Country, honky-tonk and rockabilly singer Johnny Horton would be 96 today. His most famous songs were ballads based on stories from American history, such as "The Battle of New Orleans," which reached #1 on the Hot 100 and Country charts and won the Grammy for Best Country & Western Recording in 1960. At the peak of his fame in 1960, he died in a traffic accident, but had several other posthumous hits.
One of the first songs I ever remember…and now it will be in my head for the rest of the day.
LikeLike
Could be worse…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes it could have been!
LikeLiked by 1 person
One of my favorite songs of that era! I was nine when it came out and had just the kind of narrative in the lyrics that I liked.
Arlee Bird
Tossing It Out
LikeLike
He did some great history songs, didn’t he?
LikeLike
I love this song as well as North To Alaska and Sink The Bismark. They are all catchy tunes and ones I label Folk style music. It is such a shame that he died so very young and at the peak of his fame.
LikeLike
I liked what little of his music I heard. Heaven knows how many more successes he would have had, although I’m afraid the British Invasion would have knocked him off the charts, as it did with so many other acts.
LikeLike
Fun song!
LikeLike
Glad you liked it!
LikeLike
My boyfriend the social studies teacher used to like to play this record when teaching about the War of 1812
LikeLike
Horton was known for his historical songs. I wish he had lived longer; he might have covered all of Western Civilization by now…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed his music – a little different from the norm in those days.
LikeLike
Which is why his songs were so popular, and why it was so good that the charts in those days were open to artists like him.
LikeLiked by 1 person