From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Aug 8, 2002  1:17 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Webb Pierce
 
WEBB PIERCE (By Shaun Mather)

Born 8 August 1921, West Monroe, Louisiana
Died 24 February 1991, Nashville, Tennessee

When Webb Pierce was finally inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame
last year, it was deemed by many to be too little, too late. Despite being one
of the highest selling country artists of the '50s he has been criminally
overlooked by an establishment that hadn't forgotten how he'd pissed them
off over the years. As with Ernest Tubb, Pierce wasn't the possessor of a
beautiful voice, but they both knew how to adapt their skills to produce
some of the hottest catalogues in honky tonk history.

Country and cowboy music was a major influence in his childhood and by the
time he was 15 he was singing on local radio. Following a spell in service
during WWII he moved to Shreveport with his new wife Betty Jane Lewis. In
1949 they were both signed by 4 Star Records of California but their
partnership dissolved after their divorce a year later. His career really
kicked of when he joined the Louisiana Hayride which was broadcast over
radio station KWKH. His hotshot band included pianist Floyd Cramer,
guitarist/vocalist Faron Young, bassist Tillman Franks, and vocalists Teddy
and Doyle Wilburn. Pierce began recording for his own Pacemaker label and
with Hayride director, Tilman Franks set up the Ark-La-Tex publishing
company.

Webb Pierce was one of the most popular honky tonk vocalists of the '50s,
racking up more number one hits than similar artists like Hank Williams,
Eddy Arnold, Lefty Frizzell, and Ernest Tubb. For most of the general
public, Pierce - with his lavish, flamboyant Nudie suits - became the most
recognizable face of country music, as well as all of its excesses; after
all, he boasted about his pair of convertibles lined with silver dollars and
his guitar-shaped swimming pool. For all of his success, Pierce never
amassed the reputation of his contemporaries, even though he continued to
chart regularly well into the '70s. Webb's weakness for gaudy ornaments of
his wealth, as well as his reluctance to break away from hardcore honky tonk
meant that he had neither supporters in the industry, nor the ability to
sustain the ever-changing tastes of a popular audience. Nevertheless, he
remains one of the cornerstone figures of honky tonk, both for his success
and his artistic achievements.

In 1951, he signed with Decca Records and scored the first of a long line
of # 1 country hits with his second single for them, "Wondering" in 1952.
He headed for Nashville, where he met and married his second wife, Audrey
Greisham. He became a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the hits flowed.
By the mid-50s he'd reserved a place at number 1, enjoying trips there with
the likes of That Heart Belongs to Me, There Stands the Glass, Slowly, More
and More and In the Jailhouse Now (which topped the charts for 21 weeks).
He formed another music publishing company, Cedarwood Music with Opry
manager Jim Denny with whom he also invested in some radio stations. The
Opry bosses wanted them to forget their outside interests and this animosity
mixed with the knowledge that he could make more money touring, resulted in
Pierce quitting the Opry in 1955. He began appearing on the televised Ozark
Jubilee, returning to the Opry a year later, before leaving that for good the
following year.

Rock 'n' roll hit his sales in the later '50s but he continued to chart and
by 1957 he'd had a streak of 34 consecutive Top Ten hits. His honky tonk
music wasn't far from the strains of rockabilly and despite a few attempts
at the new "fad", with his gaudy western suits he was never likely to click
with a teenage crowd. The '60s and '70s were less successful and he began
to capture the public's interest more for his customised cars and guitar
shaped swimming pool.
His last hit came in 1982, a duet version of In the Jailhouse Now with
Willie Nelson. Just prior to his death he was up for nomination to the Hall
of Fame but didn't receive enough votes - the country establishment hadn't
forgotten his rejection of the Grand Ole Opry and the Nashville industry in
general. They'd forgotten what real country music was, but they hadn't
forgotten naughty ol' Webb.

Recommended listening:
King of the Honky-Tonk: From the Original Master Tapes - Country Music
Foundation.
Unavailable Sides (1950-51) - Krazy Kat.
Hayride Boogie (1950-51) - Krazy Kat.
The Wonderin' Boy (1951-58) - Bear Family 4CD.
Official website: http://www.webbpierce.net/