"SIXTEEN TONS" A song written by Merle Travis about a coal miner, based on life in mines in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky. Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded "Sixteen Tons" in 1955. With Ford's snapping fingers and a unique clarinet-driven pop arrangement, it quickly became a million seller. It hit Billboard's country music chart in November and held the No. 1 position for ten weeks, then crossed over and held the number 1 position on the pop music chart for eight weeks, besting the competing version b

Pn this day, November 2, 1955 – “Tennessee” Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons” enters the Billboard Country chart Written by country legend Merle Travis, “Sixteen Tons” became a cultural phenomenon when Tennessee Ernie Ford recorded it in 1955. The song, with its haunting bass line and Ford’s deep, resonant baritone, captured the weary pride of America’s coal miners with unforgettable lines like “You load sixteen tons, and what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.” The record shot to #1 on