Tennessee Ernie Ford

Birth Name:

Ernest Jennings Ford

Birth Place:

Bristol, Tennessee, United States

Profession

Soundtrack, Actor

Served in the U․S․ Army Air Corps during World War II, where he was a bomber navigator and became a lieutenant
Attended Virginia Intermount College and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music
Became a disc jockey at ABC radio in 1952 and later joined NBC's "The College of Musical Knowledge" in 1953
Got his first job at the WOPI radio station in Bristol, Tennessee, where he worked as a disc jockey
Became the host of "The Ford Show," a musical variety program sponsored by the Ford Motor Company, in 1956
Recorded more than 80 albums during his 40-year career and worked with singers like Kay Starr, Betty Hutton, and Ella Mae Morse
Best known as a country western singer and television host whose hit songs included "The Shotgun Boogie" and "16 Tons․"
He and his band became the first pop music group to tour the Soviet Union in 1974 as part of a United States-Soviet cultural exchange program
Was the first ever country music performer to play at the London Palladium
His famous folksy catchphrases included "Bless your pea-pickin' hearts" and "Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rockin' chairs․"

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