Johnny Horton

Today we are getting back some of the classic country musicians.  One of my favorite older country musician is Johnny Horton.  He has had many big hits in his career.  Johnny was born in Los Angeles on April 30, 1925. He was the youngest of five children in the family.  Johnny was raised in East Texas but traveled with his family back and forth to California to work as migrant fruit pickers.  Johnny graduated high school in 1944 and then went to Lon Morris College in Texas on a basketball scholarship.  He then went to Seattle University and Baylor University, but never graduated from college.  Johnny started working in the mail room of the Selznick Studio.  After that, Johnny went to Alaska to look for gold.  He found gold, but only after he started writing songs.  He had his first start at singing by entering a talent contest, where he won first place.  Then when Johnny was working at a TV station in Pasadena, he starred on a half hour show as the Singing Fisherman, where he got his nickname.  In 1952, Johnny started hitting the country charts on the radio and his singing career took off. Johnny Horton died November 5, 1960. He was only 35.  Prior to his death, Johnny was having premonitions about his death.  He started telling his family and friends that he would die at the hands of a drunk.  On a fishing trip with a friend, Johnny's premonition became true by being hit on a bridge by a drunk driver in a truck.  Johnny died on route to the hospital.  His wife Billy Jean, became a widow for the second time, with her first husband being Hank Williams.

Johnny came out with 11 albums with his first being The Spectacular Johnny Horton released in 1959.  Most of Johnny's albums have been released after his death in 1960.  His third album, Greatest Hits, went Platinum and his 1967 album, Johnny Horton on Stage went to number 37 on the U.S. Country charts.  Johnny had his last album, The World, released in 1971; eleven years after his death. 

Johnny Horton had many big hits.  He had three number one songs on the U.S. Country charts.  His first song to hit the Country charts was "Honky Tonk Man".  Then his three number one songs were, "When It's Springtime in Alaska", "The Battle of New Orleans", and "North to Alaska".  Johnny's last song to hit the country charts is "All Grown Up".  I have heard many of Johnny Horton's songs and love them.  I recommend that you give his songs a chance because some of them do teach a little history that I would have never learned in a book.  Give him a chance and he will surprise you I think.