Tennessee Ernie Ford
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Biography
Tennessee Ernie Ford â born Ernest Jennings Ford in Fordtown, Tennessee on February 13, 1919 â was a country / pop / gospel singer and entertainer best known for his hits âSixteen Tonsâ and âThe Shotgun Boogie.â He began his career in 1937 as a radio announcer before studying classical music at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Ohio the following year. From 1939 to 1941, he returned to radio announcing before serving in the US Army during World War II. Moving to Southern California to continue his work in radio, he began hosting an early morning country music radio show. To stand out, he created an exaggerated hillbilly character that he called Tennessee Ernie. As Tennessee Ernie Ford, he became a popular radio host and began to get involved with other country music shows. He started a new syndicated radio show called The Tennessee Ernie Show, which was distributed on transcription discs. Signing to Capitol Records, he scored a string of Top 20 country hits in 1949: âTennessee Border,â âMilk âEm in the Morning Blues,â âCountry Junction,â âSmokey Mountain Boogie,â and his first number 1, âMule Train.â After more Top 10 and Top 20 singles, he scored number 1 hits with âThe Shotgun Boogieâ (1950) and âSixteen Tonsâ (1955), which was also number 1 on the Hot 100 and became his signature song. The hits were still coming on the country charts in the late 1950s, but by the 1960s, his records werenât as popular thanks to the ever-changing music industry. However, he remained a popular â and lovable â actor and entertainer, often releasing best-selling gospel recordings. His early gospel albums â including Hymn (1956), Spirituals (1957), Nearer the Cross (1958), and The Star Carol (1958) â were his best sellers. Tennessee Ernie Ford left Capitol Records in 1975. He released albums on independent labels for the next decade. Tennessee Ernie Ford died at the age of 72 on October 17, 1991.
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Albums
Top Tracks
- Track Popularity
- Sixteen Tons by Dan Seals
- Rock of Ages
- You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You
- Anticipation Blues
- The Wassail Song
- You're My Sugar by Tennessee Ernie Ford
- Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me
- The Ballad Of Davy Crockett
- Milk 'Em in the Morning Blues by Tennessee Ernie Ford
- Ocean of Tears featuring Tennessee Ernie Ford
- Barbara Allen
- Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere
- Now The Day Is Over
- Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home
- There Is Beauty In Everything by Billy May & His Orchestra
- Blackberry Boogie
- Black Is The Color Of My True Loves Hair
- Bless Your Pea Pickin' Heart
- Blest Be The Tie That Binds
- Blues Stay Away from Me (Ft Merle Travis)
- Blue Canadian Rockies
- By The Time I Get To Phoenix
- Born To Lose
- I'm A Bad Man by Tex Williams
