While Louisiana Hayride star Johnny Horton's 1956 Top 10 debut "Honky Tonk Man" strode the line between rockabilly and honky-tonk minimalism, he found his niche in 1959 with a short-lived phenomenon known as the saga song: newly penned tunes, based on or inspired by historical events. The song that rendered Horton immortal? A rousing rendition of folksinger Jimmie Driftwood's War of 1812 number "The Battle of New Orleans," which topped both the country and pop charts for weeks. Riding a winner, Horton kept the momentum going with the Civil War-themed "Johnny Reb," and "Sink the Bismarck," based on a World War II naval battle. He died in a Texas car crash in early November 1960, days before his next single, "North to Alaska" (from the John Wayne film of the same name), hit the charts. While saga tunes understandably dominate this collection, it also includes "Honky Tonk Man" and the ballads "Whispering Pines" and "The Mansion You Stole." There's no better introduction to Horton's seminal recordings. --Rich Kienzle