Johnny Bond
Encyclopedia
Cyrus Whitfield Bond known professionally as Johnny Bond, was a popular American country music
entertainer of the 1940s through the 1960s.
. He got his first break working for Jimmy Wakely
in the late 1930s and went on to join Gene Autry
's Melody Ranch in 1940. He also acted on occasion in films including Wilson
and Duel in the Sun; and was later a regular on the 1950s Los Angeles country music television series Town Hall Party
.
He is best known for his 1947 hit "Divorce Me C.O.D.
", one of his seven top ten hits on the Billboard
country charts
. In 1965 at age 50 he scored the biggest hit of his career with the comic "Ten Little Bottles", which spent four weeks at No. 2. Bond's other hits include "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed
" (1947), "Oklahoma Waltz" (1948), "Love Song in 32 Bars" (1950), "Sick Sober and Sorry" (1951) and "Hot Rod Lincoln
" (1960).
He died of a heart attack
in 1978, at the age of 63. Bond was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, and to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
.
His song "Stars of the Midnight Range" was later featured in the role-playing video game, Fallout: New Vegas
.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
entertainer of the 1940s through the 1960s.
Biography
Bond was born in Enville, OklahomaEnville, Oklahoma
Enville is a small rural community located in eastern Love County, Oklahoma. The Enville Post Office was established in the old Chickasaw Nation on June 16, 1904, and closed January 15, 1935...
. He got his first break working for Jimmy Wakely
Jimmy Wakely
James Clarence Wakeley , better known as Jimmy Wakely, was an American country-Western singer and actor, one of the last crooning cowpokes following World War II...
in the late 1930s and went on to join Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
's Melody Ranch in 1940. He also acted on occasion in films including Wilson
Wilson (film)
Wilson is a 1944 biographical film in Technicolor about President Woodrow Wilson. It stars Charles Coburn, Alexander Knox, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Thomas Mitchell and Sir Cedric Hardwicke.The movie was written by Lamar Trotti and directed by Henry King...
and Duel in the Sun; and was later a regular on the 1950s Los Angeles country music television series Town Hall Party
Town Hall Party
Town Hall Party was an American country music radio and television show broadcast over KXLA-AM, Pasadena, California, KFI-AM, Los Angeles, California, and KTTV-TV. The first radio broadcast was in the autumn of 1951.Promoter William B...
.
He is best known for his 1947 hit "Divorce Me C.O.D.
Divorce Me C.O.D.
"Divorce Me C.O.D." is a 1946 song by Merle Travis. The song was Merle Travis' first release to make it to number one on the Folk Juke Box charts where it stayed for fourteen weeks and a total of twenty-three weeks on the chart...
", one of his seven top ten hits on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country charts
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
. In 1965 at age 50 he scored the biggest hit of his career with the comic "Ten Little Bottles", which spent four weeks at No. 2. Bond's other hits include "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed
So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed
"So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" is a 1947 song by Merle Travis, written by Travis, Eddie Kirk, and Cliffie Stone. The song would be his second number one on the Folk Juke Box charts where it stayed at number one for 14 weeks and a total of 21 weeks on the chart...
" (1947), "Oklahoma Waltz" (1948), "Love Song in 32 Bars" (1950), "Sick Sober and Sorry" (1951) and "Hot Rod Lincoln
Hot Rod Lincoln
"Hot Rod Lincoln" was recorded in 1955, as an answer song to "Hot Rod Race", a 1951 hit for Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys. Hot Rod Race tells the story of a late-model Ford and Mercury who end up racing along the highway, neither driver gaining an advantage, and staying "neck and neck"...
" (1960).
He died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 1978, at the age of 63. Bond was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999, and to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that is uniquely associated with music community in the city of...
.
His song "Stars of the Midnight Range" was later featured in the role-playing video game, Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas
Fallout: New Vegas is a first person action role-playing video game in the Fallout series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is based in a post-apocalyptic environment in and around Las Vegas, Nevada...
.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||
| 1961 | That Wild, Wicked but Wonderful West | — | — | Starday |
| 1962 | Live It Up and Laugh It Up | — | — | |
| 1963 | Songs That Made Him Famous | — | — | |
| 1964 | Hot Rod Lincoln | — | — | |
| 1965 | Ten Little Bottles | 12 | 142 | |
| 1966 | Famous Hot Rodders I Have Known | — | — | |
| The Man Who Comes Around | — | — | ||
| Bottles Up | — | — | ||
| The Branded Stock of Johnny Bond | — | — | ||
| 1967 | Ten Nights in a Barroom | — | — | |
| Sick, Sober and Sorry | — | — | ||
| Drink Up and Go Home | — | — | ||
| 1968 | Three Sheets in the Wind | — | — | |
| 1969 | The Best of Johnny Bond | — | — | |
| 1970 | Something Old, New, Patriotic and Blue | — | — | |
| 1971 | Here Come the Elephants | — | — |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|||
| 1947 | "Divorce Me C.O.D. Divorce Me C.O.D. "Divorce Me C.O.D." is a 1946 song by Merle Travis. The song was Merle Travis' first release to make it to number one on the Folk Juke Box charts where it stayed for fourteen weeks and a total of twenty-three weeks on the chart... " |
4 | — | singles only |
| "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed "So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed" is a 1947 song by Merle Travis, written by Travis, Eddie Kirk, and Cliffie Stone. The song would be his second number one on the Folk Juke Box charts where it stayed at number one for 14 weeks and a total of 21 weeks on the chart... " |
3 | — | ||
| "The Daughter of Jole Blon" | 4 | — | ||
| 1948 | "Oklahoma Waltz" | 9 | — | |
| 1949 | "Till the End of the World" | 12 | — | |
| "Tennessee Saturday Night" | 11 | — | ||
| 1950 | "Love Song in 32 Beers" | 8 | — | |
| 1951 | "Sick, Sober and Sorry" | 7 | — | |
| 1960 | "Hot Rod Lincoln Hot Rod Lincoln "Hot Rod Lincoln" was recorded in 1955, as an answer song to "Hot Rod Race", a 1951 hit for Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys. Hot Rod Race tells the story of a late-model Ford and Mercury who end up racing along the highway, neither driver gaining an advantage, and staying "neck and neck"... " |
— | 26 | Hot Rod Lincoln |
| 1963 | "Three Sheets in the Wind" | 30 | — | |
| 1965 | "10 Little Bottles" | 2 | 43 | Ten Little Bottles |
| 1971 | "Here Come the Elephants" | 59 | — | Here Come the Elephants |