Johnny Horton - WikiHQ

John LaGale Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country, honky tonk, and rockabilly musician during the 1950s. He is best known for a series of history-inspired narrative country saga songs that became international hits. His 1959 single "The Battle of New Orleans" was awarded the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. The song was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award and in 2001 ranked number 333 of the Recording Industry Association of America's "Songs of the Century". His first number-one country song was in 1959, "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)".

Horton had two successes in 1960 with both "Sink the Bismarck" and "North to Alaska", the latter used during the opening credits of the John Wayne film. Horton died in November 1960 at the peak of his fame in a traffic collision, less than two years after his breakthrough. He is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, and in 2025 the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.

Early life

Horton was born on April 30, 1925, in Los Angeles,

Horton soon returned to California and got a job in the mail room at Selznick International Pictures, where his future wife, Donna Cook, was working in the studio as a secretary. After a short stint studying geology in Seattle in 1948, Horton went to Alaska to look for gold. During this period, he began writing songs. Returning south, he entered and won a talent contest in Henderson, Texas. Encouraged by this result, he returned to California to pursue a music career. Cash dedicated his rendition of "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)" to Horton on his album Personal File: "Johnny Horton was a good old friend of mine." Over time, Horton's material has been rereleased a number of times, through box sets and compilations.

Horton was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame and posthumously inducted into the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame in Ferriday, Louisiana.

Horton was inducted in to the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in 2025.

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Album

! colspan="2"| Chart Positions

! rowspan="2"| RIAA

! rowspan="2"| Label

! width="50"|US Country

! width="50"|US

| 1959

| Johnny Horton

| Dot

| 1959

| The Fantastic Johnny Horton

| Mercury

| 1959

| The Spectacular Johnny Horton

| rowspan="11"| Columbia

| 1960

| Johnny Horton Makes History

| 1961

| Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits

| align="center"| 8

| align="center"| Platinum

| 1962

| Honky-Tonk Man

| align="center"| 104

| 1965

| I Can't Forget You

| 1966

| Johnny Horton Sings

| 1967

| Johnny Horton On Stage

| align="center"| 37

| 1968

| The Unforgettable Johnny Horton

| rowspan="2"| 1970

| On the Road

| The Legendary Johnny Horton

| rowspan="2"| 1971

| The Battle of New Orleans

| The World of Johnny Horton

{| class="wikitable"

|+Post Mortem Albums

!Release

!Name

!Riaa

!Label

|1968

|The Unforgettable Johnny Horton

|Columbia

|2023

|Done Rovin'

|Sun

|2025

|Free n' Easy

|Bear Family Records

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated

! colspan="2"| Chart Positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

! width="50"|US Country

! width="50"|US

| rowspan="2"|1952

| "The Rest Of Your Life" b/w "This Won't Be The First Time"

|align="left" rowspan="8"|Non-album tracks

| "I Won't Forget" b/w "The Child's Side Of Life" (from The Fantastic Johnny Horton)

| rowspan="3"|1953

| "Plaid and Calico" b/w "Shadows On The Old Bayou"

| "Tennessee Jive" b/w "The Mansion You Stole" (from The Fantastic Johnny Horton)

| "I Won't Get Dreamy Eyed" b/w "S.S. Lure-Line" (from The Fantastic Johnny Horton)

| 1954

| "There'll Never Be Another Mary" b/w "No True Love" b/w "The Train with the Rhumba Beat"

|rowspan="2"|1955

| "Journey With No End" b/w "Ridin' The Sunshine Special" (from The Fantastic Johnny Horton)

| "Hey Sweet, Sweet Thing" b/w "Big Wheels Rollin'" (from The Fantastic Johnny Horton)

| rowspan="2"| 1956

| "Honky-Tonk Man" b/w "I'm Ready, If You're Willing" (Original version, non-album track)

| align="center"| 9

| align="left" rowspan="3"| Honky-Tonk Man

| "I'm A One-Woman Man" b/w "I Don't Like I Did" (Non-album track)

| align="center"| 7

| rowspan="4"| 1957

| "I'm Coming Home" b/w "I Got A Hole In My Pirogue"

| align="center"| 11

| "The Woman I Need" b/w "She Knows Why" (from Honky-Tonk Man)

| align="center"| 9

|align="left"|Non-album track

| "I'll Do It Every Time" b/w "Let's Take The Long Way Home" (Non-album track)

| The Legendary Johnny Horton

| "Lover's Rock" b/w "You're My Baby"

| align="left"|Non-album tracks

| rowspan="2"|1958

| "Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor" b/w "The Wild One"

|align="left"|Honky-Tonk Man

| "All Grown Up" b/w "Counterfeit Love"

| align="center"| 8

|align="left"|The Legendary Johnny Horton

| rowspan="6"| 1959

| "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)" b/w "Whispering Pines"

| align="center"| 1

| rowspan="2"| The Spectacular Johnny Horton

| "The Battle of New Orleans" b/w "All For The Love Of A Girl" (re-recording)

| align="center"| 1

| "Johnny Reb" /

| align="center"| 10

| align="center"| 54

| Johnny Horton Makes History

| "Sal's Got A Sugar Lip"

| align="center"| 19

| align="center"| 81

| align="left"|Non-album track

| "I'm Ready, If You're Willing" (re-recording) b/w "Take Me Like I Am" (from The Legendary Johnny Horton)

|align="left"|Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits

| "They Shined Up Rudolph's Nose" b/w "The Electrified Donkey"

| align="left"|Non-album tracks

| rowspan="3"| 1960

| "Sink the Bismarck" b/w "The Same Old Tale The Crow Told Me" (differs from other versions and did not appear on any Columbia album)

| align="center"| 6

| align="center"| 3

| rowspan="2"| Johnny Horton Makes History

| "Johnny Freedom" b/w "Comanche (The Brave Horse)"

| align="center"| 69

| "North To Alaska" b/w "The Mansion You Stole" (re-recording)

| align="center"| 1

| align="center"| 4

| Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits

| rowspan="2"| 1961

| "Sleepy-Eyed John" b/w "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me"

| align="center"| 9

| align="center"| 54

| rowspan="3"| Honky-Tonk Man

| "Ole Slew-Foot" b/w "Miss Marcy" (from The Legendary Johnny Horton)

| align="center"| 28

| align="center"| 110

| 1962

| "Honky-Tonk Man"(re-release) b/w "Words" (from The Legendary Johnny Horton)

| align="center"| 11

| align="center"| 96

|rowspan="2"|1963

| "All Grown Up" b/w "I'm A One-Woman Man" (from Honky-Tonk Man) Re-releases

| align="center"| 26

|align="left"|The Legendary Johnny Horton

| "When It's Springtime In Alaska (It's Forty Below)" (re-release) b/w "Sugar-Coated Baby" (from The Unforgettable Johnny Horton)

|align="left"|The Spectacular Johnny Horton

| rowspan="2"|1964

| "Hooray For That Little Difference" b/w "Tell My Baby I Love Her" (Non-album track)

| align="left"|The Unforgettable Johnny Horton

| "Lost Highway" b/w "The Same Old Tale The Crow Told Me"

|align="left"|I Can't Forget You

| 1965

| "I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Livin'" b/w "Rock Island Line" (from The World Of Johnny Horton)

| align="left"|On The Road

| 1966

| "Sam Magee" b/w "All For The Love Of A Girl"

|align="left" rowspan="2"|The Spectacular Johnny Horton

| 1967

| "The Battle Of New Orleans" b/w "All For The Love Of A Girl" Re-release

Notes

References

External links

Johnny Horton at Texas State Historical Association
Rockabillyhall.com
RCS-discography.com
Rockabilly.nl