Born in Bristol, Tennessee, to Clarence Thomas Ford and Maud Long, Ford began his radio career as an announcer at station WOPI in Bristol, leaving in 1939 to study classical music and voice at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. 1st Lieut. Ford served in World War II as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying missions over Japan. After the war, Ford worked at radio stations in San Bernardino and Pasadena, Calif. In San Bernardino, hired as a radio announcer, Ernest J. Ford did the news and general announcing. He was assigned the job of hosting an early morning country music disc jockey programme titled "Bar Nothin' Ranch." To differentiate himself, he created the personality of "Tennessee Ernie," a wild, madcap exaggerated hillbilly. He became popular in the area and was soon hired away by Pasadena's KXLA radio.
At KXLA he continued doing the same show and also joined the cast of Cliffie Stone's popular live KXLA country show "Dinner Bell Roundup" as a vocalist while still doing the early morning broadcast. Stone, a part-time talent scout for Capitol Records, brought him to the attention of the label. In 1949, while still doing his morning show, he signed a contract with Capitol. He also became a local television star as the star of Stone's popular Southern California "Hometown Jamboree" television show. He released almost fifty country singles through the early 1950s, several of which made the charts. Many of his early records, including "The Shot Gun Boogie", "Blackberry Boogie", and so on were exciting, driving boogie-woogie records featuring exciting accompaniment by the Hometown Jamboree band which included Jimmy Bryant on lead guitar and pioneer pedal steel guitarist Speedy West. "I'll Never Be Free", a duet pairing Ford with Capitol Records pop singer Kay Starr, became a huge country and pop crossover hit in 1950.
Ford eventually ended his KXLA morning show and in the early 1950s, moved on from Hometown Jamboree. He took over from bandleader Kay Kyser as host of the television version of the NBC quiz show "College of Musical Knowledge" when it returned briefly in 1954 after a four-year break. He also portrayed the country bumpkin Cousin Ernie on I Love Lucy.
Ford scored an unexpected hit on the pop charts in 1955 with his rendition of Merle Travis' "Sixteen Tons", a sparsely arranged coal-miner's lament that Travis wrote in 1946, based on his own family's experience in the mines of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. With a unique clarinet-driven pop arrangement by Ford's Musical Director, Jack Fascinato, "Sixteen Tons" spent ten weeks at number one on the country charts and eight weeks at number one on the pop charts, and made Ford a crossover star. It became Ford's signature song.
Ford subsequently helmed his own primetime variety programme, The Ford Show, which ran on NBC from 1956 to 1961. Ford's programme was notable for the inclusion of a religious song at the end of every show; Ford insisted on this despite objections from network officials who feared it might provoke controversy. It quickly became the most popular segment of the show. He earned the nickname "The Ol' Pea-Picker" becafter his catch-phrase, "Bless your pea-pickin' heart!"
In 1956 he released Hymns, his first gospel album, which remained on Billboard's "Top Album" charts for a remarkable 277 consecutive weeks; his album Great Gospel Songs won a Grammy Award in 1964. After the NBC show ended, Ford moved his family to Northern California and from 1962 to 1965, hosted a daytime talk show The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show from San Francisco, broadcast over the ABC TV network.
Over the years, Ford has been awarded three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, for radio, records, and television. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1990.
Ford, who offstage contended with a serious alcohol problem that never affected his professional work, began suffering increasing liver problems in the 1980s that worsened in 1990, the year he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He fell ill in 1991 after leaving a state dinner at the White House hosted by President George Bush, and died in a Virginia hospital on 17th October, exactly thirty-six years after "Sixteen Tons" was released and one day shy of the first anniversary of his induction into the Hall of Fame.
Ford was posthumously recognized for his gospel music contributions by being added to the Gospel Music Association's Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1994.
Chicken Road
Tennessee Ernie Ford Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a garter snake bit my knee by the bend of the little St. Joe
Honey that′s Missouri, the land of the dust and the toad
It's a wonderful town, Chicken Road
Once I had a scorpion on the lobe of my good right ear
And I lived with my great-great grandma
Who could hear what she wanted to hear
It's a wonderful town, Chicken Road
Beasts of burden, nip at their hay
And a poolroom banjo playin' to the close of every day
Night so quiet, you could hear a mouse
Tippin′ through the parlor of a boarding house
Once I got a sunburn on the back of my itchin′ neck
Went for a ride in a Model-T and I died in a beautiful wreck
Honey that's Missouri, the land that the Lord never knowed
Yes, it′s a wonderful town, Chicken Road
"Tennessee" Ernie Ford's song "Chicken Road" is a tribute to the state of Missouri. The lyrics reflect on the strange and adventurous experiences one can have in the state, while touting it as a wonderful place to be. The first verse speaks of a splinter in the joint of the little toe and a garter snake biting the knee by the bend of the Little St. Joe, implying the rough terrain and wildlife of Missouri. The second verse references the presence of a scorpion on the earlobe, and living with a great-great-grandmother who could hear what she wanted to hear, perhaps indicating the eccentricities of the state's inhabitants. The third verse describes the sounds of the state, with beasts of burden nipping at hay and a poolroom banjo playing to the close of every day. The final verse speaks of the dangers of the state, with the singer getting a sunburn on the back of their itchin' neck and experiencing a beautiful wreck in a Model-T.
Overall, the song is a celebration of Missouri, highlighting its quirks and imperfections, but ultimately singing its praises as a wonderful place to be.
Line by Line Meaning
Once I got a splinter in the joint of my little toe
I once had a very small, but painful injury to my toe joint
And a garter snake bit my knee by the bend of the little St. Joe
I was once bitten by a snake on the knee near a place called the little St. Joe in Missouri
Honey that′s Missouri, the land of the dust and the toad
Missouri is a place with dusty conditions and lots of toads
It's a wonderful town, Chicken Road
Despite the rough conditions, Chicken Road is still a great place to be
Once I had a scorpion on the lobe of my good right ear
I had a scary experience where a scorpion crawled on my right ear
And I lived with my great-great grandma
Who could hear what she wanted to hear
I lived with my very old great-great grandmother, who was selective about what she chose to listen to
Honey that′s Missouri, the land where the sky overflows
Missouri is a place where the sky seems to pour out endlessly
It's a wonderful town, Chicken Road
Despite the overwhelming sky, Chicken Road is still a great place to be
Beasts of burden, nip at their hay
Farm animals are chewing on their food while working for their owners
And a poolroom banjo playin' to the close of every day
In the evenings, someone is playing a banjo in a nearby poolroom until it closes
Night so quiet, you could hear a mouse
Tippin′ through the parlor of a boarding house
The night is so calm and quiet that you can hear a mouse scurrying through a nearby boarding house
Once I got a sunburn on the back of my itchin′ neck
I once had a painful sunburn on the back of my neck
Went for a ride in a Model-T and I died in a beautiful wreck
I had a fatal car accident while riding in a Model-T car, but the scenery was beautiful
Honey that's Missouri, the land that the Lord never knowed
Missouri is a place not commonly known or visited, even by the Lord
Yes, it′s a wonderful town, Chicken Road
Despite its relative obscurity, Chicken Road is still a great place to be
Writer(s): Joe Greene
Contributed by Landon O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.