From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Wed Feb 13, 2002  1:16 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Tennessee Ernie Ford
 
TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD (By Shaun Mather)

Born Ernest Jennings Ford, 13 February 1919, Bristol, Tennessee
Died 17 October 1991, Los Angeles, California

Following years in local radio and a spell serving in World War II, Ford
moved to Pasadena, CA where he came to the attention of entrepreneur Cliffie
Stone, who got him signed to Capitol Records in 1948. He was an immediate
smash, with Tennessee Border and Smokey Mountain Boogie both reaching the
top 10, followed by Mule Train which went all the way to the top of the
charts. The Shot Gun Boogie repeated the trick in '51 and by the middle
of the decade he'd accumulated sixteen top 10 hits, the biggest coming with
Merle Travis' Sixteen Tons (1956), which also topped the pop charts for
eight weeks.
The Capitol recordings benefited greatly from the backing of virtuosos Jimmy
Bryant and Speedy West, as well as some highly commercial material.
The late 50's saw him host his own NBC television show and he enjoyed
huge success with Hymns, his first of many gospel albums. In 1965, Hicktown
got to number 9, but it proved to be his last country hit.
Tennessee Ernie was inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 1990 but
died the following year from liver failure.

Recommended listening/viewing:
Official website: http://www.ernieford.com
Sixteen Tons - Bear Family CD.

(P.S.: There is a recent biography, "Tennessee Ernie Ford : The Man
And His Music" by Jody McCall, 2000, but judging by the Amazon reviews,
it isn't very good. - Dik)