Question: What Texan was known as “The Singing Fisherman”?
Answer: John Gale “Johnny” Horton. Born in Los Angeles in 1925, he graduated from high school in the East Texas town of Gallatin and briefly played basketball at Baylor University. After graduating from Seattle University, he worked in the fishing industry in California and Alaska, during which time he took up songwriting. Upon his return to Texas, Horton won a talent contest sponsored by a Henderson radio station, and he moved to California in search of work in the recording industry.
Horton adopted the moniker “The Singing Fisherman” when he joined a group from Shreveport called Louisiana Hayride. Over the next few years, he toured with up-and-coming artists Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison and released several hits, including “Honky Tonk Man,” “When It’s Springtime in Alaska,” and “The Battle of New Orleans,” which remained at No. 1 on the country music charts for 10 weeks.
