Johnny Bond - Love Song In 32 Bars: The Johnny Bond Collection 1941-60 (2023)

Johnny Bond was a country singer, guitarist and songwriter, born in Oklahoma, who also appeared in more than 40 western movies during the later heyday of the genre in the 1940s and into the ‘50s, and during the ‘50s hosted a country music TV show with Tex Ritter. Based in Hollywood rather than Nashville, and with a style that encompassed elements of western swing and talking blues, as well as old-school “cowboy country”, as he recorded in earlier years with his Red River Valley Boys, who initially included Jimmy Wakely and Spade Cooley, he adapted his approach towards rockabilly in the late ‘50s, and had a notable pop hit with “Hot Rod Lincoln” in 1960. This 56-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A & B sides from his releases during this era on the Okeh, Conqueror, Columbia, 20th Century Fox and Republic labels, plus some Standard Transcription recordings. It features all his pop and country chart entries from these years, including the Top 10 country hits “Divorce Me C.O.D.”, “So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed”, “The Daughter Of Jole Blon”, “Oklahoma Waltz”, “Love Song In 32 Bars” and “Sick, Sober And Sorry”, plus his Top 30 pop hit “Hot Rod Lincoln”. He was a versatile and extrovert artist and this collection is an entertaining showcase for his particular brand of country.