Showing posts with label Johnny Horton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnny Horton. Show all posts

Monday, June 1, 2009

50 years ago: Johnny Horton hit #1 with “The Battle of New Orleans”

The Battle of New Orleans

Johnny Horton

Writer(s): Jimmy Driftwood (see lyrics here)

Released: April 6, 1959

First Charted: April 27, 1959

Peak: 16 US, 19 CB, 16 HR, 110 CW, 16 UK, 17 CN, 16 AU (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 9.34 video, 23.58 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

“The Battle of New Orleans” dates back to 1815. On August 8 of that year, Andrew Jackson led American forces against British troops in New Orelans, not knowing the War of 1812 had officially ended two weeks earlier. A folk song called “The Eighth of January” celebrated the victory and became a popular fiddle tune. FB

It wasn’t until 1955 that Jimmy Driftwood, a high school teacher and principal from Arkansas, wrote lyrics for it in an effort to get his students more interested in learning history. WK The song described the battle in a comical tone from the perspective of an American solider. Driftwood became well known in the area for his historical songs. WK In the late 1950s, RCA gave him a recording contract and he recorded a dozen songs in 1958, including “The Battle of New Orleans.” WK

The song was subsequently recorded by many different artists, including Johnny Cash, Les Claypool, Lonnie Donegan, Bill Haley, Doug Kershaw, Vaughn Monroe, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Dolly Parton, Leon Russell, and Sha Na Na. It was Johnny Horton, however, who took the song to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the country charts. His version omits many of the historical references.

Sadly, Horton was killed in a head-on collision on November 5, 1960. He performed that night at the Skyline in Austin, Texas – the same club where Hanks Williams made his final appearance before his death. In another strange coincidence, Horton’s widow, Billie Jean, was formerly married to Williams. FB Ironically, Horton was driving because he’d had a premonition of his death and consequently refused to fly on airplanes. FB

Billboard ranked “New Orleans” the #1 song of 1959. It won Grammys for Song of the Year and Best Country & Western Recording.

Resources:

  • DMDB encyclopedia entry for Johnny Horton
  • FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 54.
  • SF Songfacts
  • WK Wikipedia

First posted 3/13/2021; last updated 8/26/2022.

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Saturday, November 16, 1996

Cash Box's Top 100 Singles 1958-1996

First posted 11/28/2011; last updated 3/23/2020.

Cash Box’s Top 100 Singles

1958-1996

Cash Box magazine first issued a top 100 singles chart for the September 13, 1958 issue when they expanded their top 75 chart to one hundred positions. The original version of the magazine lasted through November 16, 1996. Using a progressive inverse point system, Cash Box chart archivist Randy Price compiled a list of the top 100 songs according to the Cash Box charts. Here’s the list:

  1. Chubby Checker “The Twist” (1960)
  2. Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife” (1959)
  3. The Monkees “I’m a Believer” (1966)
  4. Boyz II Men “End of the Road” (1992)
  5. The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (1964)
  6. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
  7. Debby Boone “You Light Up My Life” (1977)
  8. Johnny Horton “The Battle of New Orleans” (1959)
  9. Percy Faith & His Orchestra “The Theme from “A Summer Place” (1960)
  10. Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody” (1976)

  11. Boyz II Men “I’ll Make Love to You” (1994)
  12. Lionel Richie & Diana Ross “Endless Love” (1981)
  13. Olivia Newton-John “Physical” (1981)
  14. The Archies “Sugar Sugar” (1969)
  15. Paul Mauriat & His Orchestra “Love Is Blue (L’Amour Est Bleu)” (1968)
  16. Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You” (1992)
  17. Boris Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers “Monster Mash” (1962)
  18. Louis Armstrong “Hello, Dolly!” (1964)
  19. The Fifth Dimension “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (1969)
  20. Queen “Another One Bites the Dust” (1980)

  21. Three Dog Night “Joy to the World” (1971)
  22. Los Del Rio “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” (1996)
  23. Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men “One Sweet Day” (1995)
  24. The New Vaudeville Band “Winchester Cathedral” (1966)
  25. Irene Cara “Flashdance...What a Feelin’” (1983)
  26. The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” (1969)
  27. Chic “Le Freak” (1978)
  28. The Bee Gees “Night Fever” (1978)
  29. The Police “Every Breath You Take” (1983)
  30. Boyz II Men “On Bended Knee” (1994)

  31. Sir Mix-A-Lot “Baby Got Back” (1992)
  32. Blondie “Call Me” (1980)
  33. The J. Geils Band “Centerfold” (1981)
  34. The Bee Gees “How Deep Is Your Love” (1977)
  35. Andy Gibb “Shadow Dancing” (1978)
  36. Tony Orlando & Dawn “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” (1973)
  37. Tag Team “Whoomp! (There It Is)” (1993)
  38. The Four Seasons “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” (1976)
  39. The Platters “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (1958)
  40. Ben E. King “Stand by Me” (1961)

  41. The Knack “My Sharona” (1979)
  42. Tommy Edwards “It’s All in the Game” (1958)
  43. Phil Collins “Another Day in Paradise” (1989)
  44. Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (1962)
  45. B.J. Thomas “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (1969)
  46. Donna Lewis “I Love You Always Forever” (1996)
  47. Lionel Richie “Say You, Say Me” (1985)
  48. Snap! “Rhythm Is a Dancer” (1992)
  49. Marvin Gaye “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” (1968)
  50. The Steve Miller Band “Abracadabra” (1982)

  51. UB40 “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (1993)
  52. Don McLean “American Pie” (1971)
  53. Andy Gibb “I Just Want to Be Your Everything” (1977)
  54. Ssgt. Barry Sadler “The Ballad Of The Green Berets” (1966)
  55. The Jackson 5 “I’ll Be There” (1969)
  56. Kenny Rogers “Lady” (1980)
  57. Ferrante & Teicher “Exodus” (1960)
  58. Chubby Checker “Limbo Rock” (1962)
  59. Mariah Carey “Fantasy” (1995)
  60. Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1978)

  61. Men at Work “Down Under” (1982)
  62. The Beatles “She Loves You” (1964)
  63. Janet Jackson “That’s the Way Love Goes” (1993)
  64. Gilbert O’Sullivan “Alone Again (Naturally)” (1972)
  65. Jim Reeves “He’ll Have to Go” (1960)
  66. The Box Tops “The Letter” (1967)
  67. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
  68. Exile “Kiss You All Over” (1978)
  69. Elvis Presley “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (1960)
  70. The Singing Nun “Dominique” (1963)

  71. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” (1982)
  72. Mary MacGregor “Torn Between Two Lovers” (1977)
  73. Daryl Hall & John Oates “Maneater” (1983)
  74. Jimmy Dean “Big Bad John” (1961)
  75. The Human League “Don’t You Want Me?” (1982)
  76. Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes” (1981)
  77. Toni Braxton “You’re Makin’ Me High”/“Let It Flow” (1996)
  78. The Monkees “Last Train to Clarksville” (1966)
  79. Real McCoy “Another Night” (1994)
  80. Glen Campbell “Rhinestone Cowboy” (1975)

  81. The Partridge Family “I Think I Love You” (1970)
  82. The Everly Brothers “Cathy’s Clown” (1960)
  83. Mr. Aker Bilk “Stranger on the Shore” (1962)
  84. USA for Africa “We Are the World” (1985)
  85. Roy Orbison “(Oh) Pretty Woman” (1964)
  86. The Kingsmen “Louie Louie” (1963)
  87. Elvis Presley “It’s Now or Never” (1960)
  88. Stevie B “Because I Love You (The Postman Song)” (1990)
  89. Bobbie Gentry “Ode to Billie Joe” (1967)
  90. Tony Orlando & Dawn “Knock Three Times” (1970)

  91. Dire Staits “Money for Nothing” (1985)
  92. The Supremes “Love Child” (1968)
  93. Bobby Lewis “Tossin’ and Turnin’” (1961)
  94. Rod Stewart “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” (1979)
  95. The Marvelettes “Please Mr. Postman” (1961)
  96. Lulu “To Sir with Love” (1967)
  97. Lawrence Welk & His Orchestra “Calcutta” (1961)
  98. The Kingston Trio “Tom Dooley” (1958)
  99. The Starland Vocal Band “Afternoon Delight” (1976)
  100. George Michael “Faith” (1987)
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