Johnny Horton

Johnny Horton

John Gale "Johnny" Horton (April 30, 1925 – November 5, 1960) was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s. With them, he had several major successes, most notably during 1959 with the song "The Battle of New Orleans" (written by Jimmy Driftwood), which was awarded the 1960 Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Recording. The song was awarded the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and during 2001 ranked No. 333 of the Recording Industry Association of America's "Songs of the Century".

During 1960, Horton had two other successes with "North to Alaska" for John Wayne's movie, North to Alaska, and "Sink the Bismarck". Horton is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Read more about Johnny Horton:  Early Life, Louisiana Hayride, Married To Billie Jean, First Big Hit, Death, Legacy

Famous quotes containing the words johnny and/or horton:

    Have Johnny fix him a sandwich or something. Any man running for the Senate has to wantsomething. Right, Bud?
    Okay, start the bus then. And drive them over a cliff.
    Jeremy Larner, U.S. screenwriter, and Michael Ritchie. John J. McKay (Melvin Douglas)

    To retire to the monastery, or the woods, or the sea, is to escape from the sharp suggestions that spur on ambition.
    —Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)