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.
Pick Me Up On Your Way Down
Webb Pierce Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you've never once looked back at your home across the track
You're the gossip of the town but my heart can still be found
Where you tossed it on the ground pick me up on your way down
Pick me up on your way down when you're blue and all alone
When their glamor starts to bore you come on back where you belong
You may be their pride and joy but they'll find another toy
Then they'll take away your crown pick me up on your way down
They have changed your attitude made you haughty and so rude
Your new friends can take the blame for underneath you're still the same
When you've learned these things are true I'll be waitin' here for you
As you tumble to the ground pick me up on your way down
Pick me up on your way down...
In Webb Pierce's song Pick Me Up On Your Way Down, the singer is addressing a former lover who has moved on and left their poor life behind. The singer is hurt by the fact that this person has forgotten their humble beginnings and has become the gossip of the town. However, despite the hurt, the singer still loves this person and is willing to take them back when they come crashing down. The chorus functions as a plea to the person to remember where they come from and to realize that their new, glamorous lifestyle will not last forever. The singer is waiting in the wings, ready to offer comfort and love when the former lover falls from grace.
What makes this song so poignant is its depiction of the hardships of small-town life, which is a common theme in country music. The singer is left behind while the former lover flourishes in trendy new circumstances, but the singer remains resolute and steadfast in their love. It's a reminder that our past, no matter how humble, will always be a part of us, and that we can always go back home again.
Line by Line Meaning
You were mine for just a while now you're puttin' on the style
You and I were together for a short period of time, but now you're acting differently and trying to impress others.
And you've never once looked back at your home across the track
You've completely forgotten about your past and the people who cared about you before you became popular.
You're the gossip of the town but my heart can still be found
Everyone is talking about you and your new lifestyle, but my love for you still exists.
Where you tossed it on the ground pick me up on your way down
You left me behind when you became famous, but if you ever fall from grace, I'll be here waiting for you.
Pick me up on your way down when you're blue and all alone
If you ever feel sad and lonely because of your new life, come back to me and I'll be here for you.
When their glamor starts to bore you come on back where you belong
When you grow tired of the glitz and glamour of your new lifestyle, remember where you came from and return to me.
You may be their pride and joy but they'll find another toy
You may be popular now, but eventually, they'll forget about you and find someone else to adore.
Then they'll take away your crown pick me up on your way down
When you lose your fame and power, they'll abandon you, but I'll still be here to support you.
They have changed your attitude made you haughty and so rude
Your new friends have influenced you and made you arrogant and disrespectful.
Your new friends can take the blame for underneath you're still the same
Even though you've changed on the surface, deep down, you're still the same person I fell in love with.
When you've learned these things are true I'll be waitin' here for you
When you realize that your new lifestyle is not as fulfilling as you thought it would be, I'll still be here for you.
As you tumble to the ground pick me up on your way down
If you ever fall from grace, I'll be here to help you back up and support you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, LEGACY OF HARLAN PERRY HOWARD, LLC
Written by: Harlan Howard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@charlie1571
Now this is REAL country not that garbage you hear today which I have no stomach for.
@uronthehill
I agree Charlie... Thanks for stoppin' by. :)
Mikey Thompson
@kellymccain3403
"When you've learned these things are true"........."I'll be waiting here for you".......... "As you tumble to the ground"......"pick me up on your way down." Where are the Webb Pierce and Johnny Cash types in country music today? We need them. Thanks for posting this real classic.
@uronthehill
Thanks for stoppin' by Kelly. 😃
Mikey Thompson
@marythompson5458
Love This Song Bing Memories Of My Grandpa
@uronthehill
Thanks for stoppin' by Mary. :)
Mikey Thompson
@maryannradford1460
back when country music was real music
@uronthehill
+MARY ANN RADFORD Thanks for stoppin' by Mary. Mikey Thompson
@justinevarts6410
We neeed more of these unique artists on the radios today, instead of the same thing over and over.
@uronthehill
I agree... Thanks for stoppin' by Justin. :) Mikey Thompson