Artist info:
Also known as
Verified yes
GenreEthnic/Folk, Country
Rank−
Albums38
Songs76
AboutAlthough he is better-remembered for his historical songs, Johnny
Horton was one of the best and most popular honky tonk singers
of the late '50s. Horton managed to infuse honky tonk with an
urgent rockabilly underpinning. His career may have been cut
short by a fatal car crash in 1960, but his music reverberated
throughout the next three decades.
Horton was born in Los Angeles in 1925, the son of sharecropping
parents. During his childhood, his family continually moved between
California and Texas, in an attempt to find work. His mother taught
him how to play guitar at the age of 11. Horton graduated from
high school in 1944 and attended a Methodist seminary with the
intent of joining a ministry. After a short while, he left the
seminary and began traveling across the country, eventually
moving to Alaska in 1949 to become a fisherman. While he was
in Alaska, he began writing songs in earnest.
The following year, Horton moved back to east Texas, where he
entered a talent contest hosted by Jim Reeves, who was then an
unknown vocalist. He won the contest, which encouraged him to
pursue a career as a performer. Horton started out by playing
talent contests throughout Texas, which is where he gained the
attention of Fabor Robison, a music manager that was notorious
for his incompetence and his scams. In early 1951, Robison
became Horton's manager and managed to secure him a recording
contract with Corman Records. However, shortly after his signing,
the label folded. Robison then founded his own label, Abbott
Records, with the specific intent of recording Horton. None of
these records had any chart success. During 1951, Horton began
performing on various Los Angeles TV shows and hosted a radio
show in Pasadena, where he performed under the name "the
Singing Fisherman." By early 1952, Robison had moved Horton
to Mercury Records.
At the end of 1951, Horton relocated from California to
Shreveport, LA, where he became a regular on the Louisiana
Hayride. However, Louisiana was filled with pitfalls — his first
wife left him shortly after the move, and Robison severed all
ties with Horton when he became Reeves' manager. During
1952, Hank Williams rejoined the cast of the Hayride and
became a kind of mentor for Horton. After Williams died on
New Year's Eve of 1952, Horton became close with his widow,
Billie Jean; the couple married in September of 1953.
Although he had a regular job on the Hayride, Horton's recording
career was going nowhere — none of his Mercury records were
selling, and rock & roll was beginning to overtake country's share
of the market place. Horton's fortunes changed in the latter half
of 1955, when he hired Webb Pierce's manager Tillman Franks
as his own manager and quit Mercury Records. Franks had Pierce
help him secure a contract for Horton with Columbia Records by
the end of 1955. The change in record labels breathed life into
Horton's career. At his first Columbia session, he cut "Honky
Tonk Man," his first single for the label and one that would
eventually become a honky tonk classic. By the spring of 1956,
the song had reached the country Top Ten and Horton was well on
his way to becoming a star.
"Honky Tonk Man" was edgy enough to have Horton grouped in
on the more country-oriented side of rockabilly. Wearing a large
cowboy hat to hide his receding hairline, he became a popular
concert attraction and racked up three more hit singles — "I'm a
One-Woman Man" (number seven), "I'm Coming Home" (number
11), "The Woman I Need" (number nine) — in the next year.
However, the hits dried up just as quickly as they arrived; for the
latter half of 1957 and 1958, he didn't hit the charts at all.
Horton responded by cutting some rockabilly, which was beginning
to fall out of favor by the time his singles were released.
In the fall of 1958, he bounced back with the Top Ten "All Grown
Up," but it wasn't until the ballad "When It's Springtime in Alaska
(It's Forty Below)" hit the charts in early 1959 that he achieved a
comeback. The song fit neatly into the folk-based story songs that
were becoming popular in the late '50s, and it climbed all the way
to number one. Its success inspired his next single, "The Battle of
New Orleans." Taken from a 1958 Jimmie Driftwood album, the
song was a historical saga song like "When It's Springtime in
Alaska," but it was far more humorous. It was also far more
successful, topping the country charts for ten weeks and crossing
over into the pop charts, where it was number one for six weeks.
After the back-to-back number one successes of "When It's Spring
Time in Alaska" and "The Battle of New Orleans," Horton
concentrated solely on folky saga songs. "Johnny Reb" became a
Top Ten hit in the fall of 1959, and "Sink the Bismarck" was a Top
Ten hit in the spring of 1960, followed by the number one hit
"North to Alaska" in the fall of 1960.
Around the time of "North to Alaska"'s November release, Horton
claimed that he was getting premonitions of an early death.
Sadly, his premonitions came true. On November 4, 1960, he
suffered a car crash driving home to Shreveport after a concert
in Austin, TX. Horton was still alive after the wreck, but he died
on the way to the hospital; the other passengers in his car had
severe injuries, but they survived. Although he died early in his
career, Horton left behind a recorded legacy that proved to be
quite influential. Artists like George Jones and Dwight Yoakam
have covered his songs, and echoes of Horton's music can still
be heard in honky tonk and country-rock music well into the '90s.
Horton was one of the best and most popular honky tonk singers
of the late '50s. Horton managed to infuse honky tonk with an
urgent rockabilly underpinning. His career may have been cut
short by a fatal car crash in 1960, but his music reverberated
throughout the next three decades.
Horton was born in Los Angeles in 1925, the son of sharecropping
parents. During his childhood, his family continually moved between
California and Texas, in an attempt to find work. His mother taught
him how to play guitar at the age of 11. Horton graduated from
high school in 1944 and attended a Methodist seminary with the
intent of joining a ministry. After a short while, he left the
seminary and began traveling across the country, eventually
moving to Alaska in 1949 to become a fisherman. While he was
in Alaska, he began writing songs in earnest.
The following year, Horton moved back to east Texas, where he
entered a talent contest hosted by Jim Reeves, who was then an
unknown vocalist. He won the contest, which encouraged him to
pursue a career as a performer. Horton started out by playing
talent contests throughout Texas, which is where he gained the
attention of Fabor Robison, a music manager that was notorious
for his incompetence and his scams. In early 1951, Robison
became Horton's manager and managed to secure him a recording
contract with Corman Records. However, shortly after his signing,
the label folded. Robison then founded his own label, Abbott
Records, with the specific intent of recording Horton. None of
these records had any chart success. During 1951, Horton began
performing on various Los Angeles TV shows and hosted a radio
show in Pasadena, where he performed under the name "the
Singing Fisherman." By early 1952, Robison had moved Horton
to Mercury Records.
At the end of 1951, Horton relocated from California to
Shreveport, LA, where he became a regular on the Louisiana
Hayride. However, Louisiana was filled with pitfalls — his first
wife left him shortly after the move, and Robison severed all
ties with Horton when he became Reeves' manager. During
1952, Hank Williams rejoined the cast of the Hayride and
became a kind of mentor for Horton. After Williams died on
New Year's Eve of 1952, Horton became close with his widow,
Billie Jean; the couple married in September of 1953.
Although he had a regular job on the Hayride, Horton's recording
career was going nowhere — none of his Mercury records were
selling, and rock & roll was beginning to overtake country's share
of the market place. Horton's fortunes changed in the latter half
of 1955, when he hired Webb Pierce's manager Tillman Franks
as his own manager and quit Mercury Records. Franks had Pierce
help him secure a contract for Horton with Columbia Records by
the end of 1955. The change in record labels breathed life into
Horton's career. At his first Columbia session, he cut "Honky
Tonk Man," his first single for the label and one that would
eventually become a honky tonk classic. By the spring of 1956,
the song had reached the country Top Ten and Horton was well on
his way to becoming a star.
"Honky Tonk Man" was edgy enough to have Horton grouped in
on the more country-oriented side of rockabilly. Wearing a large
cowboy hat to hide his receding hairline, he became a popular
concert attraction and racked up three more hit singles — "I'm a
One-Woman Man" (number seven), "I'm Coming Home" (number
11), "The Woman I Need" (number nine) — in the next year.
However, the hits dried up just as quickly as they arrived; for the
latter half of 1957 and 1958, he didn't hit the charts at all.
Horton responded by cutting some rockabilly, which was beginning
to fall out of favor by the time his singles were released.
In the fall of 1958, he bounced back with the Top Ten "All Grown
Up," but it wasn't until the ballad "When It's Springtime in Alaska
(It's Forty Below)" hit the charts in early 1959 that he achieved a
comeback. The song fit neatly into the folk-based story songs that
were becoming popular in the late '50s, and it climbed all the way
to number one. Its success inspired his next single, "The Battle of
New Orleans." Taken from a 1958 Jimmie Driftwood album, the
song was a historical saga song like "When It's Springtime in
Alaska," but it was far more humorous. It was also far more
successful, topping the country charts for ten weeks and crossing
over into the pop charts, where it was number one for six weeks.
After the back-to-back number one successes of "When It's Spring
Time in Alaska" and "The Battle of New Orleans," Horton
concentrated solely on folky saga songs. "Johnny Reb" became a
Top Ten hit in the fall of 1959, and "Sink the Bismarck" was a Top
Ten hit in the spring of 1960, followed by the number one hit
"North to Alaska" in the fall of 1960.
Around the time of "North to Alaska"'s November release, Horton
claimed that he was getting premonitions of an early death.
Sadly, his premonitions came true. On November 4, 1960, he
suffered a car crash driving home to Shreveport after a concert
in Austin, TX. Horton was still alive after the wreck, but he died
on the way to the hospital; the other passengers in his car had
severe injuries, but they survived. Although he died early in his
career, Horton left behind a recorded legacy that proved to be
quite influential. Artists like George Jones and Dwight Yoakam
have covered his songs, and echoes of Horton's music can still
be heard in honky tonk and country-rock music well into the '90s.
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