Hank Thompson and his Brazos Valley Boys musical style was characterized as honky tonk Western swing, with a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar and steel guitar that featured his distinctive, smooth baritone vocals. He wanted The Brazos Valley Boys to play a "light" version of the Western swing, a sound that Bob Wills and others had made famous, emphasizing the dance beat and meticulous arrangements. [2]
1952 brought his first #1 disc, "The Wild Side of Life," which contained the memorable line "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels"
Hank and his Boys were voted the top Country Western Band for 14 years in a row by Billboard with record sales well over 60 million internationally, Hank Thompson's career has spanned an unbelievable seven decades (from the '40's into the 21st century) of recorded music history. Thompson was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989 and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997. [1] [2]
On November 1, 2007, Thompson canceled the rest of his 2007 "Sunset Tour" and retired from singing. Thompson's last performance had been on October 8, 2007 in Waco, Texas, his birthplace. He died a month later from lung cancer. [1]
Shortly after Hank released his smash hit “The Wild side of Life”, Paul Cohen, an executive at Decca Records, approached a relatively unknown pioneer female country vocalist by the name of Kitty Wells about doing an answer song to Hank’s smash hit. Wells was disenchanted with her career prospects and was considering retirement when Cohen approached her about doing the song "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". She agreed to the session (at Owen Bradley’s studio on May 3, 1952) because of the $125 union scale recording payment. "I wasn't expecting to make a hit," said Wells later. "I just thought it was another song". It became the first hit single for a female vocalist in Country music history. [3]
The record's message was controversial at the time, and was banned by many radio stations. It was also temporarily banned from the Grand Ole Opry. Nevertheless, audiences couldn’t get enough of it. The single took off during the summer of 1952, and sold more than 800,000 copies in its initial release.
Wells was born Ellen Muriel Deason in 1919 in Nashville, Tennessee, one of the few country singers born in Nashville. She began singing as a child, learning guitar from her father. [4]
Wells’ success in the 1950s and 1960s was so enormous that she still ranks as the sixth most successful female vocalist in the history of the Billboard country charts behind Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Reba McEntire, Tammy Wynette, and Tanya Tucker. [3]
Wells was the third country music artist, after Roy Acuff and Hank Williams, to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991, as well as being the eighth woman and first Caucasian woman to receive the honor. In 1976, she was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. She is as of 2009 — at age 90 — the oldest living member of the C&W Hall of Fame. Wells' accomplishments earned her the moniker The Queen of Country Music. [3]
I realize this is somewhat out of the realm of Swing and Big Band music; however for those who love the sound of “Country Swing” these were two of the greats of the era. Next to big band and swing, this music is the closest to my heart!
Hope you enjoyed “The Wild Side of Life”!
Spencer "Wolf" Smartt
Dallas, Texas
Email Me
[1] http://www.hankthompson.com/index.htm
[2] http://www.hankthompson.com/
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Wells
[4] http://www.kittywells.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment