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On this day, September 3, 1925, Hank Thompson was born.
Hank Thompson (musician)
Hank Thompson in 1966.
Background information
Birth name: Henry William Thompson
Born: September 3, 1925; Waco, Texas, U.S.
Died: November 6, 2007 (aged 82); Keller, Texas, U.S.
Genres: Country, western swing
Occupation(s): Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s): Vocals, Guitar
Years active: 1946–2007
Website: www.hankthompson.com
Henry William Thompson (September 3, 1925 – November 6, 2007) was an American country music singer-songwriter and musician whose career spanned seven decades.
Thompson's musical style, characterized as honky-tonk Western swing, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar, and steel guitar that featured his distinctive, smooth baritone vocals.
His backing band, The Brazos Valley Boys, was voted the top Country Western Band for 14 years in a row by Billboard. Thompson pursued a "light" version of the Western swing sound that Bob Wills and others played; the primary difference between his music and that of Bob Wills was that Thompson, who used the swing beat and instrumentation to enhance his vocals, discouraged the intense instrumental soloing from his musicians that Wills encouraged; however, the "Hank Thompson sound" exceeded Bob Wills in top-40 country hits.
Although not as prominent on the top country charts in later decades, Thompson remained a recording artist and concert draw well into his 80s.
The 2013 game Grand Theft Auto V featured his song "It Don't Hurt Anymore" in the fictional radio show, Rebel Radio.
The 1987 novel Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb was inspired by Thompson's life, specifically by his practice of picking up a local band to back him when he toured. In 2009, Cobb's novel was turned into a successful film directed by Scott Cooper and starring Jeff Bridges in an Academy Award-winning performance.
{snip}
Biography
Born in Waco, Texas, United States, Thompson was interested in music from an early age, and won several amateur harmonica contests. He decided to pursue his musical talent after serving in the United States Navy in World War II as a radioman and studying electrical engineering at Princeton University before his discharge. {emphasis mine} He had intended to continue those studies on the GI Bill following his 1946 discharge, and return to Waco. Later that year, after having regional hits with his first single "Whoa Sailor" for Globe Records, Dallas (Globe 124) and almost simultaneously "California Women" for another Dallas label (Blue Bonnet 123), he chose to pursue a full-time musical career.
1952 brought his first number-one single, "The Wild Side of Life", which contained the memorable line, "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels". (This line inspired songwriter J. D. "Jay" Miller to write the 1952 answer song "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which became the first hit single for pioneer female country vocalist Kitty Wells.) Other hits for Thompson followed in quick succession in the 1950s and 1960s.
Thompson began singing in a plaintive honky-tonk style similar to that of Ernest Tubb, but, desiring to secure more engagements in the dance halls of the Southwest, he reconfigured his band, the Brazos Valley Boys, to play a "light" version of the Western swing sound that Bob Wills and others made famous, emphasizing the dance beat and meticulous arrangements.
{snip}
Hank Thompson in 1966.
Background information
Birth name: Henry William Thompson
Born: September 3, 1925; Waco, Texas, U.S.
Died: November 6, 2007 (aged 82); Keller, Texas, U.S.
Genres: Country, western swing
Occupation(s): Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s): Vocals, Guitar
Years active: 1946–2007
Website: www.hankthompson.com
Henry William Thompson (September 3, 1925 – November 6, 2007) was an American country music singer-songwriter and musician whose career spanned seven decades.
Thompson's musical style, characterized as honky-tonk Western swing, was a mixture of fiddles, electric guitar, and steel guitar that featured his distinctive, smooth baritone vocals.
His backing band, The Brazos Valley Boys, was voted the top Country Western Band for 14 years in a row by Billboard. Thompson pursued a "light" version of the Western swing sound that Bob Wills and others played; the primary difference between his music and that of Bob Wills was that Thompson, who used the swing beat and instrumentation to enhance his vocals, discouraged the intense instrumental soloing from his musicians that Wills encouraged; however, the "Hank Thompson sound" exceeded Bob Wills in top-40 country hits.
Although not as prominent on the top country charts in later decades, Thompson remained a recording artist and concert draw well into his 80s.
The 2013 game Grand Theft Auto V featured his song "It Don't Hurt Anymore" in the fictional radio show, Rebel Radio.
The 1987 novel Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb was inspired by Thompson's life, specifically by his practice of picking up a local band to back him when he toured. In 2009, Cobb's novel was turned into a successful film directed by Scott Cooper and starring Jeff Bridges in an Academy Award-winning performance.
{snip}
Biography
Born in Waco, Texas, United States, Thompson was interested in music from an early age, and won several amateur harmonica contests. He decided to pursue his musical talent after serving in the United States Navy in World War II as a radioman and studying electrical engineering at Princeton University before his discharge. {emphasis mine} He had intended to continue those studies on the GI Bill following his 1946 discharge, and return to Waco. Later that year, after having regional hits with his first single "Whoa Sailor" for Globe Records, Dallas (Globe 124) and almost simultaneously "California Women" for another Dallas label (Blue Bonnet 123), he chose to pursue a full-time musical career.
1952 brought his first number-one single, "The Wild Side of Life", which contained the memorable line, "I didn't know God made honky-tonk angels". (This line inspired songwriter J. D. "Jay" Miller to write the 1952 answer song "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", which became the first hit single for pioneer female country vocalist Kitty Wells.) Other hits for Thompson followed in quick succession in the 1950s and 1960s.
Thompson began singing in a plaintive honky-tonk style similar to that of Ernest Tubb, but, desiring to secure more engagements in the dance halls of the Southwest, he reconfigured his band, the Brazos Valley Boys, to play a "light" version of the Western swing sound that Bob Wills and others made famous, emphasizing the dance beat and meticulous arrangements.
{snip}
Hank Thompson - The Wild Side Of Life (1951) & Answer Song.
634,461 views Jan 7, 2016 (Written by Arlie Carter & William Warren ...From A Traditional Tune "Thrills That I Can't Forget" by Welby Toomey and Edgar Boaz in 1925 and "I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes" by the Carters in 1929 and "Great Speckled Bird" in 1936).
1st. Recorded Circa February 1951 by Jimmy Heap and His Melody Makers (not a hit)
CHARTED 1952 #1 for FIFTEEN Weeks
Recorded 11 December 1951 [no. 2401, 18:00-21:00] Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA - Hank Thompson [vcl/gt], Billy Gray [gt/leader], Curly Chalker [steel gt], Billy Briggs Stewart [bass], William Wayne Foster [drums], Joe Herman "Big Red" Hayes [fiddle], Kenneth Allen, "Little Red" Hayes [fiddle], Gilbert "Gil" Baca [piano]. Producer: Dee Kilpatrick.
{snip}
634,461 views Jan 7, 2016 (Written by Arlie Carter & William Warren ...From A Traditional Tune "Thrills That I Can't Forget" by Welby Toomey and Edgar Boaz in 1925 and "I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes" by the Carters in 1929 and "Great Speckled Bird" in 1936).
1st. Recorded Circa February 1951 by Jimmy Heap and His Melody Makers (not a hit)
CHARTED 1952 #1 for FIFTEEN Weeks
Recorded 11 December 1951 [no. 2401, 18:00-21:00] Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA - Hank Thompson [vcl/gt], Billy Gray [gt/leader], Curly Chalker [steel gt], Billy Briggs Stewart [bass], William Wayne Foster [drums], Joe Herman "Big Red" Hayes [fiddle], Kenneth Allen, "Little Red" Hayes [fiddle], Gilbert "Gil" Baca [piano]. Producer: Dee Kilpatrick.
{snip}
Hank Thompson - The Wild Side of Life
802,115 views Sep 9, 2010 -The Wild Side of Life-
Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at No. 1 Billboard country charts, solidified Thompson's status as a country music superstar and inspired the answer song, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells.
802,115 views Sep 9, 2010 -The Wild Side of Life-
Originally released in 1952, the song became one of the most popular recordings in the genre's history, spending 15 weeks at No. 1 Billboard country charts, solidified Thompson's status as a country music superstar and inspired the answer song, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" by Kitty Wells.