Honky-Tonk Man

"Honky-Tonk Man" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Johnny Horton. It was released in March 1956 as his debut single on Columbia records, reaching number 9 on the U.S. country singles charts. Horton re-released the song six years later, taking it to number 11 on the same chart.^[1]

Song details

Song-writing credits for "Honky-Tonk Man" have been attributed to Johnny Horton, Howard Hausey and Tillman Franks. In late-1955 Hausey, an aspiring song-writer, went to Shreveport, Louisiana (from where the Louisiana Hayride was broadcast) to pitch three of his songs to Johnny Horton. Horton and his manager, Tillman Franks, liked the up-tempo "Honky-Tonk Man", but before it was recorded a deal was negotiated to include Horton and Franks in the publishing royalties (both of whom may have assisted in re-fashioning the melody).^[2]

"Honky-Tonk Man" was recorded on 11 January 1956 at the Bradley Barn Studio in Nashville. Session musicians on the recording were Grady Martin and Harold Bradley, as well as Bill Black (at the time Elvis Presley’s bassist). Soon afterwards "Honky-Tonk Man" was released as a single (Columbia label: 4-21504) paired with another song from the same session, "I'm Ready if You're Willing". Live shows were subsequently arranged to advertise the single, with the band featuring Tillman Franks on bass and Tommy Tomlinson on guitar.

The single was reviewed in Billboard (10 March 1956). The review commented on "Honky-Tonk Man" in the following terms:

The wine, women and song attractions exert a powerful hold on the singer, he admits. The funky sound and pounding beat in the backing suggest the kind of atmosphere he describes. A very good jukebox record.

The lyrics of the song are narrated in the first-person (“I'm a honky-tonk man”), describing a life of drinking and dancing with young women in honky-tonk bars; the account suggests a compulsive or addictive quality to the protagonist's lifestyle (“I can’t seem to stop”). The chorus of the song juxtaposes the narrator’s obsessive and exuberant behaviour with what happens when his “money’s all gone” (“I’m on the telephone callin’: ‘hey hey mama, can your daddy come home?’”).

Chart performance

Chart (1956)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	9

Chart (1962)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	11

Bob Luman version

In 1970, Bob Luman took a cover version to number 22 on the country charts. It was included on his album Is It Any Wonder That I Love You, from which it was released as the first single. The song was Luman's sixteenth country chart single, spending 14 weeks on the charts.

Chart (1970)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	22

Dwight Yoakam version

"Honky Tonk Man"

Single by Dwight Yoakam

from the album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.

B-side

"Miner's Prayer"

Released

January 27, 1986

Format

7" 45 RPM

Genre

Country

Length

2:45

Label

Reprise 8793

Producer(s)

Pete Anderson

Dwight Yoakam singles chronology

"Honky Tonk Man"
(1986)

"Guitars, Cadillacs"
(1986)

Country music singer Dwight Yoakam released his version of the song, also as his debut single, in 1986. Yoakam's version peaked at number 3 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart; it served as the lead-off single from his debut album, Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc..

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 74 on the country chart dated March 1, 1986. It charted for 24 weeks on that chart, and peaked at number 3 on the chart dated June 14, 1986.

Chart (1986)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	3
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1

Music Video

This was Dwight Yoakam's first music video, and was directed and produced by Sherman Halsey.

Preceded by "One Love at a Time" by Tanya Tucker	RPM Country Tracks number-one single June 28, 1986	Succeeded by "Mama's Never Seen Those Eyes" by The Forester Sisters

References

↑ Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard book of Top 40 country hits. Billboard Books. pp. 161–162.
↑ de Heer, Dik. "Howard Crockett". Retrieved 2 January 2014.

External links

Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics

Johnny Horton

Notable singles	"Honky-Tonk Man" "I'm a One-Woman Man" "When It's Springtime in Alaska (It's Forty Below)" "The Battle of New Orleans" "Sink the Bismark" "North to Alaska"

Related articles	Columbia Records

Dwight Yoakam singles

Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.	"Honky-Tonk Man" "Guitars, Cadillacs" "It Won't Hurt"

Hillbilly Deluxe	"Little Sister" "Little Ways" "Please, Please Baby" "Always Late with Your Kisses"

Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room	"Streets of Bakersfield" (With Buck Owens) "I Sang Dixie" "I Got You" "Buenas Noches from a Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)"

Just Lookin' for a Hit	"Long White Cadillac"

If There Was a Way	"Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose" "You're the One" "Nothing's Changed Here" "It Only Hurts When I Cry" "The Heart That You Own" "Send a Message to My Heart" (With Patty Loveless)

Honeymoon in Vegas Soundtrack	"Suspicious Minds"

This Time	"Ain't That Lonely Yet" "A Thousand Miles from Nowhere" "Fast as You" "Try Not to Look So Pretty" "Pocket of a Clown"

Gone	"Nothing" "Gone (That'll Be Me)" "Sorry You Asked?" "Heart of Stone"

Under the Covers	"Claudette" "Baby Don't Go" (With Sheryl Crow)

A Long Way Home	"Things Change" "These Arms"

Last Chance for a Thousand Years: Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits from the 90's	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Thinking About Leaving"

Tomorrow's Sounds Today	"What Do You Know About Love" "I Want You to Want Me" "I Was There" (With Buck Owens)

Inside Traxx 2002	"Sitting Pretty"

Population Me	"The Back of Your Hand" "The Late Great Golden State"

Blame the Vain	"Intentional Heartache" "Blame the Vain" "I Wanna Love Again"

Dwight Sings Buck	"Close Up the Honky Tonks"

TBD	"Who'll Stop the Rain"

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