Johnny Horton's 1956 chart successes came at a time country music was struggling for breath under the stranglehold
of the new rockin' sounds which infiltrating the scene. Led by that young Memphis duo, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, rockabilly was becoming more common both on record and country bills, with the Louisiana Hayride one of the most forward looking, riding a new wave of popularity as the Grand Ole Opry became the bastion of traditional country. It
was as a Hayride regular that Horton first saw Elvis, and was immediately taken by the singer and his style.
Already aged over 30, balding (don't be fooled by the wig he started wearing shortly later), and sick of his traditional country songs not charting much against stiff competition, it's unsurprising Horton turned to Hayride stalwart Tillman Franks for inspiration. Five years older than Horton, Franks had played bass for Webb Pierce, managed several acts, worked as a booking agent, a car salesman in Houston and in the police force. He too was between jobs when Horton appeared, later recalling - "I hadn't worked in four or five weeks when Johnny Horton come to the door. He was broke too. He and Billie Jean had spent the money they got after Hank died, and she'd told him to get his ass out and make some more." He said "If I can get Tillman Franks to manage me, I'll get to number one". He came to my house, and I
told him that I just didn't like the way he sang. He said, "No problem. I'll sing any way you want me to". And he was serious!".
So essentially, Horton's change from traditional country to rockabilly was a business decision - and one that worked. He wouldn't be the only one to change their musical output to suit current tastes or expand their market (Eddy Arnold and Ray Price were 2 of the most obvious examples, but there's plenty more). Nor was it to be the last time Horton would change direction in his music, as we shall see. But for today, we're staying in the mid phase of Horton's career, enjoying his rockabilly, as we've moved on to 1957/58.
The song 'Honky Tonk Mind' had been given to Horton by it's writer, Tommy Blake, who cut the song for RCA himself,
2 days later. Blake told Horton he couldn't release the song so Franks put Lee Emerson's name down as composer and called it 'The Woman I Need'. Blake then threatened to kill Horton and Franks and sued. In the mean time, Columbia released the song leaving RCA to can Blake's Recording. Horton's version is spot on with playful singing and the obligatory guitar fills and two fine solos from Grady Martin. So here is more pure rockabilly 'The Woman I Need (Honky Tonk Mind) from April 1957 - I also really approve of the lyrics in this -
And on the B-side is a neat mid tempo affair which composer Claude King reckons was to have been cut by the great Hank Williams himself had he lived. 'She Knows Why' -
When Horton next entered the studio in December 1957, the band included Tomlinson on guitar, Jesse Sparks on
bass and Allen Harris on piano. Grady Martin was present and played guitar and electric bass. The first song, 'Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor', was an old country tune but Horton's version, driven by biting electric bass work from Martin (later to become famous for accidentally "inventing" heavy rock, but that's a story for another day soon to come) is prime time rockabilly and Harris' piano pounding helps make this Horton's rockiest performance -
Released in early February 1958, there was much expectation and more than a little excitement in the Horton camp when Billboard called it out as one to watch. But despite apparently going to # 1 in Billings, Montana (?) it amazingly became Horton's third consecutive failure. By now an aging, balding Horton was having trouble connecting to the teen audience that rockabilly was aimed at, and rockabilly itself was being squeezed out by rock'n'roll on one side and a traditional country music blowback on the other (more on this another day).
When Horton next ventured into the studio in June 1958, it was again at Bradley's Barn, with Martin, Chance and Harman joined by the new young guitar whiz, Reggie Young who'd just arrived from Memphis. This gem 'I've Got the Bull by the Horns', with Horton really cutting loose, should surely have been released as a single - but unbelievably it wasn't, with 'All Grown Up' chosen instead. Yet this is now regarded as one of his best (and the video shows 1930's style linedancing) -
The 1958 # 8 hit 'All Grown Up' follows the latest trend with guitar work that's great - and backing vocals that grate, but was very much in fashion by then. Horton was getting well into his thirties by now and wigging up to cover his baldness. In short, he was getting too old to hold on to the youth market against much younger acts coming on. The song, lighter than his pure rockabilly, was obviously aimed at the pop teen market, but it only kept him in a middle zone, unable to climb any higher in the country field and to remain unoticed in the wider pop market -
By 1959, the whole rockabilly market had run out of steam. Horton realised it was time to change his music style again - and change he did, with a subject matter that sent him to the very top as a country charts while also at last breaking through to the mainstream. But that's all for tomorrow.
of the new rockin' sounds which infiltrating the scene. Led by that young Memphis duo, Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins, rockabilly was becoming more common both on record and country bills, with the Louisiana Hayride one of the most forward looking, riding a new wave of popularity as the Grand Ole Opry became the bastion of traditional country. It
was as a Hayride regular that Horton first saw Elvis, and was immediately taken by the singer and his style.
Already aged over 30, balding (don't be fooled by the wig he started wearing shortly later), and sick of his traditional country songs not charting much against stiff competition, it's unsurprising Horton turned to Hayride stalwart Tillman Franks for inspiration. Five years older than Horton, Franks had played bass for Webb Pierce, managed several acts, worked as a booking agent, a car salesman in Houston and in the police force. He too was between jobs when Horton appeared, later recalling - "I hadn't worked in four or five weeks when Johnny Horton come to the door. He was broke too. He and Billie Jean had spent the money they got after Hank died, and she'd told him to get his ass out and make some more." He said "If I can get Tillman Franks to manage me, I'll get to number one". He came to my house, and I
told him that I just didn't like the way he sang. He said, "No problem. I'll sing any way you want me to". And he was serious!".
So essentially, Horton's change from traditional country to rockabilly was a business decision - and one that worked. He wouldn't be the only one to change their musical output to suit current tastes or expand their market (Eddy Arnold and Ray Price were 2 of the most obvious examples, but there's plenty more). Nor was it to be the last time Horton would change direction in his music, as we shall see. But for today, we're staying in the mid phase of Horton's career, enjoying his rockabilly, as we've moved on to 1957/58.
The song 'Honky Tonk Mind' had been given to Horton by it's writer, Tommy Blake, who cut the song for RCA himself,
2 days later. Blake told Horton he couldn't release the song so Franks put Lee Emerson's name down as composer and called it 'The Woman I Need'. Blake then threatened to kill Horton and Franks and sued. In the mean time, Columbia released the song leaving RCA to can Blake's Recording. Horton's version is spot on with playful singing and the obligatory guitar fills and two fine solos from Grady Martin. So here is more pure rockabilly 'The Woman I Need (Honky Tonk Mind) from April 1957 - I also really approve of the lyrics in this -
And on the B-side is a neat mid tempo affair which composer Claude King reckons was to have been cut by the great Hank Williams himself had he lived. 'She Knows Why' -
When Horton next entered the studio in December 1957, the band included Tomlinson on guitar, Jesse Sparks on
bass and Allen Harris on piano. Grady Martin was present and played guitar and electric bass. The first song, 'Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor', was an old country tune but Horton's version, driven by biting electric bass work from Martin (later to become famous for accidentally "inventing" heavy rock, but that's a story for another day soon to come) is prime time rockabilly and Harris' piano pounding helps make this Horton's rockiest performance -
Released in early February 1958, there was much expectation and more than a little excitement in the Horton camp when Billboard called it out as one to watch. But despite apparently going to # 1 in Billings, Montana (?) it amazingly became Horton's third consecutive failure. By now an aging, balding Horton was having trouble connecting to the teen audience that rockabilly was aimed at, and rockabilly itself was being squeezed out by rock'n'roll on one side and a traditional country music blowback on the other (more on this another day).
When Horton next ventured into the studio in June 1958, it was again at Bradley's Barn, with Martin, Chance and Harman joined by the new young guitar whiz, Reggie Young who'd just arrived from Memphis. This gem 'I've Got the Bull by the Horns', with Horton really cutting loose, should surely have been released as a single - but unbelievably it wasn't, with 'All Grown Up' chosen instead. Yet this is now regarded as one of his best (and the video shows 1930's style linedancing) -
The 1958 # 8 hit 'All Grown Up' follows the latest trend with guitar work that's great - and backing vocals that grate, but was very much in fashion by then. Horton was getting well into his thirties by now and wigging up to cover his baldness. In short, he was getting too old to hold on to the youth market against much younger acts coming on. The song, lighter than his pure rockabilly, was obviously aimed at the pop teen market, but it only kept him in a middle zone, unable to climb any higher in the country field and to remain unoticed in the wider pop market -
By 1959, the whole rockabilly market had run out of steam. Horton realised it was time to change his music style again - and change he did, with a subject matter that sent him to the very top as a country charts while also at last breaking through to the mainstream. But that's all for tomorrow.
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