In 1955, Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded “Sixteen Tons” as the B-side of his cover of Moon Mullican’s “You Don’t Have to Be a Baby to Cry.” With the Tennessee native’s snapping fingers and a unique clarinet-driven pop arrangement, the song ...
Back in 1973, a variety of greats gave a stellar performance of the gospel tune “I’ll Fly Away.” The Hee Haw show had always featured gospel singers performing gospel songs and church song standards. And in one memorable episode, Roy ...
A versatile, deep-voiced performer, Tennessee Ernie Ford became the model for future generations of multi-faceted country entertainers. The Bristol, Tennessee native who was once a golden-voiced radio, quickly moved into a long, fruitful recording career. And over his long career, ...
Tennessee Ernie Ford is one of the more famous 1950s country singers with hits such as “The Shotgun Boogie” and “Sixteen Tons.” The latter became one of Ernie Ford’s recognizable songs because of the message of the song and how ...
Back in 1955 and early 1956, the top song was about the hard life and poverty of being a coal miner called Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons.” The song was written and released back in the 1940s, although it became ...
A Little Something about Merle Travis Merle Travis was a guitar-playing country artist back in the mid-‘40s. He is from Kentucky where he worked in a studio recording, radio, and live stage shows. Travis was also an actor who played ...