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.
My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You
Webb Pierce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Even tell my friends I'm glad that you don't call
Even when the day is through my heartaches start anew
And that's when I miss you most of all
And my arms keep reaching for you my eyes keep searching for you
My lips keep calling for you and my shoes keep walking back to you
No matter how much I pretend I wish I had you back again
My world just seemed to die the day you said goodbye
And I can't forget no matter what I do
And my arms keep reaching,
And my shoes keep walking back to you
The lyrics to the song My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You by Webb Pierce are about heartache and the struggle to forget someone you truly loved. The singer states that they are holding their head up high and telling their friends they are glad that their former lover doesn't call, but deep down they miss them more than anything. Even when the day is over and they are alone with their thoughts, the pain of the past relationship comes back stronger than ever.
The repetition of the phrase "and my shoes keep walking back to you" highlights the sense of helplessness the singer feels in trying to move forward. Despite their best efforts to move on from the relationship, they find themselves constantly drawn back to their former lover. The singer mentions how they wish they could have their lover back because nothing else means as much to them. The pain of the breakup has left an irreplaceable void in their life.
Line by Line Meaning
I must say that I don't care hold my head up in the air
I pretend that I don't care about our break-up and hold my head high
Even tell my friends I'm glad that you don't call
I even tell my friends that I'm happy when you don't call me
Even when the day is through my heartaches start anew
Even after a long day, my heartache still persists
And that's when I miss you most of all
I miss you the most at the end of each day
And my arms keep reaching for you my eyes keep searching for you
Despite my efforts to move on, I still long for you
My lips keep calling for you and my shoes keep walking back to you
Even though I try to resist, my actions show that I am drawn to you
No matter how much I pretend I wish I had you back again
Despite my pretending, I really do wish to have you back in my life
For nothing else means half as much as you
No one and nothing can replace the value you hold in my life
My world just seemed to die the day you said goodbye
My world and happiness ended the day you left me
And I can't forget no matter what I do
I cannot forget you, no matter how hard I try
And my arms keep reaching,
I continue to desire your embrace
And my shoes keep walking back to you
My uncontrollable actions reveal how much I still love and yearn for you
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Lee Ross, Bob Wills
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marryann Lamb
Great songs have a blessed day
Jamie Macgregor
Any chance of uploading artists just like Frank Luther I like this kind of music what about early to mid 1920s instead of late 20s
mrblindfreddy9999
got 111 recordings uploaded most hard to find cheers Dave
Jamie Macgregor
@mrblindfreddy9999 what do you mean by 111 recordings do you mean you have them ready for uploading or have uploaded or something. Dave I mean when you upload Ed the song " I tore up your picture when you said good bye " do you have any artist in that style Dave is what I mean with guitars and violins as background instruments
mrblindfreddy9999
@Jamie Macgregor uploaded all the Luther recordings I Have