Sponsored by Wrigley's Gum and carried over the CBS radio network from January 7, 1940 to August 1, 1943. The series then left the air while Gene Autry left for service in the Army Air Corps. After his return, the program was heard again from September 23, 1945 to May 13, 1956. Gene enjoyed a career in personal appearances, in the motion pictures, on radio and later on television. He was billed as "America's Favorite Cowboy."
Radio broadcasting was the cheapest form of entertainment, and it provided the public with far better entertainment than most people were accustomed to. As a result, its popularity grew rapidly in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and by 1934, 60 percent of the nation's households had radios.