Gene Autry the entire ranch is open to the public during the Cowboy Poetry and Music Festival, another legacy of Autry's multiple talents. From 1940 to 1956, Autry had a huge hit with a weekly show on CBS Radio, "Gene Autry's Melody Ranch." His horse, Champion, also had a CBS-TV and Mutual radio series, "The Adventures of Champion". In response to his many young radio listeners aspiring to emulate him, Autry created the Cowboy Code, or Ten Cowboy Commandments. These tenets promoting an ethical, moral, and patriotic lifestyle that appealed to youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts, which developed similar doctrines.
Gene Autry was encouraged to sing professionally by a customer, the famous humorist Will Rogers, who had heard him singing. As soon as he could save money to travel, he went to New York. In the autumn of 1928 he auditioned for Victor Records, shortly before purchase by David Sarnoff's RCA Corporation. According to Nathaniel Shilkret, director of Light Music for Victor at the time, Autry asked to speak to Shilkret when Autry found that he had been turned down. Shilkret explained to Autry that he was turned down not because of his voice, but because Victor had just made contracts with