Hank Thompson (The Brazos Valley Boys)
October 21, 1989 marked a major milestone in Hank Thompson's career, when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His induction was paved by many years of performing songs that kept him in the Top-40 charts. Hank's chart run ended in 1982 with the accumulation of more than eighty singles.
Thompson is one of the select few country music stars who have managed to perform and record in five decades. Beginning in the late Forties, Hank and his Brazos Valley Boys began a run on Billboard and Cashbox popularity polls. From 1953 through 1966, they were voted the No. 1 Country and Western Dance Band.
Hank recorded his very first record, Whoa Sailor, with Globe in 1946. In 1947, Capitol Records added him to their roster and released the single Humpty Dumpty Heart, the following year. By 1952, Thompson was on the charts with The Wild Side of Life - the biggest hit in country music that year. He also set attendance records at the Texas State Fair that year. From the mid-'60's through the late-'70's, Hank and his band traveled to all 50 states, Canada, the Far East and Europe.
In a career spanning five decades and with record sales in excess of 30 million, Hank Thompson is truly a living legend in country music. Tex Ritter said in jest of the man he helped get started as an entertainer, "Hank Thompson took a six pack of beer and a book of Mother Goose and made a career of them."
When Hank accepted his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, he said: "If this was the Horizon award, it would mean I'd have all this exciting and rewarding stuff ahead of me. That isn't to say this is the end of the line. I intend to keep doing the music I love for a long time to come." As of 1999, he was still actively touring.
Thompson's music catalog is quiet extensive. Bear Family Records released a 12CD box set on Hank, entitled Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys. The set is all of his recordings from 1946 - 1964. Capitol Records issued Hank Thompson Collector Series (1989) and Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys(1996) with their Vintage Collections series. Varese Sarabande Records issued The Best of Hank Thompson 1966 - 1979. On the CD are such standards as On Tap, In the Can, Or In the Bottle, The Mark of a Heel and Smoky the Bar to name a few. In 1997, Hank released a CD of new material on the Curb label, entitled Hank Thompson and Friends. He is joined on the CD by Vince Gill, George Jones and Kitty Wells and others. Any of these selections will soothe your craving for Hank Thompson music.
Best of Hank Thompson 1966 - 1979 is currently available at
Career Highlights
Birth Place - Waco, Texas
Major record label - Capitol, Warner, Dot
First Top 10 - Humpty Dumpty Heart (1948)
Biggest Hit - Wild Side of Life (1952)
Chart Run - 1948 - 1983
30 Top-10 Hits
Major Awards/Achievements
Inducted Into the Country Music Hall of Fame (1989)
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Revised: 11/4/1999
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