#tennesseeernieford
#thefordshow
#sixteentons
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.