« Back to Top Level | Johnny Horton

Johnny Horton - Johnny Horton 1956-1960

Track listing:
Volume 1
  1. I'm A One Woman Man 1956 2:00
  2. Honky Tonk Man 1956 2:13
  3. I'm Ready If You're Willing 1956 2:29
  4. I Got A Hole In My Pirogue 1957 2:22
  5. Take Me Like I Am 1991 2:36
  6. Sugar-Coated Baby 1960 2:15
  7. I Don't Like I Did 1956 2:10
  8. Hooray For That Little Difference 1961 1:55
  9. I'm Coming Home 1957 2:05
  10. Over-Loving You 1991 2:25
  11. She Knows Why 1957 2:21
  12. Honky Tonk Mind (The Woman I Need) 1957 2:15
  13. Tell My Baby I Love Her 1961 2:11
  14. Goodbye Lonesome, Hello Baby Doll 1961 2:21
  15. I'll Do It Everytime 1957 2:23
  16. You're My Baby 1957 2:32
  17. Let's Take The Long Way Home 1957 2:09
  18. Lover's Rock 1957 2:36
  19. Honky-Tonk Hardwood Floor 1958 2:20
  20. The Wild One 1958 1:56
  21. Everytime Im Kissng You 1961 2:17
  22. Hot In The Sugarcane Field 1958 1:59
  23. Lonesome And Heartbroken 1958 2:52
  24. Seven Come Eleven 1958 2:19
  25. I Can't Forget You 1958 2:15
  26. Wise To The Ways Of A Woman 1958 2:12
  27. Out In New Mexico 1958 2:21
  28. Teched In The Head 1958 2:27
  29. Just Walk A Little Closer 1958 2:08
  30. Don't Use My Heart For A Stepping Stone 1958 2:33
  31. I Love You Baby 1958 2:04
  32. Wise To The Ways Of A Woman 1991 2:13
Volume 2
  1. Counterfeit Love 1958 2:10
  2. Mister Moonlight 1959 2:32
  3. All Grown Up 1958 1:55
  4. Got The Bull By The Horns 1990 1:54
  5. When It's Springtime In Alaska 1959 2:36
  6. Whispering Pines 1959 2:56
  7. The Battle Of New Orleans 1959 2:31
  8. All For The Love Of A Girl 1959 2:46
  9. Lost Highway 1959 2:35
  10. Sam Magee 1959 2:32
  11. Cherokee Boogie 1959 2:29
  12. The Golden Rocket 1959 2:05
  13. The Battle Of New Orleans(British Version) 1959 2:30
  14. Joe's Been A-Gittin There 1959 2:36
  15. The First Train Heading South 1959 2:20
  16. Got The Bull By The Horns 1959 2:11
  17. Sal's Got A Sugerlip 1981 1:57
  18. Words 1960 2:31
  19. Johnny Reb 1959 2:20
  20. Sal's Got A Sugerlip 1959 2:00
  21. Ole Slew Foot 1959 2:04
  22. I'm Ready If Your Willing 1959 2:18
  23. Take Me Like I Am 1959 2:23
  24. They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose 1959 2:11
  25. The Electrified Donkey 1959 2:23
  26. The Same Old Tale The Crow Told Me 1964 2:44
  27. Sink The Bismarck 1991 2:55
  28. Sink The Bismarck 1960 3:13
  29. The Same Old Tale The Crow Told Me 1960 2:30
  30. All Grown Up 1991 1:54
  31. Got The Bull By The Horns 1991 1:49
Volume 3
  1. Ole Slew Foot 1961 2:22
  2. Miss Marcy 1960 3:35
  3. Sleepy Eyed John 1960 2:43
  4. The Mansion You Stole 1960 3:08
  5. They'll Never Take Her Love From Me 1960 3:07
  6. The Sinking Of The Reuben James 1960 2:23
  7. Jim Bridger 1960 2:29
  8. The Battle Of Bull Run 1960 2:35
  9. Snow-Shoe Thompson 1960 1:56
  10. John Paul Jones 1960 2:22
  11. Comanch (The Brave Horse) 1960 3:08
  12. Young Abe Lincoln 1960 1:59
  13. O'leary's Cow 1960 1:44
  14. Johnny Freedom 1960 2:48
  15. Go North 1991 3:26
  16. North To Alaska 1991 3:04
  17. North To Alaska 1960 2:50
  18. I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Livin' 1964 2:56
  19. Rock Island Line 1964 2:40
  20. Hank And Joe And Me 1969 2:55
  21. The Golden Rocket 1969 1:59
  22. A-Sleeping At The Foot Of The Bed 1969 2:15
  23. I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Livin' 1969 2:52
  24. Old Blind Barnabas 1969 2:15
  25. Evil Hearted Me 1969 3:10
  26. Hot In The Sugarcane Field 1969 1:38
  27. You Don't Move Me Baby Anymore 1969 1:47
  28. The Gosh-Darn Wheel 1969 2:42
  29. Broken Hearted Gypsy 1969 1:46
  30. The Church By The Side Of The Road 1969 1:48
Volume 4
  1. The Vanishing Race 2:47
  2. Broken Hearted Gypsy 1:44
  3. That Boy Got The Habit 0:58
  4. Hot In The Sugarcane Field 1:06
  5. You Don't Move Me Baby Anymore 1:47
  6. The Church By The Side Of The Road 1:03
  7. I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Livin 2:51
  8. Take It Like A Man 2:01
  9. Hank And Joe And Me 2:47
  10. The Golden Rocket 0:53
  11. Old Blind Barnabas 1:23
  12. Empty Bed Blues 3:09
  13. Rock Island Line 2:41
  14. Shake, Rattle And Roll 2:13
  15. A-Sleeping At The Foot Of The Bed 1:12
  16. Old Dan Tucker 1:03
  17. The Gosh Darn Wheel 2:32
  18. From Memphis To Mobile 1:02
  19. Back Up Train 0:52
  20. Schottische In Texas 1:15
  21. Take It Like A Man 2:00
  22. That Boy Got The Habit 1:54
  23. Mye Heart Stopped, Trembled And Died 2:07
  24. Alley Girl Ways 1:17
  25. How You Gonna Make It 1:08
  26. Witch Walking Baby 0:58
  27. Down That River Road 1:53
  28. Big Wheels Rollin' 1:57
  29. I Got A Slow Leak In My Heart 2:25
  30. You Don't Move Me Baby Anymore 1:37
  31. What Will I Do Without You 1:11
  32. Janey 1:25
  33. Streets Of Dodge 2:31
  34. Give Me Back My Picture And You Can Keep The Frame If 1991 1:33

Notes

This Bear Family box documents the last four years of Johnny Horton's life as a recording and performing artist. It is the second box set issue in their extensive -- in fact, complete -- Johnny Horton oeuvre. The first documented the Cormac, Abbott, and Mercury recordings as well as two albums' worth of demos and overdubs released while he was alive. This four-CD collection contains Horton's complete issued recordings, unreleased demos, and outtakes as well as overdubbed recordings issued between 1964 and 1969 (during the decade after his death) and working demos. Horton's final period at Columbia is what people (most people) remember. These were the years of "Sink the Bismarck," "Battle of New Orleans," "Honky Tonk Man," "Rock Island Line," "Ole Slewfoot," "The Same Ole Tale the Crow Told Me," his devastating recording of "Lost Highway," as well as his final monster singles recorded in August of 1960 (a mere three months before he was killed in an auto accident), "Go North" and "North to Alaska" (for a soundtrack). Unlike his peers during the later years -- Johnny Cash, Webb Pierce, Faron Young, and others -- Horton exhibited not only an easy amiability but a combination of confidence and vulnerability. It was as if he knew that making music came naturally to him but couldn't understand why anybody would make a big deal out of it. Here are the songs that ran the gamut of rockabilly, hard honky tonk, hillbilly boogie, blues, patriotic songs of the South, cowboy tunes, and even a recording of "Empty Bed Blues," which Bessie Smith had recorded 30 years before. While most Bear Family boxes -- because of their elaborate packaging, liner notes that resemble full critical biographies, and import prices -- are not for everyone, this set is an exception. Rock & roll fans interested in the early music, hardcore honky tonk fans, and of course Horton nuts will have to have this. The earlier set would have even more limited appeal, but the sheer quality of the music issued here transcends its genre, time, and place and is eternal in postwar musical history. Highly recommended.