When Elvis Presley changed the face of American popular music, many country singers decided to make drastic changes in their work, playing a fresh genre called “rockabilly“. Some abandoned the case after a couple of attempts, others, like Eddie Bond, later became famous in Europe, and such as Buddy Holly forever inscribed their names in history. In fact, country music, which has absorbed motifs from all over the world, has never escaped the attention of rockers. Johnny Horton, on the other hand, managed to combine both rock and roll and “rural” music in a very peculiar way.
Horton was born in the “City of Angels” on April 30th, 1925, and even then it was more of a “Sin City” and movie stars of varying degrees of cheapness. The family soon moved to picturesque East Texas, where Johnny grew up the youngest of five first-generation Americans, while his parents traveled to California and back to work. Perhaps it is the restless spirit of his migrant ancestors that will soon speak in him: after graduating from high school, John goes to Lon Morris College on a basketball scholarship, drops out, goes to Seattle University, drops out, goes to Baylor University, drops out. In between studies, Horton manages to work as a backup at the Selznick International Pictures film studio, which became famous for filming Gone with the Wind and collapsed shortly after his dismissal. Although the office died through no fault of his own, Johnny fucked up his business when he met his future wife, Donna. The superficial knowledge of geology acquired in Seattle prompted our hero to go to Alaska in search of gold, which was raked out by Jack London’s characters. In between searches, Johnny Horton got into the habit of composing and singing songs, which became his “Klondike.”
Returning to Texas with his pants full of music, he had an extraordinary success at a performing competition in Henderson, which predetermined his future fate. His own radio show in Pasadena and the recording of ten singles made Johnny believe in the future and he soon got married. The material of that time was a rollicking Western swing that sold well in the South. Soon the singer was noticed by the famous program “Louisiana Hayride”, he had to move to Shreveport, Louisiana. After signing with Mercury Records, Horton’s first act was to release the high-speed country boogie “First Train Heading South” and honky tonk, which was influenced by Hank Williams – “(I Wished For An Angel But) The Devil Sent Me You“.
Since 1952, his accompanying line-up has been the Rowley family with an unmarried guitarist, and tours have become regular. The combination of such factors negatively affects family life, and Donna is seeking a divorce. Perhaps the song “No True Love” is dedicated to this gap. But in 1953, Horton turns the heat on with “Tennessee Jive,” which has all the elements of the future of rock and roll, including a double bass solo. Something was in the air, especially sensitive natures were already feeling the breath of change. Hank Williams, the greatest country music star, suddenly passes away on January 1, 1953, before turning thirty. On September 26 of the same year, Johnny Horton marries Billie Jean Jones, Williams’ widow. They will have two daughters, but Billie Jean will become a widow twice soon…
In 1954, a real diamond appeared on the B-side of the single “Move Down The Line” – “Train With A Rhumba Beat“, with Russian, despite the mention of rumba, harmony and yodeling in the style of Jimmy Rogers. Trips to Nashville made themselves felt: after hearing Elvis at the Grand Ole Opry, Johnny picks up a new groove. In 1956, he recorded one of his most famous hits, “Honky-Tonk Man“. The recording features Elvis Presley‘s double bassist Bill Black and iconic session guitarists Grady Martin and Harold Bradley.
But Horton’s biggest success came at the end of the decade: “The Battle Of New Orleans“, written back in 1936 by Jimmy Driftwood, which tells about the battle of the British with the Americans in 1815, suddenly became a favorite march of teenagers in 1959, reaching number one on the Billboard charts; “Sink The Bismark“Horton’s own composition tells about the sinking of the main pride of the Nazi German Navy, the battleship Bismarck; “North To Alaska“, enriched by its own experience, graced John Wayne’s comedy western of the same name.
On the night of November 4-5, 1960, Johnny Horton and two of his musicians, Tommy Tomlinson and Tillman Franks, collided with an oncoming truck on their way from Austin to Shreveport. Horton died in an ambulance before reaching the hospital. Johnny Cash, who became close friends with Johnny Horton during numerous joint performances, read a fragment from the Gospel of John at the funeral. The stars of the 1950s flashed brightly, but many burned out in a series of accidents, leaving us with their flaming legacy.
