Johnny Horton – Live Recordings from the Louisiana Hayride
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Posted On September 1, 2004
Johnny Horton’s recording history roughly parallels the fable of the blind men examining an elephant. His 1951-55 recordings for Cormac, Abbott and Mercury gave him no success. The 1956-58 Columbia hits “Honky Tonk Man”, “The Wild One” and “One Woman Man” reflect Horton at his austere, unvarnished best. While the late ’50s gave him his biggest, best-known crossover hits with the historical saga songs “The Battle Of New Orleans” and “North To Alaska”, those earlier Columbia sides have stood the test of time.
While it’s been known for years that live Horton material existed, don’t confuse this new release with the 1966 Columbia LP Johnny Horton On Stage. Six years after his fatal Texas car crash, Horton’s widow Billie Jean gave the label live tapes. Left unsaid was what happened afterward. Columbia, perhaps fretting over the sound quality, rejected the music and used only the spoken live introductions. Horton pal Johnny Cash dubbed accompaniment onto two acoustic Horton demos. The remaining eight tracks were studio recordings with dubbed applause. The album, in other words, was as phony as a three dollar bill. It’s difficult to get away with such mendacity today; not so 38 years ago.
In truth, Horton had unbelievable onstage charisma. Fronting a bare-bones Tennessee Two-type unit with bassist Tillman Franks and lead guitarist Tommy Tomlinson, his power was startling. The 1956 “Honky Tonk Man”, “Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor” and “Same Ole Tale The Crow Told Me” all pack a wallop undiminished by time. He may never have aspired to a rockabilly career, yet his piss-and-vinegar renditions of “Jambalaya”, “Rock Island Line” and “John Henry” equal or surpass Marty Robbins’ best rockers. He delivers the ballad “Whispering Pines” with heartfelt, plaintive sensitivity.
The hit versions of “New Orleans” and “Sink The Bismarck” included slick Nashville Sound production values that rendered Horton’s delivery almost impersonal. Live, Horton did far more with less. The band’s spare backing gave those songs added intensity and a more personal dimension.
Horton’s well-known flirtations with the supernatural led him to forecast his doom (in a car, no less) before it happened. The unanswered question is what he’d have done had he lived, since saga songs were a fad at best. No medium can answer that question. This collection, however, makes it clear that the real Johnny Horton onstage was truly something to behold.
