Surely one of the finest male voices in the history of recorded music. There are a few that could claim the title - Little Richard, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Marty Robbins - but Ernie Ford is right up there.
Thomas L. Thomas, Nelson Eddy, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Roselli, Jussi Bjorling, John McCormack, Fritz Wunderlich, Sergei Lemeshev, Mattia Battistini, Titta Ruffo, Riccardo Stracciari, Lawrence Tibbett, Eddie Fisher, Mickey Newbury, Oscar Natzka, Norman Treigle, Alexander Pirogov, Juste Nivette...
I grew up listening to my father sing 16 tons, I didn’t remember until the day We celebrated his life. My brother sang it and and all the memories came flooding back.
@@cherylann9781 More than ever, my father was trained in classical music, opera and had a deep baritone voice! I never knew. He never let us in. All though today is Tennessee Ernie Fords birthday I celebrate my pop’s birthday. 02-08-1937
Ford's SERIOUS singing voice, the one we hear on this clip (as opposed to the "hicked-up" version we sometimes hear on his lighter fare such as in "Shotgum Boogie") ,was one of the best singing voices of the 20th century.
I ran across Tennessee ERNIE FORD and wept. All of a sudden Iwas a little gril with my mother watching TV listening to this beautiful voice. Every thing from country ballads to a hymn to close the show. I never knew how much I missed his very beautiful voice as I'm sure that alot of us feel that way .
Not only in America friend. These great voices are appreciated in many other places, i live in Sweden and this is part of my musical memories too, of which i am grateful.@Jack Petry: agree on Paul Robeson and others, but i have a theory of our history (or maybe our knowledge) being stretched out at both ends like like a rubberband, we know more about todays world (and maybe even tomorrows) and at the same time we also learn more (and share) about the past. RU-vid and this conversation is a fine example :) Anyway love the Gentleman From Tennessee. Skål!
When John Henry was a little baby No bigger than the palm of your hand His mommy looked down at little Johnny and said "My Johnny gonna be a steel drivin' man" Yes, Johnny gonna be a steel drivin' man John Henry was a steel drivin' man Drove steel all over the land "Before I let the steam hammer get me down I'm a-gonna die with my hammer in my hand" Die with my hammer in my hand John Henry went to the tunnel to drive Steam hammer by his side He beat the steam hammer to the top of the hill He laid down his hammer and he cried, "Lord!" Laid down his hammer and he cried John Henry had a lovin' little wife Her name was Polly Ann Johnny got sick and he had to go to bed Polly drove steel like a man Yes, Polly drove steel like a man They buried John Henry in the graveyard They laid him down in the sand Every time a freight train come puffin' by They say, "Yonder lies a steel drivin' man" Yonder lies a steel drivin' man
*This man has the most amazing vocals!* We just moved to TN from CT. Never heard of him even though I'm in my 60s. Popped up on my feed the other day and I've been down a rabbit hole ever since! His vocals are so soothing to me.
my grandpa was named john henry, not giving ya my last name. worked for 35 days and only missed a handful of days of work. respectable ethic, but man he never got to actually live. work work work greatest generation was built different
Timliu92 Ford was a Proper Bass Singer not just Bass baritone.I've got records where he gets down to B1 and one where He hits multiple EB2 like it's nothing.
We had 2 channels on our TV. I remember getting our 1st TV. Back in this golden days songs were about the working man and his family. Kids picked up empty soda bottles to go to the fair. Two cents a bottle. Was hard to find as people didn't litter like they do today. Some of the best days of my life.
Watching Johnny Cash vids brought me here. I've always heard the name Tennessee Ernie Ford since I was a kid but I never heard him sing until now. Damn he has a GREAT voice! I'm going to look for more of his singing.
I love this song so much! My dad used to love him when he was a little boy. He showed him to me and I loved him the moment I heard him! He was amazing! We NEED more singers like him! But of course today's people would not appreciate them like we did back in the old days...
Outstanding voice I always love to listen to him sing. My singing voice is the same -- it is deep as his was, but I always have trouble as most songs are not that easy to sing with a deep voice. But, he always did an amazing job when he did.
I was in the second grade in 1967 in Detroit. The teacher (Mrs. Jo) said: "Bring your favorite record to school." I brought Surfin' Bird. She played it. The class started dancing around the room and on their desks! Just like Charlie Brown Christmas! Teacher took the needle off the record. That's life, I guess...
Even in 2016 there is still such a thing as the pride of the American working class. I'm a liberal democrat in the United States that doesn't mind being "blue collar" as long as we can get a decent living for our family.
There are a lot of different versions of this song. My mother use to play this song on a phonograph record when I was just a little kid. It better described John Henry in competition with this steam hammer which killed him after he beat the machine. It was one of my favorite songs.
I wrote a kindle book about this true American tall tale here; www.amazon.com/dp/B01GBV3UXU His story was an oral tradition in my family down home in WV. & TN Ernie too!
First of all, I believe you're talking about two different songs. This TEF song is The Ballad of John Henry while the Johnny Cash song to which you apparently refer is The Legend of John Henry's Hammer. Not the same song at all. And second of all, this TEF version is from 1961, about two years BEFORE Johnny Cash released his recording of Hammer.
pokey1984 Actually, at that time you did drive steel to lay track--you had to drive steel to cut tunnels and through 'cuts' i.e. cut through hills too low to cut tunnels through. You also had to drive steel to make the holes for laying dynamite. Now, of course, they drill holes to lay dynamite.
