He was raised on a farm in Newell, North Carolina, currently a subdivision of Charlotte. He started practicing with the violin at the age of six, but injured two fingers on his left hand when he was bitten by a pig. He then learned to use his right hand to play the violin, and continued to do so until his death.
As a freshman at Duke University, Long joined with ten other freshmen to create a school band named The Duke Collegians. During their sophomore year, they were adopted as the official school band. The band stayed together throughout their school years and, upon graduation, renamed themselves The Johnny Long Orchestra, with Long as the bandleader. For a number of years they toured the country and were eventually signed on to Vocalion Records (owned by ARC) in 1937 for the release of Just Like That. They performed their first national radio broadcast in 1939 on The Fitch Summer Bandwagon Show, which boosted their national popularity. This resulted in the band being signed on by Decca Records.
His Johnny Long Orchestra accompanied Ella Fitzgerald on her Decca recording of "Confessin' That I Love You".
Under management of Decca, Long wrote and released a hit single, "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town", that resulted in over one million sales. This song quickly became the band's signature tune. This song, and numerous other hits, made the band one of the most successful big bands in the country during the 1940s. Other popular covers included "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" and "Poor Butterfly". One of the high points of his career was playing Franklin D. Roosevelts Birthday Ball in April 1941.
However, as the big band style diminished over the years, so did Long's ensemble. Long continued to lead the band, with various members, up until his death in 1972. He is buried in the cemetery of Newell Baptist church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Movie Roles
While being supported by a strong musical following, Johnny Long and his band enjoyed a short film career. Their first big role was in the Abbott & Costello comedy, Hit the Ice, where Long played a romantic male lead opposite Ginny Simms. The same year gave Long his last major movie role in Follies Girl.
In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town
Johnny Long Lyrics
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The Roof Is So Slanty It Touches The Ground
The song "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town" by Johnny Long is a classic tale of a man who is down on his luck and is forced to live in a run-down shack in an old shanty town. The lyrics describe the dilapidated state of the shanty, with its slanted roof that touches the ground. Despite the less-than-ideal living conditions, the singer of the song is content with his situation, as he has "someone to love and hold". This sentiment is encapsulated in the line "It's only a shanty in old shanty town, but love is all that's there".
The song's depiction of life in a shanty town is a poignant commentary on poverty and the struggles that come with it. The singer's contentment with his situation in spite of its hardships serves as a reminder that happiness can be found in even the most difficult of circumstances. The song's upbeat tempo and catchy melody, however, also present an optimistic outlook that suggests that things can and will get better.
Line by Line Meaning
It's Only A Shanty In Old Shanty Town
This is just a small and shabby dwelling in the old area of town.
The Roof Is So Slanty It Touches The Ground
The roof is so steeply angled that it almost touches the ground, indicating a poorly constructed and unstable abode.
Writer(s): Ira Schuster, Joe Young, Jack Little
Contributed by Carter T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@kps2420
There's a shanty in the town on a little plot of ground
With the green grass growing all around, all around
The roof's so worn, so badly torn
Til it tumbles to the ground
Just a tumbledown shack and it's built way back
About twenty-five feet from the railroad track
Lingers on my mind most all the time
Keeps calling me back to my little old shack
I'd be just as sassy as Haile Selassie
If I were a king it wouldn't mean a thing
Put my boots on tall, read the writing on the wall
And it wouldn't mean a thing, not a doggone thing
There's a queen waiting there in a rocking chair
Just blowing her top on (Gaither's?) beer
Looking all around and I'm trucking on down
'cause I'm glad to get back to my shanty town
@gyeongjeong9682
There's a shanty in a town on a little plot o' ground
With the green grass growin' all around, all around
The roof's so worn, so badly torn
That it tumbles to the ground
Just a tumbledown shack and it's built way back
About twenty-five feet from the railroad track
Lingers on my mind most all of the time
Keeps callin' me back to my little old shack
I'd be just as sassy as Haile Selassie
If I were King, wouldn't mean a thing
Put my boots on tall, read the writin' on the wall
And it wouldn't mean a thing, not a doggone thing
There's a Queen waitin' there in a rockin' chair
Just blowin' her top on Gator's Beer
Lookin' all around and truckin' on down
'Cause I'm dyin' to get back to my shanty town
@SuicideSlade
Imagine going back in time to tell them their song would be a banger 100 years in the future but not for what they thought it would be for.
@dfis3616
Definitely the best song on Appalachia radio because unlike how they play the other songs 18 freaking times this song hardly ever comes on so its always nice to hear it
@patryknowicki4536
Yeah I really wish they looked after the music playlist. If the game is supposed to be supported for years forward, then they should at least shake up the radio soundtrack a bit each year.
@alternateunreleasedshellac505
wish they would've chosen the Ink Spots version instead, but this one really swings though!
@nathanielgarza9198
The Beach Boys were a mistake though
I like The Beach Boys but they do not fit in the Fallout
@dlggamingreviews3289
Best song on the Appalachia radio by far
@kps2420
Butcher Pete would like a word
@dlggamingreviews3289
kps2420 😂😂
@dlggamingreviews3289
OpenThisSideUp yeah same
@maxtheblackleopard
Take me home?
County Roads?