1911-1988
Vaughn Horton
1911-1988
Vaughn Horton
Vaughn Horton was an American songwriter, bandleader, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. He is best known for his country and pop compositions Sugar-Foot Rag, Mockin' Bird Hill, and Choo Choo Ch'Boogie. He was born George Vaughn Horton on June 5, 1911, in Broad Top, Pennsylvania, he was one of 11 children to a coal miner in a small community in the Alleghany Mountains. Vaughn grew up playing the guitar, and his brother Roy Horton was a fiddler. They both got their start playing country music at roadhouses along the nearby Lincoln Highway. Vaughn attended Penn State University where he played in college bands. In 1935, he and his brother moved to New York City to pursue a career in the music industry. Vaughn began playing on country recording sessions by the early 1940s, backing artists like Jimmie Davis, Elton Britt, and Red River Dave McEnery. Horton also worked as a record producer and artist for R&B acts for several New York-based labels, including Continental, National, Majestic, MGM, and others. And Vaughn’s brother Roy Horton would go on to become an influential country music publishing executive, while Vaughn continued his songwriting.
Vaughn found his first big songwriting success in 1931 when Jimmie Rodgers rewrote his song "Mule Skinner Blues". The song became a country and bluegrass classic that has been performed by artists like Bill Monroe, Dolly Parton, and Bob Dylan. Horton continued with his songwriting throughout the 1930s and '40s, collaborating with country singer Denver Darling on "Address Unknown" and "Don't Hang Around Me Anymore." In 1945 he had an R&B hit "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie", performed by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five and in 1947 the Sons of the Pioneers recorded Horton's "Teardrops in My Heart". The song to #4 on the country charts and became a standard, it has been performed by many other artists including Theresa Brewer, Joe Barry, Rex Allen Jr., Marty Robbins, and more. Horton continued his success throughout the late 40s and early 50s, in 1948 he wrote English lyrics for Artur Beul's 1944 song "Nach em Räge schint Sunne" and named it "Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)". The song became a hit for The Andrews Sisters' and was also recorded by Vaughn Horton and His Polka Debs, the Sportsmen, the Marlin Sisters, and by Henri René.
VaughnHorton
In 1949 versions of Horton's "Till the End of the World" made the country charts for three different artists including Jimmy Wakely, Ernest Tubb, and Johnny Bond. Horton also collaborated with Hank Garland on the piece Sugar-Foot Rag, which sold over a million copies. In addition to writing for other recording artists, Vaughn also formed his own "hillbilly band" with his brother Roy named the Pine toppers signed to Coral Records. Vaughn was the leader and composer for the group and they sometimes backed other recording artists like Ray Smith, Bill Darnel, and Kenny Roberts. The Pine toppers released three albums including “As Introduced By the Pine toppers" (1950), "The Pine toppers" (1956), and "Square Dances (Without Calls)"and many singles between 1947 and 1956. The group earned three charting hits in 1951including Horton's Mockin' Bird Hill, "Metro Polka", and Cy Coben's "Lonely Little Robin"
Horton also wrote the work "Hillbilly Fever", which was a hit for Little Jimmie Dickens in 1950 and was successful for Ernest Tubb and Red Foley. Horton's last major hit was Mockin' Bird Hillin 1951; it was first recorded by Les Paul with Mary Ford, and then by Patti Page. After 1951 Horton continued to write and play but found less commercial success. He rewrote the lyrics of "Wabash Cannonball" to create "Big Wheel Cannonball", for Dick Todd in 1967, and in 1968 veteran country singer Elton Britt had a minor hit with Horton's "The Jimmie Rodgers Blues". In 1977 Donna Fargo revived “Mockin’ Bird Hill” and took it back to #9 on the country charts. The song even charted (#10) in England in a 1964 version by The Migil Five. Horton later claimed that the song, which he wrote on a train, was recorded more than 400 times and sold in excess of 20 million copies.
Vaughn Horton was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971. He continued to write songs that hit the country charts into the 1970s. Before retiring to Florida where he passed away on February 29, 1988, at the age of 76.
