Johnny Bond

As history moves forward many of the lesser known players are lost to the history books and their contributions unnoticed to the larger public. Some of those players might have even been a success in their time, but were perhaps overshadowed by those they associated with. That is the story of Johnny Bond.

30 Years on the Road with Gene Autry: Recollections is Bond’s story of life with Gene Autry. And the story of the book is nearly as interesting as the contents of the book. After spending 30 years working with the Singing Cowboy and after writing the life story of Tex Ritter, Bond decided to turn his pen to that which he knew best - life with Gene Autry. Autry gave his blessing, but after the manuscript was completed, Autry would not let it be published. It is surprising given the honesty with which bond uses to describe his boss and friend. So the manuscript lay fallow for over 30 years.

In that time, Bond wrote a lengthy essay on his life called “Recollections” for the John Edwards Memorial Foundation, a leading repository of folk and country music history. Now years after Bond’s death, the full manuscript was pieced together and published with his Autry manuscript to form this book.

The two separate manuscripts blend together well and the publisher differentiates between the two with distinct typefaces. The Autry sections focus, naturally, on Autry and his shows and music, while the Recollection sections delve a little more into the thoughts of Bond.

The middle section of the book goes into great detail of one of Autry’s shows in his heyday. Almost too much detail. The description of arriving at the show, putting on the show and leaving the show takes up four fairly long chapters. Although they tend to drag a little, it does provide an incredibly detailed account of the shows of that day.

The book meets its purpose as a record of life with Autry, but the life and achievements of Johnny Bond deserve their own space. Perhaps the future will hold a full-length biography of Bond who has written several time-tested numbers such as “Cimarron,” he hosted the popular Town Hall Party and was a recording artist in his own right recording his self-written songs “Hot Rod Lincoln,” and the comedic recitation “Ten Little Bottles.”

For the Bond fan, this book might whet the appetite to dig deeper into the Country Music Hall of Famers’ life. For the Autry fan it is an indispensable account of Autry’s organization from someone on the inside.