His biggest hit was "In the Jailhouse Now," which charted for 37 weeks in 1955, 21 of them at number one. Pierce also charted number one for several weeks' each with his recordings of "Slowly" (1954), "Love, Love, Love" (1955), "I Don't Care" (1955), "There Stands the Glass" (1953), "More and More" (1954), "I Ain't Never" (1959), and his first number one "Wondering," which stayed at the top spot for four of its 27 weeks' charting in 1952.
For many, Pierce, with his flamboyant Nudie suits and twin silver dollar-lined convertibles, became the most recognizable face of country music of the era and its excesses. Pierce was a one-time member of the Grand Ole Opry and was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Born in West Monroe, Louisiana in 1921, as a boy Pierce was infatuated with Gene Autry films and his mother's hillbilly records, particularly those of Jimmie Rodgers and Western swing and Cajun groups. He began to play guitar before he was a teenager and at 15 was given his own weekly 15-minute show, Songs by Webb Pierce, on KMLB-AM in Monroe.
He enlisted in the US Army, and in 1942 he married Betty Jane Lewis. After he was discharged, the couple moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where Pierce worked in the men's department of a Sears Roebuck store. In 1947, the couple appeared on KTBS-AM's morning show as "Webb Pierce with Betty Jane, the Singing Sweetheart". Pierce also performed at local engagements, developing his unique style that was once described to be "a wailing whiskey-voiced tenor that wrang out every drop of emotion."
In 1949, California-based 4 Star Records signed the Webbs under separate contracts, with his wife signed for duets with her husband under the name Betty Jane and Her Boyfriends. However, success only came for Pierce, and in the summer of 1950, the couple divorced.
He moved to KWKH-AM and joined Louisiana Hayride during its first year and devised a plan to achieve instant "stardom." Before the show, he bought tickets for several young girls in line and asked them to sit in the first row, and after each of his songs to scream and beg for more. It worked; their enthusiasm spread throughout the audience.
Pierce assembled and performed with a band of local Shreveport musicians, including pianist Floyd Cramer, guitarist-vocalist Faron Young, bassist Tillman Franks and vocalists Teddy and Doyle Wilburn. He also founded a record label, Pacemaker; and Ark-La-Tex Music, a publishing company, with Horace Logan, the director of the Hayride. On Pacemaker, Pierce made several records between 1950 and 1951 designed to attract radio play around Louisiana.
In 1951, Pierce got out of his 4 Star contract and was quickly signed by Decca Records. His second single, "Wondering", became his breakthrough hit, climbing to No. 1 early in 1952. Pierce moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he met and married his second wife, Audrey Greisham. In June 1952, he had his second No. 1 single with "That Heart Belongs to Me".
In September 1953, the Grand Ole Opry needed to fill the vacancy left by the firing of Hank Williams, and Pierce was invited to join the cast. After Williams' death, he became the most popular singer in country music; for the next four years, every single he released hit the top ten, with ten reaching No. 1, including "There Stands the Glass" (1953), "Slowly" (1954), "More and More" (1954), and "In the Jailhouse Now" (1955). His singles spent 113 weeks at No. 1 during the 1950s, when he charted 48 singles. Thirty-nine reached the top ten, 26 reached the top four and 13 hit No. 1.
Other hits included "Back Street Affair", "Why Baby Why", "Oh, So Many Years", and "Finally"; the latter two being duets with Kitty Wells. His 1954 recording of "Slowly" was one of the first country songs to include a pedal steel guitar.[2] He made regular appearances on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee including as a guest host once a month during 1956. In 1958, he recorded a rockabilly record, "The New Raunchy"/"I'll Get by Somehow" for Decca under the name Shady Wall. (Shady Wall (1922–1985) was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and a banker from West Monroe. It is not known if Pierce knew the political Wall or merely made up the name for the record and was unaware of the actual Shady Wall.)
On February 19, 1957, Pierce resigned from the Opry after he refused to pay commissions on bookings and for associated talent.
Pierce continued charting until 1982 with a total of 96 hits; and he toured extensively and appeared in the movies Buffalo Guns, Music City USA, Second Fiddle To A Steel Guitar, and Road To Nashville.
As his music faded from the spotlight, Pierce became known for his excessive lifestyle. He had North Hollywood tailor Nudie Cohen, who had made flamboyant suits for Pierce, line two convertibles with silver dollars. He built a $30,000 guitar-shaped swimming pool at his Nashville home which became a popular paid tourist attraction—nearly 3,000 people visited it each week—causing his neighbors, led by singer Ray Stevens, to file suit and prevail against Pierce to end the tours.
He remained with Decca and its successor, MCA, well into the 1970s, but by 1977 he was recording for Plantation Records. Even though he had occasional minor hits, charting in a 1982 duet with Willie Nelson, a remake of "In the Jailhouse Now," he spent his final years tending to his businesses, and his legend became clouded due to his reputation as a hard drinker. Webb and daughter Debbie recorded the ballad "On My Way Out" as The Pierces, and she was a member of the Country group "Chantilly" in the early 1980s.
Pierce waged a long battle with pancreatic cancer, which he lost on February 24, 1991, and was buried in the Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
Pierce has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1600 Vine Street. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in October 2001 and into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
Caught In The Webb–a Tribute to the Legendary Webb Pierce was released on Audium Records in 2001. Produced and arranged by singer-songwriter Gail Davies, this album features Willie Nelson, Crystal Gayle, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, The Del McCoury Band, Charlie Pride, Allison Moorer, Dwight Yoakam, Pam Tillis, The Jordanaires and other great artists. Proceeds go to benefit The Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation. Ms. Davies herself first charted in 1978 with "No Love Have I," a No. 26 Billboard Country hit that Pierce had recorded (and taken to No. 4) in 1959.
Footage of Pierce singing "There Stands the Glass" was featured in the 2005 documentary No Direction Home by Martin Scorsese about early influences on Bob Dylan. Pierce's hit single "More and More" was played in the title credits of 2006 horror film, The Hills Have Eyes.
I Ain't Never
Webb Pierce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I ain't never
A-seen nobody like you
No no no
Never, have I ever
A-seen nobody like you
You call me up and say you'll meet me at nine
I walk right up and knock on your door
The landlord says she ain't here no more
I ain't never, oh darling
A-seen nobody like you
Boo-hoo but I love you
Yeah I love you
I love you just the same
Well you tell me sweet things that you don't mean
You got me livin' in a honey dream
You make me do things I don't wanna do
My friends'll say, "Webb what's wrong with you?"
I ain't never, oh darling
A-seen nobody like you
Boo-hoo but I love you
Yeah I love you
I love you just the same
I love you just the same
I love you just the same
The lyrics to Webb Pierce’s song “I Ain’t Never” express the singer's amazement at finding someone unlike anyone he had ever known. He marvels at the uniqueness of their character and suggests it is impossible that anyone else can compare to them. The song speaks to the depth of the singer’s feelings for the person, despite their flaws, and how they make him do things he would not normally do.
The lyrics also express a sense of love being complicated and not always straightforward. The person Pierce loves says “sweet things” that they do not mean, and while friends might question why Pierce is falling for them, it does not deter his love. Even though things are not always perfect in their relationship, Pierce’s love for this person remains steadfast.
Line by Line Meaning
Welllllllllll, I ain't never
I have never experienced what I am experiencing now
I ain't never
I have never felt this way about anyone else
A-seen nobody like you
I have never met someone so unique and special
No no no
Absolutely not
Never, have I ever
I have never before encountered someone like you
You call me up and say you'll meet me at nine
You give me the impression that you are interested in spending time with me
I have to hurry, hurry but I'm there on time
I make the effort to be punctual and prioritize our plans
I walk right up and knock on your door
I approach your residence and try to make contact with you
The landlord says she ain't here no more
I am informed that you have moved out and are no longer living there
Boo-hoo but I love you
I am upset, yet I have strong feelings of affection for you
Yeah I love you
I am deeply in love with you
Well you tell me sweet things that you don't mean
You say kind and loving things to me, though you do not truly feel them
You got me livin' in a honey dream
Your false words and actions have led me to create an idealized reality in my mind
You make me do things I don't wanna do
Your influence over me compels me to act contrary to my own desires
My friends'll say, "Webb what's wrong with you?"
My peers will question my choices and express their concern over my behavior
I love you just the same
Regardless of your shortcomings and flaws, my love for you remains unchanged
I love you just the same
Despite any emotional turmoil or difficulties we may face, my feelings of love for you persist
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mel Tillis, Webb Pierce
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
H Clay McCool
Lyrics
Well, I ain't never, I ain't never
Seen nobody like you, no, no, no
Never have I ever seen nobody like you
Lord, you call me up and say, "Meet me at nine"
I have to hurry, hurry, but I'm there on time
I walk right up and I knock on your door
The landlord says, "She ain't a here no more"
I ain't never, oh darling, seen nobody like you
But I love you, yeah, I love you, girl
I love you just the same
Well, you tell me sweet things that you don't mean
You've got me living in a haunted dream
You make me do things I don't wanna do
My friends ask me, "Tillis, what's wrong with you?"
I ain't never, oh darling, seen nobody like you
But I love you, yeah, I love you, girl
I love you just the same
Love you just the same, I love you just the same
Amoeba
Webb Pierce always had one of the best voices in country music in my opinion.
bazthehandyman
I agree with that.
BrickPa
He was also one helluva showman!
Gary Kerns
@BrickPa He also had a guitar-shaped swimming pool! He died 2-24-91, 32 years ago yesterday.
Clint Watson
Give lefty frizzle a listen. Talk about an underrated voice
☆Brutal Bass Player☆
I Love this song!! About 25 yrs ago my Dad was teaching me to play the guitar and this is one of the songs we'd always play.. I was just starting out and there was a chord in the song I couldn't play well enough yet lol so every time that chord would come up I'd stop playing until the next chord.. seems like the chord was a "B-7th" hahah such great great memories!! My Dad was my Best friend and he's been Resting in Heavens Paradise for 8 years now... So hearing this song and so many others the Memories it brings means the world to me..
TheRoadtrek190
Even 71 years later, it's just as good as it was ...Imagine, I was only 2 years old wen it came out !
alvin simms
Great song. Webb pierce
Jean T
What a song! I have always love this one. My childhood days in Louisiana when
these guys toured bars.
anthony mokelkIe
One of my favorite tunes ! Cant beat Webb Pierce !