Roy Horton (November 5, 1914 – September 23, 2003) was an American music executive known for over forty year role with Peer-Southern Music. Though based in New York City, Horton was a founding member of both the

Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...

(CMA) and the

Country Music Foundation The Country Music Foundation (CMF) chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and education surrounding country music. The CMF currently employs more than 70 full-time professionals and i ...

. It was while he was CMA chairman in March 1967, Horton participated in the opening of the first

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as ...

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. Horton was himself inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1982.

Early life

One of eleven children born near

Broad Top City, Pennsylvania Broad Top City is a borough in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 371 at the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 452 tabulated in 2010. Geography Broad Top City is located in southwestern Huntingdon County ...

, Horton and his older brother Vaughn (1911–1988) turned away from coal mining, their father's occupation, to that of music.Pugh, Ronnie (1998). "Roy Horton". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 248.Country Music Hall of Fame profile of Roy Horton.
– accessed September 20, 2020.Wadey, Paul

''The Independent'' (London, United Kingdom). November 4, 2003. Accessed September 20, 2020. The brothers started work on radio in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and then later in New York City, followed by night club work along the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

Musical performer

At the

1939 World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities ...

in New York, Roy played

upright bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

behind

Red River Dave McEnery Red River Dave McEnery (born David Largus McEnery) (December 15, 1914 – January 15, 2002) was an American artist, musician, and writer of topical songs. His two best-known are "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight" (a memorial tribute to the recently ...

. Also in New York, Horton participated in numerous recording session secured by his brother Vaughn in

Rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

music for companies such as

Continental Continental may refer to: Places * Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US * Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US Arts and entertainment * ''Continental'' (album), an album by Saint Etienne * Continen ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Majestic,

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, and Varsity among others. While performing in New York, Roy and Vaughn formed the Pinetoppers with two other men to perform "hillbilly" music (as

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

was known in the late 1930s and early 1940s) before adding sisters Trudy and Gloria Martin to form the Beaver Valley Sweethearts. Their biggest hit in 1951 was "

Mockin' Bird Hill "Mockin' Bird Hill" is a song written in 3/4 time by Calle Jularbo, with lyrics by George Vaughn Horton. It is perhaps best known through recordings by Patti Page, Horton's own Pinetoppers, and the duo of Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1951, or by ...

", a song where Vaughn provided the lyrics.

Music publishing

During the 1940s, Horton began a long association with Peer-Southern Music where he would work for over forty years. Among the artists that Horton helped promote were

Jimmie Rodgers James Charles Rodgers ( – ) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who rose to popularity in the late 1920s. Widely regarded as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Country Music", he is best known for his di ...

(though he had died in 1933), the

Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...

Floyd Tillman Floyd Tillman (December 8, 1914 – August 22, 2003) was an American country musician who, in the 1930s and 1940s, helped create the Western swing and honky tonk genres. Tillman was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 a ...

Ted Daffan Theron Eugene "Ted" Daffan (September 21, 1912 – October 6, 1996) was an American country musician noted for composing the seminal "Truck Driver's Blues" and two much−covered country anthems of unrequited love, " Born to Lose" and "I'm a ...

Jimmie Davis James Houston Davis (September 11, 1899 – November 5, 2000) was an American singer, songwriter, and Democratic Party politician. After achieving fame for releasing both sacred and popular songs, Davis served as governor of Louisiana from ...

, and

Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre takes its n ...

. Meanwhile, Roy's brother Vaughn would become a country music songwriter, writing such hits as "Hillbilly Fever", "Til the End of the World", "

Sugar-Foot Rag "Sugar-Foot Rag" (or Sugarfoot Rag) is a song written by Hank Garland and Vaughn Horton (given on Red Foley's record label as George Vaughn; both were aliases for songwriter George Vaughn Horton). It was originally recorded by Garland on , and rel ...

", and a rewritten version of Rodgers' "

Mule Skinner Blues "Blue Yodel no. 8, Mule Skinner Blues" (a.k.a. "Muleskinner Blues", and "Muleskinner's Blues") is a classic country song written by Jimmie Rodgers. The song was first recorded by Rodgers in 1930 and has been recorded by many artists since then, a ...

" (Vaughn would be inducted into the

Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that i ...

in 1971.).

Involvement with the CMA

In 1958, Horton would be a founding member of both the CMA and the Country Music Foundation despite being in New York. To help raise funds for the first Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Horton created a multi-artist

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

that was among the first to be marketed on television. The first museum was completed in 1967 with Horton participating in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Museum in March of that year (The first museum stayed open on Music Row in Nashville until December 2000, being replaced by the current museum in downtown Nashville in May 2001.)

Peer-Southern Music album

By the 1990s, a dream Horton had about a compilation album of some of the material from the Peer song catalog came to fruition with the help of

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

. Recorded between 1996 and 1999 both in California and in Nashville, Horton worked with Haggard in selecting the twelve best songs from the catalog.Johnson, Zac
''The Peer Sessions'' by Merle Haggard.
– AllMusic.com review. Accessed September 20, 2020. One song, "Hang on to the Memories", was recorded with Davis. The album named '' The Peer Sessions'' was released in 2002.

Personal life

Horton married his wife Lili in 1940 and remained so until Roy's 2003 death.Naujeck, Jeanne A
"Pioneer country music Roy Horton dies.
– ''Steel Guitar Forum'' (Hendersonville, TN). September 26, 2003. – accessed September 20, 2020. They had one daughter, one son, and two grandchildren. Horton died on September 23, 2003, in

Manchester, Connecticut Manchester is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 59,713 ...

, to several health issues, including

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

that was further complicated by a stroke suffered in 2001. He was buried in Broad Top City, Pennsylvania.

Legacy

In 1982, Horton would be inducted into the Country Music of Fame. Joining Horton that year were

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country and honky-tonk singer-songwriter. Frizell is known as one of the most influential country music vocal stylists of all time. He has been cited as in ...

and

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

.Country Music Hall of Fame profile of Marty Robbins.
– accessed September 20, 2020.

References

External links

Country Music Hall of Fame profile of Horton.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horton, Roy 1914 births 2003 deaths American music industry executives Country Music Hall of Fame inductees People from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Pennsylvania People from Manchester, Connecticut Businesspeople from Connecticut People from the New York metropolitan area Businesspeople from New York City Musicians from New York City Country musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American businesspeople