Johnny Horton had several top ten songs in the late 50's and early 60's and was on the verge of becoming one of the top stars of the 60's when he met with tragedy. He was born John Gale Horton in Los Angeles in 1925. He was raised in Tyler, Texas. Horton worked in the fishing industry in Alaska and California, and attended Seattle University. ...show more

Johnny Horton had several top ten songs in the late 50's and early 60's and was on the verge of becoming one of the top stars of the 60's when he met with tragedy. He was born John Gale Horton in Los Angeles in 1925. He was raised in Tyler, Texas. Horton worked in the fishing industry in Alaska and California, and attended Seattle University.

He worked for a while as a carpenter, and played basketball at Baylor University. He worked at a local radio station in East Texas and at the Hometown Jamboree in California. He did some recording with little success for the Abbott, Mercury, and Dot labels and picked up the nickname the Singing Fisherman. Horton became a regular on the Louisiana Hayride.

Johnny married Billie Jean Jones, the widow of country music legend Hank Williams. He sang country songs and signed a recording contract with Columbia, where he would achieve his greatest success. Some of his first hits included Honky Tonk Man, I'm A One-Woman Man in 1956, Coming Home in 1957 and All Grown Up in 1958. He topped the country charts in 1959 with When It's Springtime In Alaska. ...show less