Honkytonk - What Is It?
Another type of stripped down and raw music with a variety of moods and a
basic ensemble of guitar, bass, dobro or steel guitar (and later) drums
became popular, especially among poor white southerners. It became
known as honky tonk and had its roots in Texas. Bob Wills
and His Texas Playboys personified this music which has been described
as "a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, a little bit of
black and a little bit of white...just loud enough to keep you from
thinking too much and to go right on ordering the whiskey." East Texan Al Dexter had a hit with "Honky Tonk Blues," and seven years later "Pistol Packin' Mama". These "honky tonk" songs associated barrooms, were performed by the likes of Ernest Tubb, Ted Daffan, Floyd Tillman, and the Maddox Brothers and Rose, Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams,
would later be called "traditional" country. Williams' influence in
particular would prove to be enormous, inspiring many of the pioneers of
rock and roll, such as Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as Chuck Berry and Ike Turner, while providing a framework for emerging honky tonk talents like George Jones. Webb Pierce
was the top-charting country artist of the 1950s, with 13 of his
singles spending 113 weeks at number one. He charted 48 singles during
the decade; 31 reached the top ten and 26 reached the top four.