HORTON, JOHNNY
(1925–1960)
HORTON, JOHNNY (b. J. LaGale H., East Los Angeles, Calif., April 30, 1925–November 5, 1960) Horton was a mid-1950s HONKY-TONKER who single-handedly launched the early-1960s craze for pseudo ballads with his hit recording of JIMMY DRIFTWOOD's Battle of New Orleans. Horton was born while his family was residing in southern California, but the family regularly moved between rural Texas, where his father had a small farm, and California. Johnny eventually finished high school and made a few stabs…