Posted on 04/19/2015 11:31:47 AM PDT by WilliamIII
“Rock of Ages” by Tennessee Ernie Ford (1956)
In our large Catholic family, Christmas gifts always were opened in the morning, with one exception. For some reason, it was acceptable to open records (as they were called in those days) on Christmas Eve. A recording was a special gift in our household in the 1950s and ’60s; money was tight with eleven kids and purchases were thoughtfully made. Listening to the newly acquired records was a family activity, usually after Christmas Eve Mass, and heralded the onset of the Christmas festivities in our household.
The square RCA Victor record player in the living room was wired to a purloined drive-in-theater speaker on the wall of the kitchen, so with enough imagination you could hear “in stereo” by standing in just the right spot between the rooms. Often as a preparation for Christmas, a new phonograph needle was installed. Wrapped LPs held pride of place under the tree, front and center of anything else that might find its way there in the days leading up to Christmas.
My father was a hard-working man, usually with two jobs until he opened his own printing business, when he went to working round the clock. A widower who migrated to California after World War II, he brought five young children, met a nurse, and proceeded to have another six kids with her. We were a close family, and he was its center. He did not abandon his Midwestern sensibilities in California however; Tennessee Ernie Ford was his favorite musician, and anything that TEF sang was music at its best.
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As a young kid in the 50’s, I grew up listening to a lot of Tennessee Ernie Ford. He was one of my mother’s favourites. Great voice. You could hear the integrity in it.
I’m not particularly religious and don’t normally do gospel songs, but I do have an Ernie Ford channel on Pandora. I’ll listen to anything he sings just because I love the sound of his voice!
No doubt, Tennessee Ernie Ford was gifted with an incredibly rich, smooth voice.
unfortunately he was a flaming homo and consequently a big fraud.
Are you sure you are not thinking of actor/singer Jim Nabors aka Gomer Pyle? Because I have been a fan of TEF for years and have never heard of this. He was married to the same woman for many years until her death and they had children. Nabors is openly gay and he and Ernie were both folksy and had deep baritone voices.
No, I’m sure TEF was not a homosexual. He struggled with a drinking problem but wasn’t a homosexual. Jim Nabors (Gomer Pyle) is a homosexual and he also has(had) a deep, baritone voice.
Oh, really? I would really appreciate some proof of that, perhaps a link to this great revelation. Seems odd for a man who was married to a woman for 47 years, and then after she dies, he marries another woman. So, let's see it.
Tennessee Ernie Ford or Tennessee Williams?
In the fifties he did a Christmas special. He was sitting on the floor singing a song to a group of children. One little boy,sitting next to Ernie, started to clap very enthusiastically, as if he were at a revival meeting. Ernie tried to quietly put the kid’s hands down,but nothing helped so he finished the song the best he could. Live tv was great.
Yes just looked around google to see if there were any such rumors about TEF, just as I suspected nothing. I know he and his wife both struggled with alcohol and it did damage to their health, but no one is perfect and I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the man. The people he worked with always spoke highly of him. Deeply religious.
That was his son. I think his name is Brian, not sure. He was on stage with his dad a lot. He was always very animated and happy , but for some reason he was really wound up that day !
I think he’s confusig him with someone else. Perfectly normal except on the internet it can destroy the man’s reputation and he’s not here to defend himself.
Can’t hurt him anymore, but his kids, grandkids are still here.
Wow, I never knew that. Thanks for telling me.
Yes, even with the alcohol issue, it says a lot for a couple who stays married for so long, especially when one is in show business of any kind. I love hearing his voice.
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