"Honky-Tonk Man" | ||||
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Single by Johnny Horton | ||||
B-side | "I'm Ready, If You're Willing"/"Words" | |||
Released | March 1956 | |||
Recorded | January 11, 1956 | |||
Studio | Bradley's Barn, Mount Juliet, Tennessee | |||
Genre | Rockabilly | |||
Length | 2:16 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Songwriter(s) | Johnny Horton, Tillman Franks, Howard Hausey | |||
Producer(s) | Don Law | |||
Johnny Horton singles chronology | ||||
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"Honky-Tonk Man" is a song co-written and recorded by American singer Johnny Horton. It was released in March 1956 as his debut single on Columbia Records, and the album of the same name reaching number 9 on the U.S. country singles charts. Horton re-released the song six years later, taking it to number 11 on the same chart. [1]
Song-writing credits for "Honky-Tonk Man" have been attributed to Johnny Horton, Howard Hausey and Tillman Franks. In late-1955 Hausey, an aspiring songwriter, went to Shreveport, Louisiana (from where the Louisiana Hayride was broadcast) to pitch three of his songs to Johnny Horton. Horton and his manager, Tillman Franks, liked the up-tempo "Honky-Tonk Man", but before it was recorded a deal was negotiated to include Horton and Franks in the publishing royalties (both of whom may have assisted in re-fashioning the melody). [2]
"Honky-Tonk Man" was recorded on 11 January 1956 at Bradley's Barn studio in Nashville. Session musicians on the recording were Grady Martin and Harold Bradley, as well as Bill Black (at the time Elvis Presley’s bassist). Soon afterwards "Honky-Tonk Man" was released as a single (Columbia label: 4-21504) paired with another song from the same session, "I'm Ready if You're Willing". Live shows were subsequently arranged to advertise the single, with the band featuring Tillman Franks on bass and Tommy Tomlinson on guitar.
The single was reviewed in Billboard (10 March 1956). The review commented on "Honky-Tonk Man" in the following terms:
The wine, women and song attractions exert a powerful hold on the singer, he admits. The funky sound and pounding beat in the backing suggest the kind of atmosphere he describes. A very good jukebox record.
The lyrics of the song are narrated in the first-person ("I'm a honky-tonk man"), describing a life of drinking and dancing with young women in honky-tonk bars; the account suggests a compulsive or addictive quality to the protagonist's lifestyle ("I can’t seem to stop"). The chorus of the song juxtaposes the narrator’s obsessive and exuberant behaviour with what happens when his "money’s all gone" ("I’m on the telephone callin’: ‘hey hey mama, can your daddy come home?’").
Chart (1956) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [3] | 9 |
Chart (1962) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [3] | 11 |
In 1970, Bob Luman took a cover version to number 22 on the country charts. It was included on his album Is It Any Wonder That I Love You, from which it was released as the first single. The song was Luman's sixteenth country chart single, spending 14 weeks on the charts.
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [4] | 22 |
"Honky Tonk Man" | ||||
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Single by Dwight Yoakam | ||||
from the album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. | ||||
B-side | "Miner's Prayer" | |||
Released | January 27, 1986 | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 2:48 | |||
Label | Reprise 8793 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Johnny Horton, Tillman Franks, Howard Hausey | |||
Producer(s) | Pete Anderson | |||
Dwight Yoakam singles chronology | ||||
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Country music singer Dwight Yoakam released his version of the song as his debut single in 1986. Yoakam's version peaked at number 3 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart; it appears on his debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. .
The song debuted at number 74 on the country chart dated March 1, 1986. It charted for 24 weeks on that chart, and peaked at number 3 on the chart dated June 14, 1986.
Chart (1986) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [5] | 3 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
This was Yoakam's first music video, and it was directed and produced by Sherman Halsey.
Dwight David Yoakam is an American country singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.. Yoakam had considerable success throughout the late 1980s onward, with a total of ten studio albums for Reprise Records. Later projects have been released on Audium, New West, Warner, and Sugar Hill Records.
John LaGale Horton 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 No. 333 of the Recording Industry Association of America's "Songs of the Century". His first No. 1 country song was in 1959, "When It's Springtime in Alaska ".
Honky Tonk Man may refer to:
Tillman Ben Franks, Sr., was an American bassist and songwriter and the manager for a number of country music artists including Johnny Horton, David Houston, Webb Pierce, Claude King, and the Carlisles.
Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room is the third studio album by American country music singer Dwight Yoakam, released on August 2, 1988. The album contains Yoakam's first two No. 1 Hot Country Singles singles. The first was "Streets of Bakersfield," a duet with country music veteran Buck Owens, who had originally released a version of the song in 1973. The second was an original composition of Yoakam's titled "I Sang Dixie." A third song on the album, "I Got You," also an original composition, peaked at No. 5. The title song, "Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room ," also charted, but only to the No. 46 position.
Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc. is the debut studio album by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam. This was Yoakam's first time working with long-time collaborator, record producer-guitarist Pete Anderson. The album became the first of three consecutive albums by Yoakam to reach number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Hillbilly Deluxe is the second studio album by American country music singer-songwriter, Dwight Yoakam. Released in 1987, it was Yoakam's second consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Four tracks were released as singles with each becoming Top 10 hits on the Hot Country Singles chart in 1987 and 1988.
This Time is the fifth studio album by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam, released by Reprise Records on March 23, 1993. Three of its tracks barely missed the top spot on the Billboard Hot Country Singles charts, each peaking at #2: "Ain't That Lonely Yet", "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" and "Fast as You", the latter being his last Top 10 single. Two other tracks also rose into the charts: "Try Not to Look So Pretty" at #14 and "Pocket of a Clown" at #22. The album itself peaked at #4 on the Top Country Albums chart. Yoakam wrote or co-wrote all except for one of the tracks on this album.
Population Me is the 13th studio album by Dwight Yoakam. It was released in June 2003 via the Audium Records label. The album spawned two singles, "The Back of Your Hand" and "The Late Great Golden State".
The Very Best of Dwight Yoakam is the third greatest hits compilation album of songs recorded by country music artist Dwight Yoakam. The album comprises twenty hit singles from his career.
Joe Diffie was an American country music artist. His discography comprises 12 studio albums, six compilation albums and 38 singles. Among his albums, 1993's Honky Tonk Attitude and 1994's Third Rock from the Sun are his best-selling, having been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies. His singles include five Number Ones on the Hot Country Songs charts: "Home", as well as "If the Devil Danced ", "Third Rock from the Sun", "Pickup Man" and "Bigger Than the Beatles".
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Trace Adkins is an American country music singer. His discography consists of fourteen studio albums and six greatest hits albums. Of his fourteen studio albums, six have been certified by the RIAA: 1997's Big Time is certified Gold, as are 2001's Chrome, and 2006's Dangerous Man. His 1996 debut Dreamin' Out Loud and 2003's Comin' On Strong are certified Platinum. 2005's Songs About Me is his best-selling album, certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA. Two of Adkins' compilation albums, Greatest Hits Collection, Vol. 1 and American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II are certified Platinum
"It Won't Hurt" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam. It was released in November 1986 as the third and final single from his debut album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.. While it missed the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, it became a top ten hit in Canada, peaking at number 7 on the Canadian RPM country singles chart. The song can be heard during the outro to Yoakam's music video for "Honky-Tonk Man".
"A Few Ole Country Boys" is a song written by Troy Seals and Mentor Williams, and recorded as a duet by American country music artists Randy Travis and George Jones. It was released in November 1990 as the first single from each singer's albums of duets, Heroes & Friends and Friends in High Places respectively. "A Few Ole Country Boys" peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and reached number 4 on the Canadian RPM country Tracks chart.
"There's a Honky Tonk Angel (Who'll Take Me Back In)" is a song best known for the 1974 recording by American country music artist Conway Twitty, who took it to number 1 on the Hot Country Singles chart. The song was written by Troy Seals and Denny Rice and originally released on Troy Seals' 1973 debut album Now Presenting Troy Seals.
"Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes" is a song written by Troy Seals and Max D. Barnes and recorded by American country music singer George Jones. It was released in June 1985 as the first single and title track from the album Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes. The song peaked at number three on the Hot Country Singles chart.
Dwight Yoakam is an American country music singer-songwriter. Since his debut single, "Honky Tonk Man" in 1986, he has released 46 singles, including two Billboard Hot Country Songs number one singles, as well as 6 number ones in Canada. In addition to having two number one singles in the United States, Yoakam also has thirteen Top 10 singles on the country chart.
"(I'm a) One-Woman Man" is a song co-written by American country music artist Johnny Horton and Tillman Franks. It was originally released as a single by Horton in 1956, whose version peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. The song was twice recorded by American country music artist George Jones: first released on the album The Crown Prince of Country Music retitled "One Woman Man" in 1960, and later as "I'm a One Woman Man" released in November 1988 as the first single from his album One Woman Man. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in early 1989 and it would be his final Top 10 solo hit.
Jon David Wolfe is an American country music singer and songwriter. Rising to prominence in the early 2000s, he's revered for his energetic performances and authentic style. His albums, including "It All Happened in a Honky Tonk" (2010), "Natural Man" (2015), and "Any Night in Texas" (2017), spawned hits such as "That Girl in Texas”, “I Don’t Dance”, and “Boots on a Dance Floor.”