Eddie Dean (singer)

Eddie Dean (singer)

Eddie Dean ((1907-07-09)July 9, 1907 – March 4, 1999(1999-03-04)) was an American western singer and actor whom Roy Rogers and Gene Autry termed the best cowboy singer of all time. Dean was best known for "I Dreamed Of A Hill-Billy Heaven" (1955), which became an even greater hit for Tex Ritter in 1961.

Dean was born Edgar Dean Glosup 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 V.O. Stamps quartets.

Dean and his brother, Jimmie Dean (not to be confused with Jimmy Dean, the country entertainer originally from Plainview, Texas) 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 in the role of Soapy Jones. Many of Dean's early roles were uncredited.