Sixteen Tons | Tennessee Ernie Ford | Oct 18, 1956
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 พ.ย. 2012
- Ernie's performs Merle Travis's timeless anthem to the working man Sixteen Tons on The Ford Show, October 18, 1956. This was the first time he performed this blockbuster hit on his show - the third episode of The Ford Show.
Tennessee Ernie Ford wasn’t the first artist to record “Sixteen Tons,” but he made it his signature. The song, inspired by the travails of the real-life coal miners of Kentucky, was first recorded by one of his forerunners on the Capitol label, Merle Travis, in 1947.
In 2015, the song was recognized by the U.S. Library of Congress for its cultural significance, and it was also adopted into the National Recording Registry.
About Tennessee Ernie Ford
Born Ernest Jennings Ford on February 13th, 1919 in Bristol, Tennessee, Tennessee Ernie Ford has made an indelible impact on America and the world through his unparalleled accomplishments in radio, records and television.
Throughout his legendary career spanning over 50 years, Ernie Ford's early successes as a radio personality led to his signing with Capitol Records in 1949. Through 1976, he released a total of eighty-three albums on the label--and literally scores of single records, including his classic version of Merle Travis' timeless anthem to the working man, "Sixteen Tons"...at the time of its release, the fastest selling single in Capitol's history.
About The Ford Show
On Thursday night, October 4th, 1956, NBC premiered The Ford Show Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
As prime-time's # 1 half-hour variety show for five years, The Ford Show featured all the ingredients of the top variety shows of the day; Hollywood's greatest guest stars, top-of-the-line production, and terrific music. But one simple element separated it from all others...Ernie closed virtually every show with a hymn, a spiritual or a song of faith. For the time, it was a bold and powerful statement for a popular entertainer of Ford's stature to be making on live television, especially in the face of the initial objections from Madison Avenue and the network. But it was a statement that would become the trademark of his career, and in many ways, the mark of his life. It would earn him the distinction of almost single-handedly bringing inspirational music into the mainstream of American entertainment...an enduring legacy of the lasting impact that one man's expression of faith can have on millions of people.
www.ernieford.com/
/ tennesseeernieford
#tennesseeernieford #thefordshow #sixteentons - เพลง
This is better in 2024 than it was in 1956. If you know, you know.
Seriously omg , what a damn gem this is , Fargo brought me here idk bout you
I've known this tune all my life@@monzersaid
Oh man fer sure. If you had a hammer would you hammer in the morning? Would you hammer in the evening, all over this land? Some songs will live in our heads, rent free, forever 😜 @@tired5350
I know
So agree, this is when music was music ❤
No acoustic enhancements...a man, his voice, and a stage with a microphone before a live audience to display his talent...nothing more needs to be said.
🍻🔥🔥🔥🔥😊
Sounds like percussion, accordion, stand up bass &, I kinda hear a clarinet too.
Ernie was great.
I hear autotune
@@RussellIser108 Ernie Ford doesn't jive with. "auto tune" wtf are you talking about?
Ernie Ford was a real good singer. Listen to that voice in "16 tons". Amazing
I was born the year this song came out. Sixteen Tons will still be heard the year I go out.
Excelente artista 👌 felicitaciones, desde Argentina ❤
I was 1.
OK - I'm 71 and I used to listen to this on 78 and still sing it.
You are a real Legend 💪🤝
This and 'the man with the weird beard'. crank up record player in my great uncle's basement.
My grandpa's in his 80's and he knew Tennesie Ernie. I'm a youngun' but I still love this kind of music, it's all I listen too lol. In fact my pastor called me a dinosaur for it XD
It is the only song my father ever sang.
Grace to you and peace from above.
I grew up listening to this man sing this song, born in 1953! My parents liked him and now I am 70 and still love this version!
How fondly I remember Tenn. Ernie's 16 tons as a little girl born in the late 1940s! This song came out in 1955, I think, and was a MEGA HIT! I loved Ernie's singing voice! What wonderful memories!!!
That's wonderfull! I am listening to this in my early twenties.
If I may ask, do you have any advice for us young folk?
My wife said her dad had this song played at his funeral to spite the nuns that disciplined him for singing this in school as a kid! Last laugh I guess.
I was born in 2004 and I'm 19 and I still love this song
This shows that this is a timeless masterpiece which aged like fine wine
@@stijn2472 I'm 70 and take notice of the line "ain't no high tone woman make me walk the line".
This song is worldwide song..
I'm from the middle east and i play it daily
Cool!!
@@davidanglin7177 you're the cool one dude
Where are you from, i'm syrian
سفير الميمز
@@aboodalii I'm from Saudi Arabia
"Miners were paid in script, not real money. Mining companies operated company-owned stores that would sell miners the necessities of life, and since regular stores would not accept their script for payment, workers had to use the company store, purchasing items at often greatly inflated prices."
Marvelous Mr. Ford ✨
there's a place in hell for those exploiters. the bible expressly prohibits this. Business Exploiter "It was just business.". Jesus, "It's just hell you'll be fine."
Coffee plantations did something similar in India in the 50s
Kenmont Mines, Jeff, KY, south of Hazard, used coin script and had a company store and "Big House," similar to the old plantation concept. However, at times the UMW and/or the Southern Labor Union organized the area.
Our future with cbdc
The mill owners in Lancashire and Yorkshire in England used to do this in the 19th century. It was outlawed under the Truck Act 1831. Also outlawed was paying the factory workers and miners wages in the local pub, which paid the company to do so as the employees immediately spent their wages.
Almost 70ty years later and the song is still relatable to the regular worker.
It's 2024 and I owe my soul to the company store! at least people looked good back then!
Onlyfans says otherwise.
@@Theredglovedmanwont u ever realize ppl on of ve no future
The people who were born prior to 1950 were so blessed to hear these fantastic singers sing songs that will be played for another 100 years.
Yeah and we’re over here listening to complete shit
my dad used to sing this tune, and I have the 45 R.P.M. single of this tune( in good shape--- original pressing)
This was played at my dad’s funeral today. I love this song but what got me most was everyone including teenagers there said how Catchy it was! ❤
sorry about your loss. mining is so dangerous. i am 75 and still remember him singing this on his show. things were so much simpler back then...but miners never got the respect and pay for their horrendous & dangerous work...i have enormous respect for those who provided power to america...
I was 10 years old when I first heard this song. It brings back memories. My parents loved this song. Just loved the way this man signed. RIP Tennessee Ernie Ford.
My mother went to one of his concerts back in the late 50s . She actually ran up on the stage and kissed him!! She was a total fan girl!!
Not only is he talented, but also handsome. Per me, a 71 yr old grandfather.
My grandpa knew him before he got into music too lol
You could change “company store” to something like Walmart or Amazon and it would absolutely fit today. You’d think we would have learned after 70 years…
probably find a song like that from a reddit user
From Pennsylvania,lost family members in the mines. Had uncle's in the mines. This song makes me think of them.
I was 9 years old on Oct. 18, 1956 when he sang this on his show, which my family and I watched EVERY week. I LOVE this song, and loved it then as a child. I always wished that Tennessee Ernie Ford could be my uncle!! I guess I had a bit of a crush on him. RIP Mr. Ford for all that great music and fun we enjoyed watching your TV show.
I was 0.5 years old.
@@chisar2Me too, I was born on 18th April 1956. I grew up with my dad snging this.
@@garybradley1 19th May 56.
I had a crush on him too, thinking "Ooo, this is a man!" Strong. tough, but happy and a good guy!
this was my dad's "party tune " when i was young and people had house party's where everyone sang a song, I miss my dad so much :(
Lol. Was my dad's party piece too when he got a few jars in him. Back in the sixties. Miss him too.
Yes it was Dad played it and many more...I miss those days and the music....
Ernie had such a beautiful voice.
Metrobus251"][,,
He was a trained singer, having studied at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
@@danield.torrestapia000 is
We sang that song in my school. It was chosen by 14 year olds over.... maybe a hundred modern songs. I couldn't believe it! they all love it and were astonished that song was over 67 years old! they are all snapping fingers now. This is proof it is an inmortal classic.
Im about to try out for an old fogey band who wants me to do this on guitar and sing. Not really a singer but this is perfect range for this old codger.
Да, лучше Пол Робсона наврятли кто то исполнял
The message is still so relevant
Song so good I had to play ⏯️ twice
I was in high school when this wonderful song was a big hit and we all loved Tennessee Earnie Ford. I remember sitting around a large table with a bunch of friends singing this song at our Senior Prom, having the time of our lives, ❤❤❤
What a voice, today if the can scream they make a record. Classic TEF from my generation.
Love this song. He was the best. 🎶🎵 Here April 19, 2024
I'm 65 and loved this from age 10. Best of the best.
Ernie will live forever thanks to TH-cam and the Internet.
Today is my mother’s birthday. She loved Ernie. She was born 1931 in Appalachia
Happy Birthday to your mom.
I love the start . He smiles when he hears the opening notes , like it’s bringing back a great memory. It does for me , always liked him !
The Human Jukebox himself, he dont need an outlet but the band gotta breathe🤣🤣🤣 That's why the wait to play, he gotta make the air they using with them lungs. If he didnt have a deep voice he could just whisper them damn socks off wouldnt even have to blow. The curled back hair, jet black with a shine. When my fingers snap you'll run up your spine. Black and blue is too good for you. Six feet under will be your doom. 6 foot down what have you now? The truth beneathe that cold cold ground. Was it worth it? How can it be true? Come on God and take me too.
@@thebeast654 Oh my! Where's this verse from?
@@vsevolodburavchenko8400 the part where I said you'll run up your spine. Itll take your soul for the next line. In other words you gotta feel it and itll fall into place.
He had a fantastic voice. Loved watching him on TV all the time when I was young.
for reference how old are you now and how old were you watching it?
I think he sung: River of no return a film with Marilyn Monroe
I recently found this song and it stuck in my head cuz I used to have a crappy job and it reminded me of it. I put it on for my father and he instantly recognised it and song with me. Apparently my grand father used to love this song aswel and played it regularly. A true classic. (I’m 22 and love this. I hope this song wil continue its legacy)
Try the Johnny cash version
Yeah lol this man might as well be a legend. My grandpa knew Tennesie Ernie, and my dad's ringtone on his phone was Ford's 'Shotgun Boogie' for as long as I can remember. I still listen to his music almost daily lol
Almost a century later and more relevant than ever...nothing will change if the working class stands still
Ten weeks #1 country, eight weeks #1 pop. Often covered, but never imitated.
I owe my soul to the company store. Pretty remarkable for its time, that a song so smooth and listenable could at the same time be a radical poke at the miserable plight of thinly veiled indentured labor.
My dad, a coal miner, loved this song. He told me that it was not only a song but a testimonial.
Reminds me of my granddaddy what worked in the Tunnelton mines in West Virginia away back in the late 1920"s.
@@donnajeffries7913 I believe that those were the mines my dad worked in. He started out at 12 taking care of the mules that pulled the carts around 1921.
Before he died, he told me that if I ever went down in one of those holes, the first thing I would see was him. I always pictured it as him standing there rolling up his sleeves saying "boy, I done told you ". Needless to say, I have never been inside a coal miner. Lol.
I'm 70 and I still love this music.
12 years before I was borne. I always loved him and that song. It's music about hard work and taking pride in it and earning a living with Muscle. Putting food on the table clothes on you and your family's back and a roof over your head. No matter the trade. Esential workers. I work keeping the local water system going. No work from home for people like us. It's down in the muddy hole when the pipes break . Never forget all that risk life and limb to keep the world going
It is about manual labor, I’ll give you that. But is sounds to me like a song against the rich and the capitalists that keep the working class doing that manual labor poor.
Yeah capitalists. Sure.
I’m 14 and I love this song
Got it from my grandma
Brilliant absolutely brilliant 💯
Maybe, one day I will be, as old as this track.
But if i ever think I am as cool as this track,
Well I better wake myself up ,
And jump in the Sea.
Because there ain't nothing cooler,
than what I hear.
Just heard this song on a South Park episode and it’s truly a banger
I was 8 years old when Tennessee Ernie Ford's version of this came out. It was HUGELY popular and had almost constant play on the radio for a while.
I waited 30 days at the hospital for my mom to come and pick me up when I was born
Snapping those fingers 🤌🤌 and a great voice and song... They don't make them like that anymore!
My music taste was always good.
Johnny Cash lead me to discover this treasure. Tennesse Ernie Ford was extraordinary.
Music would be dead, if not for these talented men and women.
you make me sick.
One of My Parents favourites.Bless.R.I.P.😢
I watch his program when i very little in the 50s love that song still sounds good at 77years old ❤😂
Its a timeless commentary on the working class, as relevant now as it ever was
🤓
I was 6 when he sang this. What a great talent. Remember watching him on TV with my parents.
I was 9..
Gen Xer that grew up listening to the 50s and 60s songs.
I recall this from grade school years. Reminds me of the years in Pittsburgh, PA (just a mill town when my uncles and others would stop in a bar for shots & beers (boiler makers) before work. The ovens and blast furnaces they worked next to were so hot & so scary;
that was how they got their courage up each day-just to go to work. It was their job.
I'm from North Hills. Remember this on B&W TV. Surprised thathey stopped BEFORE work. After is understandable. Pittsburgh air was dirty from the blast furnaces in the 1950s. Loved seeing the frightening Tesla Coil's lightning at the Buhl Planetarium. Magnificent pipe organ at St. Paul Cathedral. West View Amusement Park.
I was 8 years old when I first heard this mesmerising tune & Mr Ford's wonderful baritone delivery. It still makes me sit up & take note, as it did many others, including Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan etc.
Thank you for posting this song. My late father was an exceptional clarinet player. I think fondly of him when I hear this classic. He'd bring out his instrument during the Christmas Holiday Season and play. RIP Dad and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
I was 2 years old when this song came out. My parents had the 45. I knew all the words.
Tennessee Ernie Ford could make any song sound cheerful, yet the meaning is loud and clear...... wow!
This was still popular when I was young. I feel this way often today.
Great 1950s song! Love those early songs when song lyrics were inherently meaningful and had a message to convey to those faceless workers working at big industrial factories.
I remember hearing this song on the 1990 movie "Joe versus the Volcano" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
I few up in that era when Tennessee was HUGE. EVERY Star from every group wanted to get on Ernie’s show. Movie stars, singers TV stats . IF they couldn’t get on his show they’d get him on their show to boost the ratings ! It’s hard to believe now as you don’t see any reruns of his shows or hear him on the oldies radio .
I love this song since I was a child. My uncle use to sing it to us. The song has great memories. Erin’s voice is amazing.
Classic description of life for many
So heartwarming to read all these positive messages. God bless you all.
I will never get bored of this song I love it it's before my time and I love It
Although horrifyingly the premise is very much of our time, company towns like the one described here have recently made a legal comeback in some states under the new name “innovation zones” likely to be developed by Amazon/Tesla soon😬
@@evangorski7992the people yearn for the mines
What superb vocal tone! Even at pianissimo it's still the same. Thank you for posting!
remember
Boy I'd like to crawl into that screen and go back in time...if only for a day! Sigh!
Makes me yearn for the good ol' days!
I remember my mom playing his gospel music when I was growing up!
this song is so good and his vocal is amazing. what a voice and what charisma he had. reason why this man was and is so beloved.
Growing up my father sang this all time and in my house so did a recording of Tennessee Ernie Ford. Thank you for letting me touch a memory.
His performance put a smile on my face.
And dance
This song was THE CLASSIC SALUTE TO AMERICAN WORKERS!
I remember it from when I was a kid, and it still hits into my being,
Extraordinary voice.We didn't have a tv yet so we went to a cousins home to watch this.
First time I heard this song was my dad and uncle talking about and singing stuff they grew up with.
We playin FO76 with that one
Appalachia Radio 🔛🔝
@@thestormtrooperwhodrankphd9990 Real
I got obsessed with this song after watching the amazon south park episode, when this song was playing in the background of one scene.
What a voice! And what stage presence!!!! My dad used to sing this at home!!
One of my all time favorite songs & by this guy, perfect. First song I learned the words of when it first came out. Oh boy showing my age with that.
half the fun of watching him is just his face. i love his expressions.
Man, it’s been quite a while since I first heard that in New Zealand, 1956. Brings back memories.
I was about 4 years old and my mom and dad played this song alot, I have been in love with this song since
For such an old song, it slaps as hard as anything new today 😁👍
Great song, great singer!
Brilliant live performance
This is one of my favorite songs along with wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the ballad of Casey Jones and wreck of old 97
There is so much history behind that song. I wonder if audiences in 1956 (audiences outside of coal country, that is) got the references.
Irish labor
@@rainysunday6186black labour would be cheaper
@@noirekuroraigami2270 Irish labor was paid less and treated worse because they weren't as visible
Yes, we did.
I was born one mourning when the sun didnt shine, i picked up my shovel and i walked to the mine.
Since Amazon is starting to push for company towns again, this song is unfortunately relevant again.
I can't remember the last time I heard that song. I can't even remember the last time I thought about that song either. However, I do remember hearing it and it was probably on Oct. 18, 1956. I know that because it was one of the shows my family watched on a regular basis. I turned 7 three weeks later.
Have a great day sir ❤
I am so sorry if this sounds weird but you wrote such a nice and wonderful comment on here and I like your comment. I can tell you're a very positive person. If it's okay with you I'd love to be friends😊
@@CraigDavidsons You're right. It does sound weird.
@@reb1050 lol but you know im just trying to be honest with you
@@reb1050so can we be friends?
Makes me recall the heaviest log home i built. It was heavy and definitely moved 16 tons into place by hand every time the job called for it. Cool tune
The best part is how he delivers "Can't no high tone woman make me walk the line". He's so into the idea of the song he can't help but chuckle at the idea of being told what to do haha
My daddy drove me and my sis in his VW when this played and he'd sing along, he was killed of by hosp doctors several months ago, its good to remember happy times. I love this song!
One of the first songs I can remember hearing. We used to sing it in grade school, second grade, I think.
Bro im 18 so im gen z and i love this song, i relate to it so much now that i have a job and i have to pay for gas and stuff. I wish more of my and future gens got interested into this kind of music (i got introduced through fallout 😂)
I remember my dad used to love this song.
Real artist, great voice
truly awesome
I was born January 56 and knew this song well in my childhood. Happy days 😀😀😀
I sang this one night at my local bar when they we're having karaoke night. I was probably 21 or 22 at the time (31 currently). I'll never forget how the bartender's jaw dropped. Lol
This is why “ god bless you “ has a double meaning. Just say’n
The song was so true, my grandfather was born in Kentucky in 1895 and started in the mines when he was 12 and retired in 1950. Strawboss loved it because he would take your metal token off the coal car and put his on it to get paid!
great song, shows the miserable live of workers and nothing changed
Great music. Simple and tells it!!!!
Such an awesome song a great performance. His voice is amazing.