George Vaughn Horton

Usually credited as "Vaughn Horton" or "George Vaughn," he wrote or contributed to the success of several popular songs, including "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," "Hillbilly Fever," "Sugar-Foot Rag," "Mockin' Bird Hill," and the Christmas song "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas."

They grew up in Huntingdon County, located in the Allegheny Mountains of south-central Pennsylvania, initially in Broad Top Township and later in the small community of Wood.

After briefly attending Pennsylvania State University, Vaughn and Roy left in November 1934 to move to Philadelphia.

A year later, they relocated to New York City,[1] where they found work singing country music on the radio, including an appearance on The Fleischmann's Yeast Hour.

Horton's first songwriting credit may have been for "Never Trust a Man," released by Judy Canova in 1939.

Darling and Horton wrote "Don't Hang Around Me Anymore," which Gene Autry recorded and took to No.

It was recorded by bandleader Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five in January 1946 and topped the R&B charts for 18 weeks starting in August 1946.

The song became a standard and was later recorded by many other artists, including Theresa Brewer (1957), Joe Barry (1961), Rex Allen Jr. (1976), and Marty Robbins (1981).

In 1948, Horton wrote English lyrics for Artur Beul's 1944 song "Nach em Räge schint Sunne," renaming it "Toolie Oolie Doolie (The Yodel Polka)."

Horton's "Hillbilly Fever", a song reflecting on the growing popularity of country music, became a hit for Little Jimmie Dickens in 1950.

He re-arranged the original verses and added new ones for a 1949 recording by Ray Smith, though many artists continued to use the older lyrics.

The song was first recorded by Les Paul and Mary Ford, followed by Patti Page, with both versions reaching No.

In addition to the Pinetoppers' version, renditions by Russ Morgan and Rosalie Allen & Elton Britt also charted.

[6] A minor hit in 1951 was "Metro Polka," a tune credited to Horton and Willie Evans.

In 1954, Horton co-wrote "The Honeymoon's Over" with Sammy Mysels and Charles McCarthy, and the version by Betty Hutton and Tennessee Ernie Ford reached No.

On the same 1970 album, Curless also recorded Horton's "Drag 'Em Off the Interstate, Sock It to 'Em, J.P. Blues," which reached No.

In 1972, Roy Clark recorded Horton's novelty commentary on changes in network television, "The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka," which reached No.

In 1973, Dick Curless charted one more Horton country novelty, "Chick Inspector (That's Where My Money Goes)," which reached No.