The Greatest Oldies Music

Country

Johnny Horton left Austin’s Skyline Club on November 4, 1960, with a successful show behind him and a long drive back to Shreveport ahead. At thirty-five, he had become a major crossover star, bringing historical stories to radio through “The Battle of New Orleans,” “Sink the Bismarck,” and “North to Alaska.” His career showed every sign of staying busy. The stage he had just left already held a tragic distinction. Eight years earlier, Hank Williams had given his final public performance there before his death on New Year’s Day 1953. Shortly after 1:30 a.m., Horton’s Cadillac reached a railroad overpass near Milano, Texas. His manager, Tillman Franks, sat beside him, with guitarist Tommy Tomlinson in the back. An approaching pickup crossed the center line and struck their car. Franks and Tomlinson survived serious injuries. Horton died from his injuries while being taken toward a hospital in Cameron. For his wife, Billie Jean, the news meant enduring a loss she had already known. She had been married to Hank Williams when he died in 1953. Later that year, she married Horton, who became a father to her daughter, Jeri Lynn. Together they welcomed two more daughters, Melody and Yanina. Now, seven years after Hank’s death, she had lost another husband. The shared history extended beyond Billie Jean. Both men had finished their final public shows at the Skyline Club, then died suddenly away from the stage. What had been an ordinary stop on Horton’s schedule became inseparable from that earlier farewell. His funeral took place in Shreveport on November 8. Johnny Cash, among his closest friends, joined the mourners and read from the Gospel of John. Meanwhile, Horton’s voice remained on the radio. “North to Alaska” continued its rise on the charts, accompanying a John Wayne film he never lived to see released. His latest success was still unfolding as his family and friends buried him. Austin eventually lost the Skyline Club itself, but the building’s association with both singers endured. Eight years apart, Hank Williams and Johnny Horton had walked off the same stage expecting life to continue beyond the evening’s work. For each, it became the last show an audience would see.

JOHNNY HORTON LEFT THE SAME STAGE HANK WILLIAMS HAD LEFT EIGHT YEARS EARLIER

On November 4, 1960, Johnny Horton finished his set at the Skyline Club in Austin, Texas, packed his things and started the long drive home to Shreveport.

The room already carried a strange piece of  country history.

Eight years earlier, Hank Williams had played his final public show on that same stage.

A Career Still Moving Forward

Horton was only thirty-five.

By then, “The Battle of New Orleans,” “Sink the Bismarck” and “North to Alaska” had made him one of country music’s biggest crossover stars.

His specialty was unusual: turning historical stories into hit records.

Nothing about that night suggested his own story was about to end.

The Crash Near Milano

Shortly after 1:30 the next morning, Horton was driving his Cadillac across a railroad overpass near Milano, Texas.

Manager Tillman Franks sat beside him. Guitarist Tommy Tomlinson was in the back.

An oncoming pickup crossed the center line and struck their car.

Franks and Tomlinson survived with serious injuries.

Horton did not.

Billie Jean Loses Another Husband

The news carried another connection that country fans could hardly ignore.

Horton’s wife, Billie Jean, had previously been married to Hank Williams.

She became Hank’s widow in 1953, then married Horton later that same year.

Seven years later, she was widowed again.

Johnny had helped raise her daughter Jeri Lynn, and the couple had two daughters of their own, Melody and Yanina.

The Skyline Club Connection

The parallel became even heavier because of the stage both men had left behind.

Hank Williams had played his final public performance at the Skyline Club before dying on New Year’s Day 1953.

Johnny Horton had now done the same thing eight years later.

Neither man knew the show in Austin would be his last.

Johnny Cash Reads at the Funeral

Horton’s funeral was held in Shreveport on November 8.

Johnny Cash, one of his closest friends, stood among the mourners and read from the Gospel of John.

Meanwhile, Horton’s music kept moving without him.

“North to Alaska” continued climbing the charts, tied to the John Wayne film Horton would never live to see released.

What the Skyline Club Really Leaves Behind

The Skyline Club eventually disappeared from Austin.

Its place in country history did not.

Two singers, eight years apart, walked off the same stage and headed into the night.

Hank Williams never made it to his next show.

Johnny Horton never made it home.

The room became part of both stories without knowing it.

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