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
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Hank Thompson
Country - Erschienen bei Red Cab Records am 17.01.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Brief Anthology of Country Music - Vol. 21/23
Country - Erschienen bei ISIS am 15.09.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music Inspired by GTA V Rebel Radio
Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Hank Thompson
Country - Erschienen bei Vantage Music am 11.10.2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Greatest Songs, Vol. 1 (Re-Recorded In Stereo)
Country - Erschienen bei Curb Records am 28.03.1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Wild Side Of Life
Country - Erschienen bei Firefly Entertainment am 05.05.2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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North of the Rio Grande
Country - Erschienen bei Music Manager am 09.08.2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Wild Side of Life - 20 Greatest Hits & Favorites
Country - Erschienen bei Intermusic S.A. am 25.07.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Humpty Dumpty Heart
Country - Erschienen bei Intermusic S.A. am 26.10.2015
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The State Fair Of Texas
Country - Erschienen bei Capitol Nashville am 01.01.1963
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Just An Old Flame
Country - Erschienen bei Capitol Nashville am 01.01.1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Favorite Waltzes
Country - Erschienen bei Capitol Nashville am 01.01.1958
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Country Bumpkin
Country - Erschienen bei Vanilla OMP am 02.01.2013
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Hank Thompson And Friends
Country - Erschienen bei Curb Records am 02.09.1997
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The Very Best of
Country - Erschienen bei Burning Fire am 21.04.2009
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Favorites (Album of 1952)
Pop - Erschienen bei Country Classics am 30.11.2019
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Essential Hank Thompson
Country - Erschienen bei Carter Lane - OMiP am 11.11.2012
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Golden Hits By Hank Thompson
Jazz - Erschienen bei Black & Partner Licenses LLC am 07.05.2019
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Country Pioneers - Hank Thompson
Country - Erschienen bei Sleeping Giant Music am 12.10.2009
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