The Number Nine song in The OzHitztory Blog’s Top 20 Best Hit Songs Of 1956 is…
“Sixteen Tonnes” by Tennessee “Ernie” Ford!
Everybody start clicking your fingers. Slowly.
Prior to the emergence of Johnny Cash on the scene the next year (who, in his breakthrough hit “Walk The Line” used a similarly bleak less-is-more arrangement to a similarly awesome effect) , Tennessee “Ernie”Ford was caught in a draw with Frank Sinatra for who was the most masculine tough guy in pop. And with this song – a hard working tough guy song if ever there was one - “Ernie” probably would have won too, if not for his tiny little and a touch dandy-ish Gomez Adams moustache.
Just how tough was “Ernie” in “Sixteen Tonnes.” Well he started working in a mine, ON THE DAY HE WAS BORN! He often killed people for the crime of not getting out of his way when he was walking down the street! So tough that he doesn’t need a whole gang of dudes carrying instruments to back him up. Just a bit of clicking of the fingers is (practically) all he needs, because tough guys don’t dance.
That’s some pretty serious bravado and myth making there.
And yet…
Despite being so tough, he still can’t beat “the man”.
That 1%. They’ll get you every time.
No. 20 - 16
No. 15-13
No.10!
No.8!
No.7!
No.6!
No.5!
No.4!
No.3!
No.2!
NUMBER ONE!
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