Honky Tonk Man: The Essential Johnny Horton, 1956-1960

iTunes Review

Before he was killed by a drunk driver in Milano, Texas on November 5, 1960, Johnny Horton recorded one of the most diverse bodies of song of any mid-century country performer. He started out in hard honky-tonk music, and “Honky Tonk Man,” “I’m a One-Woman Man” and every other song on disc one of this collection still stand alongside Hank Williams and George Jones as that genre’s greatest works. A handful of especially raucous songs, including “I’m Coming Home,” “Lover’s Rock,” and “Honky-Tonk Hardwood Floor,” are enough to confirm Horton’s dual legacy as one of the great rockabilly performers of the late ‘50s. Toward the end of his career, Horton shifted his focus, and found success with historical songs (“The Battle of New Orleans,” “Johnny Reb”) and humorous numbers (“The Electrified Donkey”). Though Horton was shaped by the tastes and expectations of mainstream Nashville, his material was always underscored by charisma and soulfulness. Nowhere is this better shown than on “Lost Highway” and “Words,” which turns the usually brash attitude of country music into something hushed and spare.