From the Vault...

10/05/1997
#545

info
Johnny Horton
"Johnny Horton's
Greatest Hits"

© Columbia Records

Year of Release: 1987
Rating:

track listing
  • North To Alaska
  • Whispering Pines
  • Johnny Reb
  • The Mansion You Stole
  • I'm Ready
    If You're Willing
  • When It's Springtime
    In Alaska
    (It's Forty Below)
  • Honky Tonk Man
  • The Battle Of
    New Orleans
  • All For The Love
    Of A Girl
  • Sink The Bismarck
  • Commanche (The
    Brave Horse)
  • Jim Bridger
  • Johnny Freedom

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    Johnny Horton related sites:
    Johnny Horton Website
    Wikipedia
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    Johnny Horton
    "Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits"



    Country artist Johnny Horton was one of many who's time was limited. His ballads can be compared to the likes of Jim Reeves. Like Reeves, both his life and Horton's were cut short by tragic accidents: Horton was killed in an automobile accident; Reeves of an airplane crash. Both men are Country legends, their songs are classics to Country music, and will always be part of music history.



    Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits features 13 songs that were most popular in Horton's career. Three of them are easy to remember: North To Alaska," his #1 Pop hit The Battle Of New Orleans, and "Sink The Bismarck." What makes this compilation are the not-so-famous tunes.



    Whispering Pines and may have the early pop sound of the early years of Rock N Roll, it's also a crossover Country hit that is sure to be enjoyed by both fans of early Rock and Country. A Country ballad classic can best describe The Mansion You Stole. Having a pop sound as well, it's another easy crossover pop/country hit. Pop and Country combined with the Country banjo makes When It's Springtime In Alaska (It's Forty Below) another easy Pop/Country crossover hit. We can say the same also for All For The Love Of A Girl.



    Johnny Reb is another contender like the storytelling The Ballad Of New Orleans. If You're Willing has a more early 50s Rock feel, with a Country touch. If you're a fan of the 1980s World Wrestling Federation (WWF), you may remember the theme song for the Honky Tonk Man, which was also remade by Country artist Dwight Yolkam in later decades. Horton's version is another true Country classic.



    Other great storytelling tunes are Comache (The Brave Horse) (another pop/country crossover), Jim Bridger (more Country than Pop), and Johnny Freedom (banjo-inspired Country, and a great storytelling Country tune).



    The storytelling concept and having a very early Country sound, Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits truly defines Country in its fine form. This is how Country sounded in the era of the 1950s, and even so some songs may have a Pop style crossover sound, it is still considered to be classified as Pure Country.



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    Previous Review: #544
    Nick Lowe & His Cowboy Outfit--The Rose Of England
    Next Review: #546
    Heart--Bad Animals