Back to Hall of Fame Members

Roy
Horton

One of eleven children, Roy Horton grew up in the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania, where he was born near Broad Top.

  • Inducted
    1982
  • Born
    November 5, 1914
  • Died
    September 23, 2003
  • Birthplace
    Near Broad Top, Pennsylvania

He and older brother Vaughn (George Vaughn Horton, born at Broad Top on June 6, 1911) turned from coal mining, their father’s occupation, to making music—first on radio in Pennsylvania and later in New York City, with club work all along the East Coast.

Roy played bass behind Red River Dave McEnery at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Roy also did a good many New York recording sessions for different artists, some of which were secured for him by Vaughn in his capacity as R&B-specialty producer for a number of New York companies (Continental, National, Majestic, MGM, London, and Varsity among others).

With three other men plus the Beaver Valley Sweethearts, or Trudy and Gloria Martin, the Hortons formed the band Pinetoppers, which popularized on Coral Records one of Vaughn’s biggest songwriting hits—“Mockin’ Bird Hill,” in 1951. Vaughn hit it big with his country songwriting: he wrote “Hillbilly Fever,” “’Til the End of the World,” “Address Unknown,” and “Sugarfoot Rag.” Roy’s talents, on the other hand, turned toward music publishing.

In the 1940s Roy began his long association with Peer-Southern Music, where he worked for more than forty years, promoting the classic repertoires of such artists as Jimmie Rodgers, the Carter Family, Floyd Tillman, Ted Daffan, Jimmie Davis, and Bill Monroe. Though based in New York, Roy served the Country Music Association (CMA) and Country Music Foundation (CMF) since their inceptions. To help raise funds for the original Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum building, he was instrumental in assembling a multi-artist album that was one of the first to be marketed on television; as CMA board chairman in March 1967, he participated in the ribbon-cutting for this facility. He was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1982.

Vaughn Horton died February 29, 1988; Roy Horton died September 23, 2003. – Ronnie Pugh

– Adapted from the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s Encyclopedia of Country Music, published by Oxford University Press.

 

We use cookies in the following ways: (1) for system administration, (2) to assess the performance of the website, (3) to personalize your experience, content and ads, (4) to provide social media features, and (5) to analyze our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Please consult instructions for your web browser to disable or block cookies, or to receive a warning before a cookie is stored on your computer or mobile device. Read our Privacy Policy.