The Early Years

01/01/1991 | Bear Family 

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All Music Guide Review

The Early Years was the first extensive Johnny Horton collection that Bear Family assembled. Spanning seven LPs, the set includes all of Horton's recordings for the Cormac, Abbott, and Mercury labels, as well as two albums' worth of demos and two albums' worth of overdubbed Abbott recordings issued on the Briar and Dot labels. Though these early recordings aren't quite as accomplished as his later, better-known work for Columbia, there's a lot of exciting of material here -- including proto-rockabilly and off-center honky tonk like "On the Banks of the Beautiful Nile," "I'm a Fishin' Man," and "The Train With the Rhumba Beat" -- especially for dedicated fans. Of course, the sheer size of the set means that only dedicated fans will ever pick up the box, but it is worth the investment for those fans, since these obscurities are often more interesting than the more polished recordings that followed later in his career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Track Listing

  • Track#
  • Title
  • time
  • 1
  • Smokey Joe's Barbecue
  • 2:33

  • 2
  • Devilish Love Light
  • 2:22

  • 3
  • Shotgun Boogie
  • 2:33

  • 4
  • In My Home in Shelby County
  • 2:14

  • 5
  • Coal Smoke, Valve Oil and Steam
  • 2:18

  • 6
  • Bob Sullivan Stomp (Piano Instrumental
  • 3:50

  • 7
  • Plaid and Calico
  • 2:40

  • 8
  • Done Rovin'
  • 2:45

  • 9
  • Candy Jones
  • 1:54

  • 10
  • Mean, Mean Son of a Gun
  • 2:50

  • 11
  • Shadows on the Old Bayou
  • 2:38

  • 12
  • Talk Gobbler Talk (Old Gobbler, the Hound Dog)
  • 2:23

  • 13
  • Go and Wash Your Dirty Feet (Barefoot Boy Blues)
  • 2:20

  • 14
  • Birds and Butterflies
  • 2:34

  • 15
  • Happy Millionaire
  • 2:46

  • 16
  • It's a Long Rocky Road
  • 2:12

  • 17
  • On the Banks of the Beautiful Nile
  • 2:27

  • 18
  • Stompin' at the KWKH (Piano Instrumental
  • 2:57

  • 19
  • Words
  • 2:44

  • 20
  • Rhythm in My Baby's Walk
  • 2:26

  • 21
  • Bawlin' Baby
  • 2:19

  • 22
  • Somebody's Rockin' My Broken Heart
  • 2:30

  • 23
  • Betty Lorraine (Betty Lou)
  • 2:23

  • 24
  • Devilish Love Light (Excerpt)
  • :46

  • 25 (2)
  • First Train Headin' South
  • 2:23

  • 26 (2)
  • The Rest of Your Life
  • 2:11

  • 27 (2)
  • (I Wished for an Angel) The Devil Sent Me You
  • 2:30

  • 28 (2)
  • This Won't Be the First Time
  • 2:36

  • 29 (2)
  • Child's Side of Life
  • 2:56

  • 30 (2)
  • I Won't Forget
  • 2:34

  • 31 (2)
  • S.S. Lureline
  • 2:05

  • 32 (2)
  • The Mansion You Stole
  • 2:24

  • 33 (2)
  • I Won't Get Dreamy Eyed
  • 2:08

  • 34 (2)
  • Tennessee Jive
  • 2:18

  • 35 (2)
  • Another Woman Wears My Wedding Ring
  • 2:46

  • 36 (2)
  • You, You, You (Caused This Heartache)
  • 2:32

  • 37 (2)
  • All for the Love of a Girl
  • 2:29

  • 38 (2)
  • Two Red Lips and Warm Red Wine
  • 2:12

  • 39 (2)
  • Back to My Back Street
  • 2:41

  • 40 (2)
  • Broken Hearted Gypsy
  • 2:08

  • 41 (2)
  • Move Down the Line
  • 2:19

  • 42 (2)
  • The Train With the Rhumba Beat
  • 2:43

  • 43 (2)
  • There'll Never Be Another Mary
  • 2:57

  • 44 (2)
  • No True Love
  • 2:22

  • 45 (2)
  • The Devil Made a Masterpiece
  • 2:29

  • 46 (2)
  • Ha Ha and Moonface
  • 2:02

  • 47 (2)
  • You Cry in the Door of Your Mansion
  • 2:13

  • 48 (2)
  • Where Are You
  • 2:14

  • 49 (2)
  • Meant So Little to You
  • 2:23

  • 50 (2)
  • Ridin' the Sunshine Special
  • 2:20

  • 51 (2)
  • Hey, Sweet Thing
  • 2:35

  • 52 (2)
  • Journey With No End
  • 2:39

  • 53 (2)
  • Big Wheels Rollin'
  • 2:22

  • 54 (2)
  • You Don't Move Me Baby Anymore
  • 2:34

  • 55 (3)
  • Won't You Love Me, Love, Love Me
  • 1:42

  • 56 (3)
  • Why Did It Happen to Me
  • 2:17

  • 57 (3)
  • You, You, You (Caused This Heartache)
  • 2:16

  • 58 (3)
  • Broken Hearted Gypsy
  • 1:13

  • 59 (3)
  • All for the Love of a Girl
  • 1:47

  • 60 (3)
  • My Heart Stopped, Trembled and Died
  • 2:21

  • 61 (3)
  • I'm a Fishin' Man
  • 2:08

  • 62 (3)
  • Where Do You Think You Would Stand
  • 1:59

  • 63 (3)
  • The Devil Made a Masterpiece
  • 1:47

  • 64 (3)
  • Because I'm a Jealous Man
  • 2:05

  • 65 (3)
  • I'm the One That Breaks in Two
  • 2:52

  • 66 (3)
  • The Train With the Rhumba Beat
  • 2:15

  • 67 (3)
  • 'Cause You're the One for Me
  • 1:56

  • 68 (3)
  • None of You But All of Me
  • 2:49

  • 69 (3)
  • Dark Haired Beauty from Cuba
  • 1:39

  • 70 (3)
  • Honky Tonk Jelly Roll Blues
  • 2:52

  • 71 (3)
  • Love and Tell
  • 1:20

  • 72 (3)
  • I Wish Heartaches Were Strangers
  • 2:03

  • 73 (3)
  • Confusion
  • 1:57

  • 74 (3)
  • Shadows on the Old Bayou
  • 2:21

  • 75 (3)
  • Somebody's Rockin' My Broken Heart
  • 2:06

  • 76 (3)
  • Talk Gobbler Talk (Old Gobbler, the Hound Dog)
  • 1:44

  • 77 (3)
  • Two Eyed Sunday Pants
  • 1:51

  • 78 (3)
  • Down That River Road
  • 1:55

  • 79 (3)
  • Egg Money
  • 2:06

  • 80 (3)
  • Confusion
  • 1:49

  • 81 (3)
  • First Train Headin' South
  • 2:18

  • 82 (3)
  • Somebody's Rockin' My Broken Heart
  • 2:04

  • 83 (3)
  • Smokey Joe's Barbecue
  • 1:49

  • 84 (3)
  • Betty Lorraine
  • 2:36

  • 85 (3)
  • Honky Tonk Jelly Roll Blues
  • 1:54

  • 86 (4)
  • Plaid and Calico
  • 2:21

  • 87 (4)
  • Coal Smoke, Valve Oil and Steam
  • 2:34

  • 88 (4)
  • Devilish Love Light
  • 2:24

  • 89 (4)
  • Done Rovin'
  • 2:51

  • 90 (4)
  • Mean, Mean Son of a Gun
  • 2:17

  • 91 (4)
  • Talk Gobbler Talk (Old Gobbler, the Hound Dog)
  • 2:04

  • 92 (4)
  • Shadows on the Old Bayou
  • 2:41

  • 93 (4)
  • In My Home in Shelby County
  • 2:16

  • 94 (4)
  • Go and Wash Your Dirty Feet (Barefoot Boy Blues)
  • 2:22

  • 95 (4)
  • Smokey Joe's Barbecue
  • 2:36

  • 96 (4)
  • It's a Long Rocky Road
  • 2:15

  • 97 (4)
  • Words
  • 2:49

  • 98 (4)
  • Done Rovin'
  • 2:47

  • 99 (4)
  • It's a Long Rocky Road
  • 2:14

  • 100 (4)
  • Smokey Joe's Barbecue
  • 2:31

  • 101 (4)
  • Mean, Mean Son of a Gun
  • 2:14

  • 102 (4)
  • Devilish Love Light
  • 2:18

  • 103 (4)
  • Coal Smoke, Valve Oil and Steam
  • 2:21

  • 104 (4)
  • Words
  • 2:43

  • 105 (4)
  • Shadows on the Old Bayou
  • 2:38

  • 106 (4)
  • On the Banks of the Beautiful Nile
  • 2:39

  • 107 (4)
  • In My Home in Shelby County
  • 2:16

  • 108 (4)
  • Go and Wash Your Dirty Feet (Barefoot Boy Blues)
  • 2:22

  • 109 (4)
  • Talk Gobbler Talk (Old Gobbler, the Hound Dog)
  • 2:04

  • 110 (4)
  • Rudy Thacker: Ballad of Johnny Horton
  • 2:40

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    Credits

    • Don Roy
    • Photography, Illustrations
    • Richard Weize
    • Reissue Producer, Research, Tape Research, Discography
    • Bob Stegall
    • Guitar (Steel), Illustrations, Photography


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