Webb Pierce
| Webb Pierce | |
|---|---|
Webb Pierce, c. 1957
|
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael Webb Pierce |
| Born |
August 8, 1921 West Monroe, Louisiana, United States |
| Died | February 24, 1991 (aged 69) |
| Genres | country, honky tonk, Western Swing, Hillbilly |
| Occupation(s) | singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | guitar |
| Years active | 1952–1982 |
| Labels | 4 Star, Decca, MCA, Plantation |
Michael Webb Pierce (August 8, 1921 – February 24, 1991) was an American honky tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade.
His biggest hit was "In the Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one. Pierce also charted number one for several weeks each with his recordings of "Slowly" (1954), "Love, Love, Love" (1955), "I Don't Care" (1955), "There Stands the Glass" (1953), "More and More" (1954), "I Ain't Never" (1959), and his first number one "Wondering," which stayed at the top spot for four of its 27 weeks' charting in 1952.
For many, Pierce, with his flamboyant Nudie suits and twin silver dollar-lined convertibles, became the most recognizable face of country music of the era and its excesses. Pierce was a one-time member of the Grand Ole Opry and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. A tribute album in his honor (produced by singer/songwriter Gail Davies) was released in 2001 entitled Caught In The Webb - A Tribute To Country Legend Webb Pierce.
Born in West Monroe, Louisiana in 1921, as a boy Pierce was infatuated with Gene Autry films and his mother's hillbilly records, particularly those of Jimmie Rodgers and Western swing and Cajun groups. He began to play guitar before he was a teenager and at 15 was given his own weekly 15-minute show, Songs by Webb Pierce, on KMLB-AM in Monroe.
...
Wikipedia