Sleepy-Eyed John

Last updated
"They'll Never Take Her Love from Me"
Single by Johnny Horton
B-side "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me"
ReleasedMarch 6, 1961 [1]
Genre Country
Label Columbia Records
Songwriter(s) Tex Atchison

"Sleepy-Eyed John" is a song that was a million-selling hit for Johnny Horton in 1961. [2]

Overview

Written by left-handed fiddle player Tex Atchison, the song was first recorded in a Western swing style by Ole Rasmussen for Capitol Records in 1950, when Atchison played in Rasmussen's band, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as they toured California. [3] [4] Billboard reviewed the 10-inch 78 rpm single, calling it a "real toe-tapper" appropriate for square dancing, with a "pert" vocal performance by Ted Wilds. [5] Atchison may have based the song on a traditional Kentucky bluegrass tune known as "Get Up, John" or "Sleepy John". [6] [7]

The song's name was taken as the moniker of radio disc jockey John Lepley, who went by Sleepy-Eyed John. In the mid-1950s, Lepley held down the afternoon slot at Memphis station WHHM, and he promoted musical acts at a local entertainment complex called Clearpool, featuring Western swing bands at the Eagle's Nest stage. Lepley booked Elvis Presley to perform in 1954 – these early appearances helped Presley establish a fan base and his personal style. [8]

Atchison's song saw its biggest success with Johnny Horton. [1] Aided by a famous B-side – Horton's version of Hank Williams' "They'll Never Take Her Love from Me" – the 45 rpm record debuted on Billboard's Country and Western chart in late April 1961, rising to number 9, and staying on the chart for eight weeks. [9]

A few months later, expatriate Tennessee country singer Johnny Duncan released a single of "Sleepy-Eyed John" on the Pye label in the UK, backed by his veteran UK band, the Blue Grass Boys. The flipside was another Atchison/Rasmussen tune: "I'm Still Bettin' on Love". [10]

In 1972, the song was recorded by the Norwegian bluegrass group Christiania Fusel & Blaagress. The lyrics were translated into the Norwegian language to describe an eccentric villager with a wooden leg. [11]

In the late 1990s, Bear Family Records issued a retrospective set of Rasmussen songs on Compact disc, the set titled Sleepy-Eyed John. The recordings were made during 1950–1952 when Rasmussen was signed to Capitol Records. [12]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Song: Sleepy-Eyed John". Second Hand Songs. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ Gerald F. Vaughn (1982). "Tex Atchison: Fancy Fiddling and Fancy Singing". JEMF Quarterly. John Edwards Memorial Foundation. 18: 151–54.
  3. ↑ "Tex Atchison | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ "78 Record: Ole Rasmussen And His Nebraska Cornhuskers - Sleepy Eyed John (1950)" – via www.45worlds.com.
  5. ↑ Staff (July 1, 1950). "Record Reviews". Billboard . p. 104. ISSN   0006-2510.
  6. ↑ Charles K. Wolfe (2015). Kentucky Country: Folk and Country Music of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. p. 59. ISBN   9780813149608.
  7. ↑ Neil V. Rosenberg; Charles K. Wolfe (2007). The Music of Bill Monroe. University of Illinois Press. p. 93. ISBN   9780252031212.
  8. ↑ "Special Elvis Collectibles at the Last Auction at Graceland – Elvis Presley".
  9. ↑ Joel Whitburn (2008). Joel Whitburn Presents Across the Charts: The 1960s. Hal Leonard. p. 183. ISBN   9780898201758.
  10. ↑ "Johnny Duncan And The Blue Grass Boys - Sleepy-Eyed John" – via www.45cat.com.
  11. ↑ "1. juni 1975" – via tv.nrk.no.
  12. ↑ Family, Bear. "Ole Rasmussen CD: Sleepy Eyed John". Bear Family Records.
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