Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 â€" October 17, 1991), known
professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer 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".Ford was born in Bristol,
Tennessee, to Maud (née Long) and Clarence Thomas Ford. The 1940
census shows that he had an older brother named Stanley H. Ford. He
spent a lot of his time in his early years listening to country or
western musicians, in person or on the radio. Ford began wandering
around Bristol in his high school years, taking an interest in radio
and began his radio career as an announcer at WOPI-AM in 1937, being
paid 10 dollars a week. In 1938, the young bass-baritone left the
station and went to study classical music at the Cincinnati
Conservatory of Music in Ohio. He returned for the announcing job in
1939 and did it from 1939 to 1941 in stations from Atlanta to
Knoxville. A First Lieutenant, he served in the United States Army Air
Corps in World War II as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying
missions over Japan. He was also a bombing instructor at George Air
Force Base, in Victorville, California.
professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer 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".Ford was born in Bristol,
Tennessee, to Maud (née Long) and Clarence Thomas Ford. The 1940
census shows that he had an older brother named Stanley H. Ford. He
spent a lot of his time in his early years listening to country or
western musicians, in person or on the radio. Ford began wandering
around Bristol in his high school years, taking an interest in radio
and began his radio career as an announcer at WOPI-AM in 1937, being
paid 10 dollars a week. In 1938, the young bass-baritone left the
station and went to study classical music at the Cincinnati
Conservatory of Music in Ohio. He returned for the announcing job in
1939 and did it from 1939 to 1941 in stations from Atlanta to
Knoxville. A First Lieutenant, he served in the United States Army Air
Corps in World War II as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying
missions over Japan. He was also a bombing instructor at George Air
Force Base, in Victorville, California.
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