Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton ( born April 30, 1925 in Los Angeles, California, † November 5, 1960 near Milano, Texas ) was an American country and rockabilly musician. His biggest hit was The Battle of New Orleans.
- 2.1 Singles
- 2.2 albums
Life
Childhood and youth
Johnny Horton was born in Los Angeles, even though he always claimed later to have come in the eastern Texas to the world. With his family, who was looking for work, Horton moved between Texas and California back and forth. His mother taught him to play guitar when he was eleven years old, and in 1944 graduated from Horton, a Methodist school with the goal of becoming a priest. But soon he gave up these plans and moved around the country, among other things, he came to Alaska in 1949 and worked in the oil industry. During his time in Alaska he first began to write songs. His later nickname "The Singing Fisherman " is based on the fact that he tested fishing equipment for the company and in the late 50s, his own fishing accessories company founded, the Cane River Bait Company in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
Career
The following year, Horton moved back to Texas, where he won a talent competition of the then completely unknown Jim Reeves. The success encouraged him to further performances; Horton was now trying to be a musician and learned an employee of the radio station KWKH know. He told Horace Logan, Moderator of the Louisiana Hayrides of Horton and his talent. Logan Horton invited to an audition one, hired him for the Hayride and procured him at Fabor Robison a record deal.
Horton got in Pasadena own radio show and at Abbott first plates were recorded. 1952 Horton moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. In his performances at the Louisiana Hayride, he met Hank Williams know, who had just been fired from the Grand Ole Opry. After Williams 's death in 1953, he met his widow Billie Jean know. The two became a couple and married in September 1953.
Despite Horton's regular presence in his radio singles stayed with Abbott and later Mercury Records unsuccessful; a duet with Billy Barton, bawlin 'Baby, this could not change. 1955 Tillman Franks Hortons was manager and gave Horton a contract with Columbia Records. In his first session, he recorded the rockabilly title Honky Tonk Man, who was able to put 1956 in the top ten. He managed to further success, among other things, One Woman Man, the rockabilly Items I'm Coming Home and The Woman I Need. But as quickly as the hits came, they disappeared in late 1957 again. Hortons Rockabilly was no longer in demand. Horton was offered due to its chart success, becoming a permanent member of the Opry; However, he declined, probably in deference to Billie Jean, as her late husband had been expelled in 1952 by the Opry.
In the fall of 1958 he could report back with All Grown Up in the charts, but it was only with the country-folk ballad When It's Springtime in Alaska, he was able to win his final breakthrough. The song placed number one on the country charts. With The Battle of New Orleans Horton reached his biggest hit. The title came again to the top of the country charts and was also number one in the pop charts. Six weeks Horton was able to maintain his position. In the following years he had with historic style similar to folk songs like Johnny Reb, Sink The Bismarck and North to Alaska another great success. The latter was used for the same film with John Wayne in the lead role as the title tune. In Germany the film was titled land of a thousand adventures.
Horton's career came in 1960 to an early end when he near Milano was on the way from a concert in Austin to Shreveport in a car accident. His posthumously published titles Sleepy - Eyed John reached number nine on the charts and a re-release of Honky Tonk Man 1962 square Eleven of the country and number 96 on the pop charts.