The Singing Fisherman - The Complete Johnny Horton Recordings (9-CD Deluxe Box Set)

Horton, Johnny

9-CD boxed set (LP-size) with two 288-page hardbound books, 296 tracks. Total playing time approx. 688 minutes
• Every Johnny Horton recording. Every issued recording on every label! Every unissued recording! Every alternate take! Every known demo! All the overdub sessions! Several rare radio interviews! And more!
• In all, 9 CDs!
• Includes Johnny Horton's first record. Only one copy is known to exist!
• Includes two 288-page hardcover books! One is an exhaustive biography by Colin Escott with a complete discography and hundreds of photos, many previously unpublished. The other is a book about Johnny Horton, handwritten by his mother in the months after his death, never seen before until now!
• All completely remastered for unbelievably clear, vibrant sound.

This Is It!

In 1981, we at Bear Family issued our first Johnny Horton LP. It set us upon a journey that ends here with the absolutely guaranteed definitive Johnny Horton set. This is the set that an artist of Johnny Horton's stature deserves, and a set that was unimaginable in 1981. Some know Johnny Horton for his rockabilly records like Honky Tonk Man, One Woman Man, Honky Tonk Hardwood Floor, Wild One, etc. Some know him for his saga songs like North To Alaska and of course Battle Of New Orleans. They're all here, of course, but there's so much more.
All of Johnny Horton's early recordings are here, including his first single from 1950 … a single so rare that only one copy is known to exist. We didn't even know about it until a couple of years back. Then there are the Cormac, Abbott, Mercury, SESAC, and Columbia recordings, all restored to pristine sound quality. The Abbott overdubs have been included as well as all of Johnny Horton's known demo recordings. Johnny Horton was a songwriter for American Music, and we've gathered all the songwriting demos for American with many others that have recently come to light.
Then there are the books: two 288-page hardcover books. The first is a biography by Colin Escott that represents a considerable update of the 1990 book that accompanied our first Johnny Horton boxes. Hundreds of new photos have come to light, too, and we've included those. The second book is an incredible rarity. In the months after Johnny Horton's tragic death, his mother wrote a memoir of him in longhand. It's not a sophisticated work, but it's touching and full of so much details that we never knew. In his mother's words, Johnny Horton lives again for us.
That's why we say, This Is It!