Hank Thompson
Hank Thompson was perhaps the most popular Western swing musician of the '50s and '60s, keeping the style alive with a top-notch band, tremendous showmanship, and a versatility that allowed him to expand his repertoire into romantic ballads and hardcore honky tonk numbers. Born September 3, 1925, in Waco, TX, Henry William Thompson was the son of immigrants from Bohemia and grew up idolizing Western swing and country musicians like Bob Wills, Jimmie Rodgers, and Gene Autry. He began learning harmonica and guitar as a child, and appeared in local talent shows as a teenager, which eventually led to his own local radio program (billed as Hank the Hired Hand). After graduating from high school in 1943, Thompson joined the Navy as a radio technician and often wrote songs to entertain his fellow soldiers. Following his discharge, Thompson studied electrical engineering at Princeton through the G.I. Bill, but eventually decided to pursue music as a career. He returned to Waco and to the radio business, and set about putting together a band he dubbed the Brazos Valley Boys. They quickly became a popular live act around the area and recorded their first single, "Whoa Sailor" (a song Thompson had written in the Navy) for the Globe label in 1946. A few more singles followed for Bluebonnet, by which time Tex Ritter had become a Thompson admirer. Ritter helped Thompson land a record deal with Capitol in 1947, an association that would last for the next 18 years.
Thompson scored his first major hit for Capitol in 1949 with the smash "Humpty Dumpty Heart," the biggest of his six charting singles that year. In 1951, he hooked up with producer Ken Nelson, who would helm many of his most successful records. Those records included "The Wild Side of Life," a monster hit from 1952 (over three months at number one) that became Thompson's signature song. Its cynical attitude inspired an answer record by Kitty Wells called "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels," which made her the first female artist in country music history with a million-selling record. Thompson continued to score hit after hit during the '50s, including 21 songs that reached the Top 20 on the country charts and five Top Tens in the year 1954 alone. A savvy promoter, Thompson devised a number of ways to make himself stand out from the crowd (even past his suave cowboy wardrobe): his early-'50s television show in Oklahoma City was the first variety show broadcast in color and he was the first country artist to tour with a sound and lighting system (put together using his Navy and collegiate experience), the first to receive corporate sponsorship, and the first to record in high-fidelity stereo. He also gave early breaks to musicians like guitar legend Merle Travis and female rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson. Toward the end of the '50s, Thompson began to create LPs that were more cohesive than just mere collections of singles plus filler; 1958's Dance Ranch and 1959's Songs for Rounders were Western swing/honky tonk masterpieces, especially the latter, which stirred up controversy with its groundbreakingly adult (some said decadent) lyrical content. In 1961, Thompson recorded the first live album ever released in the history of country music, the classic At the Golden Nugget.
After that burst of inspired creativity, Thompson's luck began to change: the public's taste was moving toward slick country-pop and the electrified Bakersfield sound and despite several more fine records, Thompson's relationship with Capitol ended in 1965. He first moved to Warner Bros., then ABC/Dot in 1968 (which became part of MCA in 1970). Thompson continued to record and tour and his singles charted regularly during the '70s all the way up to 1983, though he never matched the level of success he'd enjoyed in the '50s and early '60s. Even after the hits dried up, Thompson maintained a demanding concert tour schedule, playing all over the world. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1989.
© Steve Huey /TiVo
-
Breakin' In Another Heart
Country - Lançado por Capitol Nashville em 1 de jan. de 1965
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pathway of My Life 1966 - 1986, Part 6 of 8
Country - Lançado por Bear Family Records GmbH em 13 de set. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Don't Hurt Anymore
Country - Lançado por Vogue Oldies em 23 de jun. de 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Breakin' The Rules
Country - Lançado por Capitol Nashville em 1 de jan. de 1966
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pathway of My Life 1966 - 1986, Pt. 5 of 8
Country - Lançado por Bear Family Records GmbH em 13 de set. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pathway of My Life 1966 - 1986, Pt. 4 of 8
Country - Lançado por Bear Family Records GmbH em 13 de set. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pathway of My Life 1966 - 1986, Part 7 of 8
Country - Lançado por Bear Family Records GmbH em 13 de set. de 2013
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hank Thompson's 25th Anniversary Album
Country - Lançado por Heart of Texas Records em 8 de mar. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
This Broken Heart Of Mine
Country - Lançado por Capitol Nashville em 1 de jan. de 1960
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hank!
Country - Lançado por Capitol Nashville em 1 de jan. de 1957
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ultimate Collection 1958-1961
Alternative & Indie - Lançado por Vintage Masters Inc. em 1 de nov. de 2012
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Oklahoma / Next Time I Fall in Love (I Won't)
Country - Lançado por Heart of Texas Records em 1 de abr. de 2020
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An Old Love Affair
Country - Lançado por Capitol Nashville em 7 de fev. de 2022
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kindly Keep It Country / Cab Driver
Country - Lançado por Heart of Texas Records em 21 de set. de 2021
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Songs, Vol. 2 (Re-Recorded In Stereo)
Country - Lançado por Curb Records em 28 de mar. de 1995
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hank Thompson
Country - Lançado por Red Cab Records em 17 de jan. de 2011
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Brief Anthology of Country Music - Vol. 21/23
Country - Lançado por ISIS em 15 de set. de 2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music Inspired by GTA V Rebel Radio
Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Hank Thompson
Country - Lançado por Vantage Music em 11 de out. de 2016
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
His Best (Rerecorded Version)
Country - Lançado por K-Tel em 31 de ago. de 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Country Comes To Carnegie Hall (Live At Carnegie Hall, New York / 1977)
Roy Clark, Freddy Fender, Hank Thompson, Don Williams
Country - Lançado por MCA Nashville em 1 de dez. de 1977
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Songs, Vol. 1 (Re-Recorded In Stereo)
Country - Lançado por Curb Records em 28 de mar. de 1995
Qualidade de CD de 16 bits 44.1 kHz - Stereo