ETSU: ETSU Professor Produces New Work On Tennessee Ernie Ford

From East Tennessee State University:

January 12, 2022

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Born in Bristol, Tennessee, just after World War I ended, Ernest Jennings Ford – known best as Tennessee Ernie Ford – reached tremendous levels of fame.

A radio and television host and singer who crossed many genres, Ford became especially well known for his 1955 recording of “Sixteen Tons,” one of the biggest country and pop hits of the 1950s.

Thanks to the work of East Tennessee State University’s Dr. Ted Olson, fans can learn even more about this performer from Appalachia.

Olson produced and curated “Tennessee Ernie Ford: Classic Trio Albums, 1964 & 1975 featuring Billy Strange and Glen Campbell,” released in late 2021.

Olson, a professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music Studies at ETSU, served as reissue producer of this album and provided extensive liner notes. The accompanying full-color booklet also contains previously unseen photos from the recording sessions, shared by the Ford family expressly for inclusion in this project, Olson said.

Ron Worrell of the Birthplace of Country Music Museum called this new album a “worthy addition to any collection.” Released exclusively on CD by the German-based Bear Family Records, “Classic Trio Albums” features Ford’s two legendary though hard-to-find trio albums: “Country Hits … Feelin’ Blue” and “Ernie Sings & Glen Picks.”

“These two trio albums deserve to be heard together,” wrote Olson, “because they make a compelling case for Ford as one of the more naturally expressive American singers to be recorded in any genre, with a voice that was well-worn yet enduring, never to go out of style.”

In 2015, Bear Family Records released “Tennessee Ernie Ford: Portrait of an American Singer, 1949-1960,” a box set (5 CDs and a book) collecting all of Ford’s popular and often groundbreaking early secular recordings. Olson, who also produced and curated “Portrait of an American Singer,” received a Grammy nomination for the album notes he wrote. “Classic Trio Albums” makes available for the first time paired together and on CD Ford’s most highly acclaimed secular recordings from the 1960s and 1970s. In addition to showcasing Ford’s vocals on a range of beloved country songs, “Classic Trio Albums” features acoustic guitar playing by Strange (on the 1964 album) and Campbell (on the 1975 album).

This press release was produced by East Tennessee State University. The views expressed are the author's own.