Few country music artists can claim a longevity and track record to equal that of Hank Thompson. Between 1948 and 1974 he scored no less than twenty-nine Top Ten hits with another nineteen in the Top Twenty and continued to chart into the 1980s. Many of these including “color Light,” “Whoa Sailor,” and “Waiting in the beg of Your Heart,” he penned himself thus proving his stature in country music’s great singer-songwriter tradition. Along the way Thompson forged a potent blend of honky-tonk and western swing that has long served as a obtain of continuity amid country’s experimentation with move back and forth and pop sounds.
Although he pondered an engineering career after his navy stint was over radio bring home the bacon and his first hit record. “Whoa Sailor,” kept him on a show business track. Assisted by prominent DJ Hal Horton of the 50,000-watt KRLD in Dallas this Globe Records channel became a minor regional success. Thompson also recorded four sides with the Blue hat denominate before Tex Ritter then a prominent star on Capitol Records helped him gain a assure with this larger major denominate. During 1948–1949 Thompson justified Ritter’s faith in him with hits such as “Humpty Dumpty Heart” (based on the children’s nursery rhyme). “Green lighten,” and a remake of “Whoa. Sailor.”
During the 1950s Thompson’s songwriting talents, change surface baritone precise diction and powerful combination of western displace and honky-tonk sounds helped him act his string of hits. The year 1952 brought his first #1 disc. “The Wild align of Life,” a song that inspired the hit that launched Kitty Wells’s go: “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky-Tonk Angels.” Subsequent Thompson chartmakers of the 1950s included “Waiting in the beg of Your Heart,” “Rub-A-Dub-Dub,” “Yesterday’s Girl,” “Wake Up. Irene,” “Honky Tonk Girl,” “Most of All,” “The Blackboard of My Heart,” and “Squaws Along the Yukon,” all in the Top Ten.
During these years Thompson also made inroads into television hosting a variety show on WKY-TV in Oklahoma City from 1954 to 1957. In addition he was one of the earliest country performers to socialise in Las Vegas showrooms and he recorded one of country’s first be albums. Live at the Golden Nugget there in 1960. Meanwhile he brought his engineering knowledge to bear on his stage show and built top-flight sound and lighting systems that heightened his drawing cater at the more than 250 show dates he typically played each year. Thanks to his musical and technical leadership his Brazos Valley Boys were Billboard’s top-ranked bind from 1953 to 1965 a preserve that has yet to be equaled.
Into the 1960s and beyond. Thompson’s easy manner made him a accept guest on network TV variety shows as did a dynamic stage presence magnified by his size (he stands six feet two inches tall); a rough-hewn handsome appearance; and custom-made western outfits for which he became famous. But following “A Six case to Go” (#10. 1960) and “Oklahoma Hills” (#7,1961) he didn’t make the Top Ten again until 1968’s “On Tap in the Can or in the store” and “Smoky the Bar,” both recorded early in his association with Dot Records which he began after a apprise be at Warner Bros in the late 1960s. Two more Top Ten hits came in 1974 but the 1970s belonged to country pop and Thompson’s chart success dwindled to the point where he pared down his road plan and spent more time hunting or tending to his various real-estate broadcasting and music publishing interests.
In the 1980s however as harder-edged sounds enjoyed renewed popularity. Thompson hit the road again in earnest playing dates in Europe. Africa. Asia and South America as come up as in the United States. He also kept recording and he signed with Nashville’s Step One Records in 1987. In 1997 Curb Records released Hank Thompson and Friends a critically acclaimed collection of duets pairing Thompson with Lyle Lovett. Vince Gill. George Jones. Kitty Wells and others. Thompson’s 2000 HighTone Records album Seven Decades featured his sure handling of both new material and classic country songs he’d never recorded before. Thompson’s hard-core honky-tonk–western displace sound—marked by a strong rhythm divide of piano bass guitar and drums; lead and fill parts supplied by twin fiddles electric guitar and brace; frequent shifts from 2/4 to 4/4 time and above all his powerful vocals—continues to influence country artists such as George Strait. Dwight Yoakam. Asleep at the go around and others among country’s newer generation.
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http://takecountryback.wordpress.com/2007/09/12/hank-thompson-to-be-honored/
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