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Various Artists - Heroes of Country Music - Vol. 2: Legends Of Honky Tonk (1996)

Track listing:
  1. Honky Tonk Blues Al Dexter 2:37
  2. The Last Letter Rex Griffin 3:04
  3. It Makes No Difference Now Cliff Bruner's Texas Wanderers 2:47
  4. Walking The Floor Over You Ernest Tubb 2:38
  5. Born To Lose Ted Daffan's Texans 2:42
  6. Drivin' Nails In My Coffin Floyd Tillman 2:40
  7. Honky Tonkin' Hank Williams 2:44
  8. Tenessee Saturday Night Red Foley 2:40
  9. I Love You Because Leon Payne 2:44
  10. Sick Sober And Sorry Johnny Bond 2:39
  11. The Wild Side Of Life Hank Thompson 2:43
  12. Baby I'm Ready The Tunesmiths 1:58
  13. Car Hoppin' Momma Hawshaw Hawkins 1:56
  14. Juke Joint Johnny Red Sovine 2:30
  15. Just Can't Live That Fast (Any More) Lefty Frizzell 2:04
  16. Pick Me Up On Your Way Down Charlie Walker 2:25
  17. A Girl I Used To Know George Jones 2:42
  18. Pop A Top Jim Edward Brown 2:17

Notes

In many ways, the honky tonk years of the '40s and '50s represent the real golden era of country music. Fashioned from the early string band and hillbilly sound of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, honky tonk, with its more overt blues sensibilities, took country music to its rootsy extreme, before the lush production values of the Nashville sound arrived on the scene. Honky tonk also gave air to music's picaresque backbone: the tavern culture thriving on the outskirts of town. This Rhino roundup provides a fine sneak peak into that smoke-filled and beer-soaked world. Featuring many classics, the disc ranges from early cuts by Al Dexter ("Honky Tonk Blues"), Ernest Tubb ("Walking the Floor Over You"), and Ted Daffan ("Born to Lose") to some late-hour triumphs by Lefty Frizzell ("Just Can't Live That Fast (Any More)"), Charlie Walker ("Pick Me Up on Your Way Down"), and George Jones ("A Girl I Used to Know"). In between, there's more than just filler by the likes of Hank Thompson, Red Foley, and the grand honky tonker himself, Hank Williams. Along with Columbia's equally impressive Honky Tonk Heroes collection, this 18-track sampler is a great way to see what all the fuss is about.