Culture news and discussion on TalkFuse.
38 Years Ago Today, Vern Gosdin Was at No. 1 With a Stone Cold Tribute to a Honky Tonk Hero
On 25 July 1988, Vern Gosdin reached number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with “Set ’Em Up Joe”, a tribute to honky-tonk pioneer Ernest Tubb. The song’s success underscored Gosdin’s comeback and connected late-1980s country music to the genre’s earlier honky-tonk traditions.
Written by Gosdin, Buddy Cannon, Hank Cochran and Dean Dillon for the album Chiseled in Stone, the song references Tubb’s “Walking the Floor Over You” as well as Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams Sr. Released in April 1988, it was Gosdin’s second chart-topper, spent 15 weeks in the top 40 and followed a run of 19 top-10 solo hits between 1977 and 1990.
In short
- Gosdin topped the country chart with “Set ’Em Up Joe” in 1988.
- The song pays tribute to Ernest Tubb and honky-tonk country.
- It became Gosdin’s second number-one hit.
Explained simply
Vern Gosdin was a country music singer whose career experienced a major revival in the 1980s. In 1988, he reached number one on the country charts with "Set 'Em Up Joe", a song that paid tribute to Ernest Tubb, a pioneering honky-tonk musician from country music's earlier days.
The significance of the song lay in its celebration of country music's traditional roots. By honouring Tubb alongside other legends like Lefty Frizzell and Hank Williams Sr., Gosdin connected contemporary country radio to the genre's foundational era and demonstrated that audiences remained interested in those classic traditions.
Gosdin's chart success was emblematic of his strong performance throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. Between 1977 and 1990, he achieved 19 top-10 hits on the country charts, making him a significant figure in country music during a period of considerable change for the genre.