Bear Family
2008
High Geared Daddy - Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight
About This Album
Honky tonk represented the first truly modern push in country music, and its poster boy was, of course, the haunted and tragic Hank Williams, but it could easily be argued that Webb Pierce, with his Nudie suits and big cars, his 96 charting singles (13 reached the top spot on the charts), and his love/hate relationship with the Nashville music establishment, did even more to present an identifiable and long-term face for honky tonk and the modernization of country. Pierce was also a prescient and astute businessman, establishing his own record label, Pacemaker Records, as early as 1950, and also set up a prosperous publishing company, Cedarwood Publishing, and purchased several radio stations as well, creating what was essentially a one-man music conglomerate that still stands as a viable template for contemporary artists. He also bought most of the songs he is supposed to have written, was a constant and ardent opportunist, and in general pissed off a lot of people, which is no doubt why his considerable legacy doesn't always get the respect it deserves with the country music establishment. The heart of that legacy is presented here in this generous 32-track anthology that covers the years 1949 to 1959 and includes Pierce's key sides for the Fourstars, Pacemaker, and Decca imprints (Pierce would record with Decca all the way into the 1970s, but his most memorable work with the label arguably took place in the late 1950s).
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,16,18,21,22,26 and 32)

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