Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford, known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop and gospel musical genres. Noted for his rich bass-baritone voice and down-home humor, he is remembered for his hit recordings of "The Shotgun Boogie" and "Sixteen Tons"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCountry Singer
Date of Birth13 February 1919
CityBristol, TN
CountryUnited States of America
You can't cheat the public for long.
We decided to do some of Merle's things with modern instrumentation. We used a flute, a bass clarinet, a trumpet, a clarinet, drums, a guitar, vibes and a piano.
If you see me coming, better step aside. A lotta men didn't, a lotta men died.
I snapped my fingers all through it. Sometimes I set my own tempo during rehearsal by doing that.
When you do a show five days a week and one night a week, the way I was doing, you use up so much music every day that pretty soon you find yourself hustling for material.
You can keep rummaging around until you find a song you like, but you can't predict whether it'll hit or not.
Shot Gun Boogie, I wanted wedding bells. I'll be back little gal, when your pappy runs out of shells.
Do you want to be successful? Nurture your talent.
Sixteen Tons was written eight years before I recorded it.
I tell you, I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rockers!
You load sixteen tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.
Know yourself -- and know your audience.