Johnnie and Jack
| Johnnie and Jack | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Country music |
| founding | 1938 |
| resolution | 1963 |
| Founding members | |
| Jack Anglin | |
| Johnnie Wright | |
Johnnie and Jack was one of the most successful American country duos of the 1940s and 1950s. Her style was influenced by traditional string bands , but also by boogie woogie and rhythm & blues .
Career
Beginnings
Johnnie Wright and Jack Anglin began playing together around 1938. With Wright's wife Muriel Deanson, who would later make a career as Kitty Wells , they formed a band. Her style was influenced by the brother duos Delmore Brothers and Monroe Brothers . Another member of the group was Anglin's brother Jim, who added a bass voice to the formation and later wrote a lot of the duo's song material. The band, now called The Tennessee Hillbillies , first became famous through appearances on local radio. However, at the beginning of World War II , Anglin was drafted into the army and the group broke up.
successes
After Anglin was discharged from the military, the Tennessee Hillbillies re-formed, this time with bassist Smilin 'Eddie Hill and young guitarist Chet Atkins . In 1947 Johnnie and Jack and their band were hired to replace Roy Acuff in the Grand Ole Opry on condition that their group be renamed Tennessee Mountain Boys . In addition, Johnnie's wife Kitty was not allowed on stage, as female musicians were not welcome in the Opry. The appearances in the Opry gave the duo, which was now much more in the limelight than the rest of their band, greater fame and by the end of the year they had made their first records. However, her early singles with the rhythm and blues label Apollo Records in New York City received little attention. After a brief interlude with Ray Atkins and Clyde Moore as King's Sacred Quartet on King Records , the duo signed a contract with RCA Victor in 1949 .
But even with RCA, success did not come at first. Johnnie and Jack moved from radio station to radio station to promote their singles and performed in the popular Louisiana Hayride , but none of these measures helped. Then, unexpectedly, in 1951, Poison Love was her first top ten placement. Above all, the bluegrass harmonies and rumba elements by studio bass player Ernie Newton made the title unmistakable. The song became groundbreaking for further country pieces in the next few years and together with the great success of Kitty Wells, the duo enjoyed great popularity with their tours. In the next few years the sound of their music changed with the entry of bass singer Culley Holt, former member of The Jordanaires , to a country style enriched with rhythm and blues. Other hits included Sincerely , (Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely , Kiss Crazy Baby or Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight , all of them R'n'B covers. Overall, the duo was in the country charts fifteen times. You were also still a member of the Opry and the Louisiana Hayrides, the two most successful radio shows at the time.
Towards the end of the 1950s their success waned and RCA pushed the band towards Nashville Sound with background choirs like the Anita Kerr Singers or the Jordanaires and professional session musicians. However, the hits did not materialize and so the contract was not renewed. Disappointed, Johnnie and Jack switched to Decca Records , which now released all singles under the name "Johnny & Jack". However, chart placements could no longer be achieved. As members of Kitty Wells' touring ensemble, however, the two remained in public.
When Patsy Cline , Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins' aircraft crashed in 1963 , both were deeply affected. Since all the musicians were good friends and also under contract with Decca, the duo wanted to be present at the funeral. Unfortunately, there was an accident on the way there and Jack Anglin died instantly. This marked the end of the duo's career, which was a fixture in the country scene until the mid-1950s. Wright died in 2011 at the age of 97.
Discography
Singles
| year | title | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apollo Records | |||
| 1947 | Jolé Blon / Sing Tom Kitty | as "Tennessee Mountain Boys" | |
| 1947 | Love In the First Degree / Too Many Blues | ||
| 1947 | This Is the End / Paper Boy | ||
| 1948 | Unloved - Unclaimed / That's Why I'm Cryin ' | ||
| RCA Victor | |||
| 1949 | You Tried to Ruin My Name / Ashes of Love | ||
| 194? | Let Your Conscience / Hummingbird | ||
| 1950 | You Tried Tt Ruin My Name / Ashes of Love | Republication of RCA 20-4035 | |
| 1950 | Lonesome / Poison Love | ||
| 1951 | Smile on My Lips / Can't Tell My Heart | ||
| 1951 | How Can I Believe / Cryin 'Heart Blues | ||
| 1951 | Smile on My Lips / Can't Tell My Heart That | Republication of RCA 21-4389 | |
| 1952 | When You Want / Three Way of Knowing | ||
| 1952 | Slow Poison / Heart Trouble | ||
| 1952 | Two Timing Blues /? | ||
| 1952 | Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes / The Only One I Ever Loved I Lost | ||
| 1952 | I'll Live With God / The Eastern Gate | ||
| 1953 | Hank Williams Will Lve Forever / Just for Tonight | ||
| 1953 | South in New Orleans / Winner of Your Heart | ||
| 1953 | Private propertery / Don't Say Goodbye If You Love | ||
| 1953 | From the Manger to the Cross / God Put a Rainbow in the Clouds | ||
| 1954 | Love Trap / Cheated Out for Love | ||
| 1954 | (Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely /? | ||
| 1954 | Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight / I Need You, Honey | as "Johnnie & Jack, the Tennessee Mountain Boys" | |
| 1954 | Kiss Crazy Baby / Beware of It | ||
| 1955 | Carry On / Sincerely | as "Johnnie & Jack, the Tennessee Mountain Boys" | |
| 1955 | We Live in Tweo / No One Dear But You | ||
| 1955 | So lovely baby / look out | ||
| 1955 | SOS / Weary Moments | as "Johnnie & Jack, the Tennessee Mountain Boys" | |
| 1956 | Feet of Clay / I Want to Be Loved | ||
| 1956 | You Can't Divorce My Heart / Baby It's in the Making | ||
| 1956 | Love Love Love / I Loved You Better Than You Know | ||
| 1957 | Banana Boat Song / Mister Clock | ||
| 1957 | Pleasure Not a Habbit in Mexico / All the Time | ||
| 1957 | That's Why I'm Leavin '/ Oh Boy, I Love Her | ||
| 1957 | Move It on Over / Love Fever | as "Johnnie & Jack, The Tennessee Mountain Boys" | |
| 1958 | Camel Walk Stroll / Stop the World | ||
| 1958 | I've Seen This Movie Before / Yeah | ||
| 1958 | Lonely Island Pearl / Leave Our Moon Alone | ||
| 1958 | Camel Walk Stroll / Stop the World | Republishing of RCA 47-7137 | |
| 1959 | I Wonder If You Know / What Do You Know About Heartaches | ||
| 1959 | Sailor Man / Wild and Wicked World | ||
| 1959 | Happy, Lucky Love / Sweetie Pie | ||
| 1960 | Just Like You / Dreams Come True | ||
| 1960 |
EP
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||
| Decca Records | |||
| 1961 | Uncle John's Bongos / Let My Heart Be Broken | as "Johnny & Jack" | |
| 1963 | Bye Bye Love / I Overlooked an Orchid | as "Johnny & Jack" | |
Albums
- 1957: The Tennessee Mountain Boys
- 1959: Hits by Johnnie and Jack
- 1962: Smiles and Tears
- 1963: Poison Love
- 1964: Sincerely
- 1970: All the Best
- 1992: Johnnie & Jack and the Tennessee Mountain Boys ( Bear Family )
- 1995: At KWKH (Bear Family; with Kitty Wells)
- 2002: For Old Time Sake (Bear Family)
Web links
- Entry in the All Music Guide
- Johnnie and Jack on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ (Oh Baby Mine) I Get So Lonely was Johnnie and Jack's only number one hit. Whitburn, Joel: The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Hits . 7th revised and expanded edition, New York City, New York: Billboard Books, 2005, p. 177
- ↑ Mellow's Log Cabin: Johnnie Wright RIP