ISBN 0-8131-2256-2.

[7] Jones, John Bush (2006). The Songs that Fought the War. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England. pp. 256–57. ISBN 978-1-58465-443-8.

[8] Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 35.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|1944 song by Gene Autry and Fred Rose}}
-"'''At Mail Call Today'''" is a song written and recorded by American [[country music]] artist [[Gene Autry]]. The song, recorded in 1945, became Gene Autry's most successful song on the Juke Box Folk charts, peaking at number one for eight weeks with a total of twenty-two weeks on the charts.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=35}}</ref> The B-side of "At Mail Call Today", a song entitled, "I'll Be Back" would peak at number seven on the same chart.
+{{Infobox song
+| name       = At Mail Call Today
+| cover      =
+| alt        =
+| published  = {{start date|1945|3|14}} Western music pub. Co., Hollywood, Calif.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Library of Congress. Copyright Office. |url=http://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig31libr |title=Catalog of Copyright Entries 1945 Music New Series Vol 40 Pt 3 No 1 |date=1945 |publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off. |others=United States Copyright Office |language=English}}</ref>
+| type       = single
+| artist     = [[Gene Autry]]
+| album      =
+| B-side     = I'll Be Back
+| released   = {{Start date|1945|03}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=At Mail Call Today|url=http://www.45worlds.com/78rpm/record/6737|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-19|website=45worlds|ref=At Mail Call Today-45worlds|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170911133907/http://www.45worlds.com/78rpm/record/6737 |archive-date=2017-09-11 }}</ref>
+| format     =
+| recorded   = {{Start date|1944|12|06}}
+| studio     = [[CBS Columbia Square]] Studio, [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], [[California]]
+| venue      =
+| genre      = [[Country music|Country & Western]]
+| length     = {{Duration|m=2|s=49}}
+| label      = [[Okeh Records|Okeh 6737]]
+| writer     = [[Gene Autry]], [[Fred Rose (songwriter)|Fred Rose]]
+| producer   =
+| prev_title = [[Don't Fence Me In (song)|Don't Fence Me In]] / Gonna Build a Big Fence Around Texas
+| prev_year  = 1944
+| next_title = Don't Hang Around Me Anymore
+| next_year  = 1945
+}}
+"'''At Mail Call Today'''" is a song written by American [[country music]] artist [[Gene Autry]] and [[Fred Rose (songwriter)|Fred Rose]]. The two had a successful song writing partnership dating back to 1941, including "Be Honest With Me<ref name="auto1">{{cite magazine|date=30 August 1941|title=Hillbilly Recordings – Month Ending August 30, 1941|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/40s/1941/BB-1941-08-30.pdf|magazine=The Billboard|location=Cincinnati, Ohio|page=104|access-date=17 July 2021}}</ref>", "Tweedle-O-Twill" and "Tears On My Pillow". Rose, with [[Roy Acuff]], founded [[Acuff-Rose Music|Acuff-Rose Music Publishing]] in 1942, and in 1947, would go on to producing [[Hank Williams]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hank Williams 78rpm Issues|url=https://jazzdiscography.com/Artists/hank-williams/hank-williams-78-releases.php|access-date=2021-09-09|website=jazzdiscography.com}}</ref> Autry, after a brief lull in film making due to WWII, would be back to his pre-war output by 1946.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sioux City Sue|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/90302/sioux-city-sue|access-date=2021-09-09|website=www.tcm.com|language=en}}</ref>
+==Background==
-The song is similar to other contemporary love songs and deals with the possibility of unfaithfulness.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Kathleen E. R.|title=God Bless America ; Tin Pan Alley Goes to War|date=2003|publisher=The University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0813122562|page=44}}</ref> The lyrics describe a young soldier opening a [[Dear John letter]] at mail call and learning that the girl he loved from back home has left him. The final words reflect the soldier's despair:
+The song is similar to other contemporary love songs and deals with the possibility of unfaithfulness.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Kathleen E. R.|title=God Bless America ; Tin Pan Alley Goes to War|date=2003|publisher=The University Press of Kentucky|isbn=0-8131-2256-2|page=44}}</ref> The lyrics describe a young soldier opening a [[Dear John letter]] at mail call and learning that the girl he loved from back home has left him. The final words reflect the soldier's despair:
 ''Good luck and God bless you''
@@ Line 9: / Line 35: @@
 ''The world for me ended''
-''At Mail Call To-day''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=John Bush|title=The Songs that Fought the War|date=2006|publisher=University Press of New England|location=Lebanon, NH|isbn=9781584654438|page=256–57}}</ref>
+''At Mail Call To-day''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jones|first1=John Bush|title=The Songs that Fought the War|date=2006|publisher=University Press of New England|location=Lebanon, NH|isbn=978-1-58465-443-8|pages=256–57}}</ref>
 ==Chart performance==
+The song, recorded in December 1944, was Gene Autry's most successful song on the Juke Box Folk charts, peaking at number one for eight weeks with a total of twenty-two weeks on the charts.<ref>{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944–2006, Second edition|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=35}}</ref> The B-side of "At Mail Call Today", a song entitled, "I'll Be Back" peaked at number seven on the same chart.
+==Charts==
 {|class="wikitable sortable"
 !Chart (1945)
@@ Line 21: / Line 50: @@
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
-{{s-start}}
-{{s-bef|before = "[[Shame on You (Cooley song)|Shame on You]]" by [[Spade Cooley]]}}
-{{s-ttl|title = [[Hot Country Songs|Most Played Juke Box Folk Records]]<BR>number one single by [[Gene Autry]]|years = May 19, 1945 <br> July 14, 1945}}
-{{s-aft|after = "[[Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima]]" by [[Bob Wills]] <br> "[[Oklahoma Hills]]" by [[Jack Guthrie]]}}
-{{s-end}}
-==Additional Reading==
-*Cusic, Don. ''Gene Autry: His Life and Career.'' Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2007. ISBN 0-786-43061-3 {{OCLC | 81150476}}
-*Jones, John Bush. ''The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939-1945.'' Waltham. Mass.: Brandeis University Press, 2006. ISBN 1-584-65443-0 {{OCLC | 69028073}}
-*Kingsbury, Paul and Alanna Nash. ''Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America.'' London: DK, 2006. ISBN 0-756-62352-9 {{OCLC | 71248377}}
-*Wolfe, Charles K. and James Edward Akenson. ''Country Music Goes to War.'' Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2005. ISBN 0-813-12308-9 {{OCLC | 56421871}}
+==Further reading==
+*Cusic, Don. ''Gene Autry: His Life and Career.'' Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2007. {{ISBN|0-7864-3061-3}} {{OCLC | 81150476}}
+*Jones, John Bush. ''The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939–1945.'' Waltham. Mass.: Brandeis University Press, 2006. {{ISBN|1-58465-443-0}} {{OCLC | 69028073}}
+*Kingsbury, Paul and Alanna Nash. ''Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Country Music in America.'' London: DK, 2006. {{ISBN|0-7566-2352-9}} {{OCLC | 71248377}}
+*Wolfe, Charles K. and James Edward Akenson. ''Country Music Goes to War.'' Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2005. {{ISBN|0-8131-2308-9}} {{OCLC | 56421871}}
+{{Gene Autry}}
+{{authority control}}
 [[Category:Gene Autry songs]]
-[[Category:Patriotic songs]]
+[[Category:Songs of World War II]]
-[[Category:1945 songs]]
+[[Category:1944 songs]]
-[[Category:Billboard Hot Country Songs number-one singles]]
+[[Category:1945 singles]]
+[[Category:Songs written by Gene Autry]]
+[[Category:Okeh Records singles]]
+[[Category:Military mail]]

v t e Gene Autry
Filmography
Singles	"That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine" "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" "Mexicali Rose" "You're the Only Star in My Blue Heaven" "Back in the Saddle Again" "South of the Border" "Goodbye, Little Darlin', Goodbye" "Allá en el Rancho Grande" "Blueberry Hill" "Be Honest with Me" "You Are My Sunshine" "Don't Fence Me In" "At Mail Call Today" "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" "Here Comes Santa Claus" "Buttons and Bows" "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend" "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (with Johnny Marks) "Peter Cottontail" "Frosty the Snowman" "Up on the Housetop"
Television	The Gene Autry Show The Adventures of Champion
Radio	Gene Autry's Melody Ranch The Adventures of Champion
Related	Autry Museum of the American West Jackie Autry (wife) Champion the Wonder Horse Gene Autry, Oklahoma Los Angeles Angels Smiley Burnette Pat Buttram