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ABOUT OUR NEW ISSUES 212
In our new issue for May (#212) we return to Johnny Horton with a bigger and more comprehensive chronicle since we last ran his story in issue 162 back in 2021.
A plethora of new material has been found that we wish to share with our readers as we follow Johnny’s activities up to and including 1952. We start in 1914 when the oldest sibling was born with three more following until the fifth and youngest, John ‘Johnny’ Gale Horton, entered this world on April 30th 1925 in Los Angeles. CA. As he grew up his family was constantly on the move between Texas and California, his dad always looking for greener pastures. Two of Johnny’s biggest interests were music and fishing, and he became an angling champion in both Texas and California. He also loved sports and hunting; although it wasn’t until around 1950 that he started to think seriously about a career in music. He wasn’t interested in having a routine ‘nine to five’ job.
In very quick time Johnny obtained a recording contract, making his first waxings in 1950 - the first bearing his name being on Cormac 133, “Why in the Dickens Don’t You Milk That Cow”/”By My Side”, this probably issued sometime in the fall of 1950. He appeared at various talent contests, venues and also TV commercials for fishing gear. His discs started to make some impact locally and his activities caught the eyes and ears of Fabor A. Robison, who became his first manager, taking Horton to his new record company ‘Abbott’; the Cormac recordings also being transferred to this new label. Johnny was soon appearing frequently in California, especially around LA., but he also toured in Texas and Louisiana. In 1952 Fabor landed Johnny a contract with Mercury, this reported by Billboard on July 12; the same year Horton became a member of the Louisiana Hayride, having made several guest appearances since May. It was there he met Hank Williams and Hank’s wife, Billie Jean, who he would marry in 1953 – as is well known Hank was tragically pronounced dead on January 1st of that year. Presented in our acclaimed day-by-day format, this 72 page issue carries a great front cover and as usual it is lavishly illustrated with great pictures, articles, scans of record labels and old advertisements. It concludes with a small review section.
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ABOUT THE MAGAZINE
American Music Magazine is published by the Swedish Rock 'n' Roll Club. We are a non profit organisation devoted to the 1950s rock 'n' roll music and our intention is to document, as far as possible, the early years of rock-a-billy, rock 'n' roll and its related artforms. The text of the magazine is in Swedish and English. Each issue is full of original photographs and discographies.
AM works in co-operation with the "Tales From The Woods" Roots Music Social Networking Group in the U.K. The aim is to collaborate to keep rock ‘n' roll, its history, and its many talented artists and musicians alive for posterity and future generations – this through sharing articles that have appeared in our magazines over the years, helping each other with publicity and generally spreading the word not just to the converted, but also to those yet to share our enthusiasm.
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American Music Magazine är producerad av 1950s fans för fans och är en svensk tidning med både svensk och engelsk text. Tidningen utkommer med tolv nummer om året och handlar företrädesvis om 50-tals rock 'n' roll, och relaterade musikformer som exempelvis hillbilly/country och rhythm ’n’ blues. American Music Magazine drivs helt ideelt utan ekonomisk vinning.
American Music Magazine samarbetar med "Tales From The Wood - Roots Music Social Networking Group" som är ett namnkunnigt engelskt nätverk med bred verksamhet inom vår musik. Syftet är att gemensamt arbeta för att hålla rock 'n' rollmusiken, dess historia och dess många talangfulla artister och musiker levande för eftervärlden och kommande generationer - detta genom att dela artiklar som publicerats i våra respektive tidningar genom åren, hjälpa varandra med publicitet och sprida det glada budskapet inte bara till de redan frälsta utan också till sådana som ännu inte delar vår entusiasm och passion för denna musik.
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