Webb Pierce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Webb Pierce | |
|---|---|
 Webb Pierce, c. 1956
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Webb Michael Pierce |
| Born | August 8, 1921 West Monroe, Louisiana, USA |
| Died | February 24, 1991 (aged 69) |
| Genre(s) | country, honky tonk |
| Occupation(s) | singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | guitar |
| Voice type(s) | tenor |
| Years active | 1952-1982 |
| Label(s) | 4 Star, Decca, MCA, Plantation |
Webb Michael Pierce (August 8, 1921 - February 24, 1991) was one of the most popular American honky tonk vocalists of the 1950s, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. For many, Pierce, with his flamboyant Nudie suits and twin silver dollar-lined convertibles became the most recognizable face of country music of the era and its excesses.[1] His biggest hit, "There Stands The Glass," is considered an iconic country drinking song. Pierce was a one-time member of the Grand Ole Opry and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
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[edit] Biography
Born in West Monroe, Louisiana in 1921, as a boy Pierce was infatuated with Gene Autry films and his mother's hillbilly records, particularly those of Jimmie Rodgers and Western swing and Cajun groups.[2] He began to play guitar before he was a teenager and at 15 was given his own weekly 15-minute show, Songs by Webb Pierce, on KMLB-AM in Monroe.
He enlisted in the US Army, and in 1942 he married Betty Jane Lewis. After he was discharged, the couple moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where Pierce worked in the men's department of a Sears Roebuck store. In 1947, the couple appeared on KTBS-AM's morning show as "Webb Pierce with Betty Jane, the Singing Sweetheart." Pierce also performed at local engagements, developing his unique style that was once described to be "a wailing whiskey-voiced tenor that rang out every drop of emotion."
[edit] Rise to fame
In 1949, California-based 4 Star Records signed them under separate contracts, with his wife signed for duets with her husband under the name Betty Jane and Her Boyfriends.[3] However, success only came for Pierce, and in the summer of 1950, the couple divorced.
He moved to KWKH-AM and joined the Louisiana Hayride during its first year,[4] and devised a plan to achieve instant "stardom." Before the show, he bought tickets for several young girls in line and asked them to sit in the first row, and after each of his songs to scream and beg for more. It worked; their enthusiasm spread throughout the audience.[5]
Pierce assembled and performed with a band of local Shreveport musicians, including pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist-vocalist Faron Young, bassist Tillman Franks and vocalists Teddy and Doyle Wilburn. He also founded a record label, Pacemaker; and Ark-La-Tex Music, a publishing company, with Horace Logan, the director of the Hayride. On Pacemaker, Pierce made several records between 1950 and 1951 designed to attract radio play around Louisiana.[6]
[edit] Shreveport to Nashville
In 1951, Pierce got out of his 4 Star contract and was quickly signed by Decca Records. His second single, "Wondering," became his breakthrough hit, climbing to number one early in 1952. Pierce moved to Nashville, where he met and married his second wife, Audrey Greisham.[7] In June 1952, he had his second number one single with "That Heart Belongs to Me."
In September 1953, the Grand Ole Opry needed to fill the vacancy left by the firing of Hank Williams, and Pierce was invited to join the cast. After Williams' death, he became the most popular singer in country music; for the next four years, every single he released hit the Top Ten, with ten reaching number one, including "There Stands The Glass" (1953), "Slowly" (1954), "More And More" (1954), and "In the Jailhouse Now" (1955). His singles spent 113 weeks at number one during the 1950s, when he charted 48 singles. Thirty-nine reached the Top Ten, 26 reached the top four and 13 hit number one.
Other hits included "Backstreet Affair," "Why, Baby, Why," "Oh, So Many Years," and "Finally"; the latter two being duets with Kitty Wells. His 1954 recording of "Slowly" was one of the first country songs to include a pedal steel guitar[8]. He made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee including as a guest host once a month during 1956. In 1958, he recorded a rockabilly record, "The New Raunchy"/"I'll Get By Somehow" for Decca under the name Shady Wall.
Pierce continued charting until 1982 with a total of 96 hits; and he toured extensively and appeared in the movies Buffalo Guns, Music City USA, Second Fiddle To A Steel Guitar, and Road To Nashville.
[edit] Lavish lifestyle and later years
As his music faded from the spotlight, Pierce became known for his excessive lifestyle. He had Hollywood tailor Nudie Cohen, who had made flamboyant suits for Pierce, line two convertibles with silver dollars. He built a $30,000 guitar-shaped swimming pool at his Nashville home which became a popular paid tourist attraction -- nearly 3,000 people visited it each week -- causing his neighbors, led by Ray Stevens, to file suit and prevail against Pierce to end the tours.[9]
He remained with Decca and its successor, MCA, well into the 1970s, but by 1977 he was recording for Plantation Records. Even though he had occasional minor hits, charting in a 1982 duet with Willie Nelson, a remake of "In The Jailhouse Now," he spent his final years tending to his businesses, and his legend became clouded due to his reputation as a hard drinker.[10]
Pierce waged a long battle with pancreatic cancer, which he lost on February 24, 1991, and was buried in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
[edit] Legacy
Pierce has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1600 Vine Street; and in 2001, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2008 he was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
His "There Stands The Glass" was featured in the 2005 documentary No Direction Home by Martin Scorsese about early influences on Bob Dylan. Pierce's song "More And More" was played in the title credits of 2006 horror film, The Hills Have Eyes.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Webb Pierce | Decca | |
| 1956 | That Wondering Boy | ||
| 1957 | Just Imagination | ||
| 1959 | Bound for the Kingdom | ||
| Webb! | |||
| 1960 | Webb with a Beat | ||
| Walking the Streets | |||
| 1961 | Webb Pierce's Golden Favorites | ||
| Fellen Angel | |||
| 1962 | Hideaway Heart | ||
| 1963 | Cross Country | 20 | |
| I've Got a New Heartache | |||
| Bow Thy Head | |||
| 1964 | The Webb Pierce Story | 13 | |
| Sands of Gold | |||
| 1965 | Memory #1 | 6 | |
| Country Music Time | |||
| 1966 | Sweet Memories | ||
| Webb's Choice | 29 | ||
| 1967 | Where'd Ya Stay Last Night | 43 | |
| 1968 | Fool Fool Fool | ||
| Saturday Night | |||
| 1969 | Webb Pierce Sings This Thing | 32 | |
| 1970 | Love Ain't Never Gonna Be No Better | 42 | |
| Merry Go Round World | |||
| 1971 | Road Show | ||
| 1972 | I'm Gonna Be a Swinger | ||
| 1979 | Faith, Hope and Love | Skylite | |
| 1982 | In the Jailhouse Now (w/ Willie Nelson) | Columbia |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | ||
| 1952 | "Wondering" | 1 | |
| "That Heart Belongs to Me" | 1 | ||
| "Back Street Affair" | 1 | ||
| 1953 | "I'll Go on Alone" | 4 | |
| "That's Me Without You" | 4 | ||
| "The Last Waltz" | 4 | ||
| "I Haven't Got the Heart" | 5 | ||
| "It's Been So Long" | 1 | ||
| "Don't Throw Your Life Away" | 9 | ||
| "There Stands the Glass" | 1 | ||
| "I'm Walking the Dog" | 3 | ||
| 1954 | "Slowly" | 1 | |
| "Even Tho" | 1 | ||
| "Sparkling Brown Eyes" (w/ The Wilburn Brothers) | 4 | ||
| "More and More" | 1 | ||
| "You're Not Mine Anymore" | 4 | ||
| 1955 | "In the Jailhouse Now" | 1 | |
| "I'm Gonna Fall Out of Love with You" | 10 | ||
| "I Don't Care" | 1 | ||
| "Your Good for Nothing Heart" | flip | ||
| "Love, Love, Love" | 1 | ||
| "If You Were Me" | 7 | ||
| 1956 | "Why Baby Why" (w/ Red Sovine) | 1 | |
| "Yes I Know Why" | 2 | ||
| "'Cause I Love You" | 3 | ||
| "Little Rosa" (w/ Red Sovine) | 5 | ||
| "Any Old Time" | 7 | ||
| "We'll Find a Way" | flip | ||
| "Teenage Boogie" | 10 | ||
| "I'm Really Glad You Hurt Me" | flip | ||
| 1957 | "I'm Tired" | 3 | |
| "It's My Way" | flip | ||
| "Honky Tonk Song" | 1 | ||
| "Oh' So Many Years" (w/ Kitty Wells) | 8 | ||
| "Someday" | 12 | ||
| "Bye Bye Love" | 7 | 73 | |
| "Missing You" | 7 | ||
| "Holiday for Love" | 3 | ||
| "Don't Do It Darlin'" | 12 | ||
| 1958 | "One Week Later" (w/ Kitty Wells) | 12 | |
| "Cryin' Over You" | 3 | ||
| "You'll Come Back" | 10 | ||
| "Falling Back to You" | 10 | ||
| "Tupelo County Jail" | 7 | ||
| 1959 | "I'm Letting You Go" | 22 | |
| "A Thousand Miles Ago" | 6 | ||
| "I Ain't Never" | 2 | 24 | |
| 1960 | "No Love Have I" | 4 | 54 |
| "(Doin' the) Lover's Leap" | 17 | 69 | |
| "Is It Wrong (For Loving You)" | 11 | 93 | |
| "Drifting Texas Sand" | 11 | 108 | |
| "Fallen Angel" | 4 | 99 | |
| 1961 | "Let Forgiveness In" | 5 | |
| "Sweet Lips" | 3 | ||
| "Walking the Streets" | 5 | ||
| "How Do You Talk to a Baby" | 7 | ||
| 1962 | "Alla My Love" | 5 | |
| "Crazy Wild Desire" | 8 | ||
| "Take Time" | 7 | ||
| "Cow Town" | 5 | ||
| "Sooner or Later" | 19 | ||
| 1963 | "How Come Your Dog Don't Bite Nobody But Me" (w/ Mel Tillis) | 25 | |
| "Sawmill" | 15 | ||
| "If I Could Come Back" | 21 | ||
| "Sands of Gold" | 7 | 118 | |
| "If the Back Door Could Talk" | 13 | ||
| "Those Wonderful Years" | 9 | ||
| 1964 | "Waiting a Lifeitme" | 25 | |
| "Memory #1" | 2 | ||
| "Finally" (w/ Kitty Wells) | 9 | ||
| 1965 | "That's Where My Money Goes" | 26 | |
| "Broken Engagement" | 46 | ||
| "Loving You Then Losing You" | 22 | ||
| "Who Do I Think I Am" | 13 | ||
| "Hobo and the Rose" | 50 | ||
| 1966 | "You Ain't No Better Than Me" | 46 | |
| "Love's Something (I Can't Understand)" | 25 | ||
| "Where'd Ya Stay Last Night" | 14 | ||
| 1967 | "Goodbye City, Goodbye Girl" | 39 | |
| "Fool Fool Fool" | 6 | ||
| 1968 | "Luzianna" | 24 | |
| "Stranger in a Strange, Strange City" | 26 | ||
| "In Another World" | 74 | ||
| "Saturday Night" | 22 | ||
| 1969 | "If I Had Last Night to Live Over" | 32 | |
| "This Thing" | 14 | ||
| "Love Ain't Gonna Be No Better" | 38 | ||
| 1970 | "Merry-Go-Round World" | 71 | |
| "The Man You Want Me to Be" | 56 | ||
| 1971 | "Showing His Dollar" | 73 | |
| "Tell Him That You Love Him" | 31 | ||
| "Someone Stepped In (And Stole Me Blind)" | 73 | ||
| 1972 | "I'm Gonna Be a Swinger" | 54 | |
| 1975 | "The Good Lord Giveth (And Uncle Sam Taketh Away)" | 57 | |
| 1976 | "I've Got Leaving on My Mind" | 82 | |
| 1982 | "In the Jailhouse Now" (w/ Willie Nelson) | 72 | |
[edit] Guest singles
| Year | Single | Artist | US Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "One Big Family" | Heart of Nashville | 61 |
[edit] Notes
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Webb Pierce Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqwgldje~T1. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Webb Pierce Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqwgldje~T1. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Webb Pierce Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqwgldje~T1. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- ^ Penman, Eric W.. "Webb Pierce, Pillar of Honkytonk". http://hammer.prohosting.com/~coollz/webb.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
- ^ Lester, George (2007-07-14). "The Utopian Life". allmusic.com. http://www.texasescapes.com/GeorgeLester/Utopian-Life.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Webb Pierce Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqwgldje~T1. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Webb Pierce Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqwgldje~T1. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- ^ Penman, Eric W.. "Webb Pierce, Pillar of Honkytonk". http://hammer.prohosting.com/~coollz/webb.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Webb Pierce Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqwgldje~T1. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- ^ Penman, Eric W.. "Webb Pierce, Pillar of Honkytonk". http://hammer.prohosting.com/~coollz/webb.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
[edit] References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Webb Pierce Biography". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fuxqwgldje~T1. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- Lester, George (2007-07-14). "The Utopian Life". allmusic.com. http://www.texasescapes.com/GeorgeLester/Utopian-Life.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-16.
- Penman, Eric W.. "Webb Pierce, Pillar of Honkytonk". http://hammer.prohosting.com/~coollz/webb.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
[edit] External links
- Webb Pierce at the Country Music Hall of Fame
- Webb Pierce at the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
- Webb Pierce biography at musicianguide.com
- Webb Pierce biography at The 9513.com
- Webb Pierce's Grammer guitar in the National Music Museum
- Video of Webb Pierce's Pontiac Bonneville at the Country Music Hall of Fame
- Webb Pierce at Find a Grave
